Kaveri River - ಕಾವೇರಿ ನತಿ.

Background

The Kaveri river is the smallest of the five major rivers of the Indian peninsula, the others being the Mahanadi, Godavari, Narmada, and Krishna. However, it forms perhaps the most important watershed of the South.Known as "Dakshin Ganga" (the Ganges of the South), it serves as a lifeline to the people of Southern Karnataka, and the Cauvery basin of Tamil Nadu.

Legendry Saga

According to mythology, There was a childless king named Kaverna and Brahma gifted him a beautiful girl Kaveri. She was married to Agastya muni on the condition that he would never leave her alone. One day, Agastya muni began teaching his disciples a difficult lesson in philosophy. Assuming that something unfortunate had happened to him and not wanting to live alone she jumped into a tank. But she did not die. She became a river, flowed up the Brahmagiri Mountain and reappeared as a spring.

The Journey

The River Kaveri flows through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Its source is a spring in the Brahmagiri Mountains in Mysore at a height of 1320 metres above sea level. The Kaveri is not the same throughput its length of 765 kilometres. As the Kaveri flows down the Brahmagiri mountain and enters the plain, two small rivers, the Kanaka and the Gajoti, join it.They meey at the town of Bahamandalam till here it is a small river. two more rivers, Hemavati and Lakshman Theertham join it, that it becomes a large river, broad and deep. It is here that the water of the three rivers is collected in the Krishnaraj Sagar reservoir, on the banks of which is laid one of the most beautiful gardens of Mysore - Brindavan.

In Spotlight- 'Flood of the Eighteenth'

This river runs through some of the richest south Indian lands, watering the fields and blessing the people on its course.The people of Tamil Nadu celebrate the flood in the in a special way with a festival. This festival is called the 'Flood of the Eighteenth'. On the eighteenth day of the month of Aadi (July-August), people come to worship the river. They light special lamps and express their gratitude by throwing offerings of fruits, sweetmeats and flowers. It is a day of rejoicing for the people as they thank the river goddess for her blessings and prosperity.

Battle of Water

The Kaveri river is the locus of a water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. That dispute is complicated by political issues of resentment and one-up-manship between the people of the two states. The past two decades have seen increasing friction between the two states.

Points of interest

Talakaveri

Nisargadhama

Srirangapatna

Shivanasamudra

Krishna Raja Sagara

Hogenakal Falls (meaning "smoking rock"): The spray of the river hitting the rocks is so fine that it appears like smoke

Mekedaatu (Goat's Leap)

Sivanasamudra Falls

Bhavani, Tamil Nadu

Tiruchirapalli (Trichy)

Srirangam

Thiruvaiyaru

Thirukattupalli

Swamimalai

Kumbakonam

Thiruvidaimarudur

Mayavaram

Poompuhar

Vedaranyam

Kaveri River Basin

Kaveri River (Kaveri)

Kollidam (distributary)

Amaravati River

Arkavathy River

Mettur Dam

Bhavani River

Hemavati River

Kabini River

Kollidam (distributary)

Also called Coleroon, Kollidam is one of the important tributaries of the Cauvery River. It forms the northern branch of the Cauvery as it flows through the delta of Thanjavur. It branches off from the Cauvery at the island of Srirangam and flows eastwards into the Bay of Bengal.

A scenic hamlet, Kollidam is near Sirkazhi in Nagapattinam District in Tamil Nadu. It is situated around 7 km from Chidambaram and 10 km from Sirkazhi. The Kollidam River, a branch of the Cauvery River, flows through this village. Mukkombu, a beautiful excursion center, is situated nearby. Kollidam Railway Station serves this area. Tiruchirapalli Airport is the nearest airport.

The Kaveri River (also spelt Cauvery or Kavery) is one of the great rivers of India and is considered sacred by the Hindus. The headwaters are in the Western Ghats range of Karnataka state, and flows through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu across the southern Deccan plateau, then the eastern lowlands, and finally empties into the Bay of Bengal. The river has supported irrigated agriculture for centuries, and the Kaveri has been the lifeblood of the ancient kingdoms and modern cities of South India. The source of the river is Talakaveri located in the Western Ghats about 5000 feet above sea level. Talakaveri is a pilgrimage set amidst Bramahagiri Hills in Kodagu. Thousands of piligrims flock to the temple at the source of the river especially on the specified day known as Tula sankramana when the river water has been said to gush out like a fountain at a predetermined time. It flows generally south and east for around 765 km, emptying into the Bay of Bengal through two principal mouths. Its basin is estimated to be 27,700 square miles, and it has many tributaries including Shimsa, Hemavati, Arkavathi, Kapila, Honnuhole, Lakshmana Tirtha, Kabini, Bhavani, Lokapavani, Noyyal and Amaravati.

Significance of Kaveri in Tamil Nadu

After entering Tamil Nadu, the Kaveri forms the boundary between the Erode and Salem districts. The Bhavani River joins the Kaveri at the town of Bhavani, where the Sangameswara Temple, an important pilgrimage spot in southern India, was built at the confluence of the two rivers. The Amaravati River joins the cauvery at a place called Tirumukkudalur near Karur.Sweeping past the historic rock of Tiruchirapalli, it breaks at the island of Srirangam into two channels, which enclose between them the delta of Thanjavur (Tanjore), the garden of South India. The northern channel is called the Kollidam (Coleroon); the other preserves the name of Kaveri and empties into the Bay of Bengal at Poompuhar, a few hundred miles south of Chennai (Madras). On the seaward face of its delta are the seaports of Nagapattinam and Karikal. Irrigation works have been constructed in the delta for over 2000 years. The most ancient surviving irrigation work is the Grand Anicut or Kallanai, a massive dam of unhewn stone, 328 meters (1080 feet) long and 20 meters (60 feet) wide, across the stream of the Kaveri proper. It is attributed to the Chola king Karikalan, and is supposed to date back to the 2nd century. The dam is still in excellent repair, and supplied a model to later engineers. The area irrigated by the ancient system was 69,000 acres (280 km²), which by the early 20th century had been increased to about 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km²). The chief 19th century work is the anicut across the Kollidam 2250 ft. long, constructed by Sir Arthur Cotton between 1836 and 1838.