Mal: പത്തനംതിട്ട pattanantiṭṭa
‘Riverside Dwelling’ Town/District, Kerala
From Mal: paṭṭaṇam, ‘abode’, ‘dwelling’; and tiṭṭa, ‘bank’, ‘shoal’.
The river here is the 128km Achankovil.
The Sabarimala Ayyappa temple is in Pathanamthitta District and because it is the main stopover point before Sabarimala Pathanamthitta is nicknamed the ‘Pilgrim Capital of Kerala’.
According to the latest W.H.O. Pathanamthitta is the city with the cleanest air in India.
Pathanamthitta Town: An aerial view Prasanth Prakash