town, Puducherry (Pondicherry) union territory, southeastern India. It constitutes an enclave on the Coromandel Coast within eastern Tamil Nadu (Tamil Nādu) state, near the mouth of the Arasalar River. The chief town of the Karaikal territory and a former French colony in India, it is in the fertile Kaveri (Cauvery) River (Kaveri River) delta, the most important rice-growing area of Tamil Nadu. The area was part of the Chola empire in the 10th century, and it was conquered successively by Vijayanagar, Maratha, Muslim, and French troops, becoming French in the late 18th century. Since 1954 the area has been a popular seaside tourist resort of the union territory. Major sites include the Jambunatha temple built by Thirumalai Rayan of the Vijayanagar empire in the 15th century, the Saneeswaran temple, and the Karaikal Ammaiyar temple. Pop. (2001) 74,438.