town, central Tamil Nadu (Tamil Nādu) state, southeastern India. A former capital of the Maravan rajas, it produces textiles and jewelry and has two colleges affiliated with Madurai-Kamaraj University. Its name refers to the Hindu deity Rama.

Ramanathapuram's surrounding region occupies part of the flat southern coastal plain. Protected from the northeastern and southwestern monsoons by the Western Ghats to the west and the mountains of Sri Lanka to the southeast, it has an unusually dry climate, but irrigation tanks (embanked earth reservoirs) enable the area to produce chilies and cotton for export. Large-scale industry such as cotton and cement milling has been introduced. The great bulk of India's fireworks are manufactured in Sivakasi. Pop. (2001) town, 62,050.