Sivaganga (siʋaɡəŋɡaɪ) is a city and headquarters of the Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city is located at a distance of 48 km (30 mi) from Madurai and 449 km (279 mi) from the state capital Chennai.
It is known for the 16th-century Sivagangai Fort, located in City Centre. Inside the fort, the Rajarajeshwari Amman Temple features many ornate sculptures. Nearby, the Government Museum has prehistoric relics and natural history displays.
Sivaganga is administered by a municipality established in 1965. As of 2011, the municipality covered an area of and had a population of 40,403. The town is known for agriculture, metal working and weaving. The region around Sivaganga has considerable mineral deposits.
Sivaganga comes under the Sivaganga assembly constituency, which elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years. It is a part of the Sivaganga constituency which elects its Member of Parliament (MP) once in five years. Roadways are the major mode of transportation to the town and have rail connectivity. The nearest seaport, V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust, Thoothukudi is located from Sivaganga, while the nearest airport, Madurai International Airport, is located from the city.
During the 17th century, Sivaganga was ruled by the Kingdom of Ramnad, which had its boundary spreading across modern-day Sivaganga, Pudukkottai and Ramnathapuram. The seventh king of the empire, Vijaya Raghunatha Sethupathi (also called Kelvan Sethupathy) ruled from 1674 to 1710 and was succeeded by his sister's son Vijaya Ragunatha Sethupathy. He was succeeded by his son-in-law Sundareswara Ragunatha Sethupathy in 1726. Bavani Sankara Thevan, the illegitimate son of Ragunatha Sethupathy, aligned with the Rajah of Tanjore to attack Ramnad. Though Bavani won, he did not honor the earlier decision to cede some portions of the empire to the King of Tanjore. He quarreled with Sasivarna Periya Oodaya Thevar and sent him out of his province. Both Sasivarna and Kattaya Thevar, the brother of Sundareswara, aligned with the Rajah of Tanjore.