Kulasekharapatnam is a town in the Thoothukudi district (formerly Tuticorin district) of Tamil Nadu, India.

Kulasekharapatnam was an ancient port dating to the 1st century AD and was contemporaneous with the existence of Kollam, Cheran, and Pandyan port. Kollam served the Pandyas on the west coast while Kulasekharapatnam served them on the east coast connecting them to Ceylon and the pearl fisheries in the Gulf of Mannar facing the Tirunelveli Coast. The other ports on the Coromandel Coast were Kaveripumpattinam (Poompuhar) and Arikamedu (near Pondicherry). On the west coast, the ancient ports were Kodungallur and Barugachha (Broach) in Gujarat. Kulasekharapatnam lost its significance once Tuticorin became a big port.

Kulasekharapatnam the name is derived from pandyan ruler Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I. Kulasekharapatnam is referred to in Marco Polo's travel diaries dating to 1250 AD.

Kulasekharapatnam has had Muslim settlements since ancient times.

The famous Mutharamman Temple, which is over 300 years old, is located in this place. Also, at the north of this village, an ancient marvelous Temple of Dharmasamvardhini is situated. Kulasekharapatnam is world famous for the Dashra ( Dussehra ) Festival.

A sugar factory was running very successfully till the end of the British rule. Since British rule, Kulasekharapatnam had a customs office. British Railway Line was established and it was called Kulasekharapatnam Light Railway and the stations were Kulasekharapatnam Central, Kulasekharapatnam Port, and KPM Sugar Factory in 1933.

ISRO has announced that a new space launch pad will be set up at Kulasekharapatnam.

In Kulasekharapatnam, during the reign of the Pandyas, the city was also known as the Rowthers Palayam, a section of Muslim that has military cavalry, traditional people, and horse traders. Kulasekharapatnam was also an important trade centre even before the arrival of Islam. Now Kulasekarapatnam has Muslim Population known as Marakkar or Marakkayars they were doing trade with Ships, they had come from Kerala, it is said Kunjali Marakkar's family members coming from Kerala. In Kulsekarapatnam until 1965, the small ship Dhoni operated there. If one town was a port, it must have had a lighthouse. Kulasekharapatnam even now has a lighthouse near Manapad. Since the 8th century AD, this city has been inhabited by Hindus.

Maraicar or Maraicayar, Marakayar, Maraicar are distinctive Tamil and Malayalam-speaking Muslim peoples of the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in India. The name Marakkar is different from Marakkayar (Marikkar & Maricar are other spellings used in history books). According to many other historians, Moppila or Moplah is Maha Pillai (great son) and Marakkar means (Marakkalam is a wooden boat) ‘boatmen’. Thurston in his Tribes of South India, states the following - The word Marakkar is usually derived from the Tamil 'marakalam', a boat.

Was it also a titular name for seaborne traders? KVK Iyer clarifies in his history of Kerala that Marakkar was a prized title given by the Zamorin of Calicut. Derived from Marakka Rayar, it signifies the captain of a ship Rayar (Captain) of Marakkalam (ship).

Traditionally, the Maricars engaged in mercantile commerce. They can be found along coastal areas of the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in India.

The Maraicars can be found in coastal areas of South India, including Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Those who settled in coastal regions of India Tamil Nadu and Kerala are called marakala rayars, from marakalam meaning "wooden boat" and rayar, meaning "king" in the Tamil language. The captains of the ships are called malimars, which come from the Tamil words malumi, meaning "captain," and yar; and the ship's crew members are called sherangs.

• https://web.archive.org/web/20111015080841/http://indianmuslims.in/kunjali-marakkar/
• Kudi Maraikayar of eastern Sri Lanka