During India's independence struggle, C. Rajagopalachari, who would later become independent India's first Governor-General, launched a salt march in Vedaranyam parallel to the Dandi March launched by Gandhi in 1930 to protest against the sales tax levied on salt extraction.

Vedaranyam comes under the Vedaranyam assembly constituency which elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years[2] and it is a part of the Nagapattinam (Lok Sabha constituency) which elects its Member of Parliament (MP) once in five years.

The town is a part of the fertile Cauvery delta region, but salt extraction and prawn cultivation are the major occupations.

The 7th century Saiva canonical work Tevaram by Appar and Tirugnanasambandar mentions the place as "Tirumaraikadu".

[4][5][6] According to another Hindu legend, Rama, the seventh avatar of god Vishnu, is believed to have visited Vedaranyam to absolve himself from sins committed in the war against the demon king Ravana.

At this, on Tirugnanasambandar's request, Appar sang devotional hymns praising Shiva, after which the gates opened.

[7][10] Paranjothi Munivar, a 13th-century saint, who wrote the book Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam, was born at Vedaranyam.

[13] The Negapatam region (modern day Nagapattinam district) was briefly captured by French troops led by Lally (1702–66) in 1759.

His close associate C. Rajagopalachari, who would later become independent India's first Governor-General, carried out a salt march in parallel, on the east coast starting from Trichonopoly (modern day Tiruchirappalli) to Vedaranyam.

His group, having people like Sardar Vedaratnam, started from Tiruchirappalli, in Madras Presidency (now part of Tamil Nadu), to the coast of the town.

[26] The quality of ground water is poor compared to the northern shores of Tamil Nadu due to the presence of marine and semi-marine origin in sediments.

[28] The analysis of backwaters from 1932 to 1992 indicates considerable enlargement in the region and occurrence of number of sand bodies.

[29] Modern day Vedaranyam has five fresh water channels from river Cauvery draining into the swamp.

[30] The northern tip of the swamp obtains continuous source of fresh, saline or brackish water during the south west monsoon and dries up during the summer season.

[18][30] The swamps are filled by two periodical high tides that occur during the full moon days of May and June.

[36] The primary economic activities of the region are salt-manufacturing, fishing, salt water prawn culture and agriculture.

[37][38] Saltpans (crystallisers) are spread over 11,000 acres (45 km2) along the coastline, including those of small, medium and large salt manufacturers.

[22] The functions of the municipality are devolved into five departments: General administration, Engineering, Revenue, Public Health and Town planning.

[52] From 1957, the Nagapattinam parliament seat was held by the Indian National Congress for five times during 1957–1961,[53] 1962–67,[54] 1967–71,[55] 1991–96,[56] and 1996–98[57] elections.

[65] Law and order in Vedaranyam is maintained by the Nagapattinam sub division of Tamil Nadu Police headed by a Deputy Superintendent.

[69][6] The temple has a shrine for Thyagaraja (a form of Shiva), known for "Hamsapthanathaanam", the dance pose similar to the gait of a swan.

[70][71][72] According to legend, a Chola king named Mucukunta obtained a boon from Indra (a celestial deity) to receive an image of Thyagaraja from the Hindu god Vishnu.

[69] The tourist destinations around the town are Ayurvedic Medicinal Forest, Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary located Point Calimere at a distance of 10 km (6.2 mi), Historical Light House, Ramar Paatham, Ettukudi Murugan temple located at a distance of 40 km (25 mi) and Our Lady of Good Health, Velankanni located at a distance of 37 km (23 mi) from the town.