Cauvery River, also spelled Kaveri, sacred river of southern India, rising on Brahmagiri Hill in the Western Ghats in Coorg district of Karnataka State, flowing in a southeasterly direction for 475mi (765km) through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states. It descends the Eastern Ghats in a series of great falls. Before emptying in to the Bay of Bengal south of Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, it breaks into a large number of tributaries describing a wide delta called the “garden of Southern India” known to devout Hindus as Dakshina Ganga (Ganges of the South). It is celebrated for its scenery and sanctity in Sanskrit &Tamil Literature, and its entire course is considered holy ground. In Sanskrit, there is a famous sloka about seven divine rivers among which Cauvery is one among them :
"Gange cha yamune chaiva godhaavari sarasvati l Narmadhe sindhu kaaveri jale(a)smin sannidhim kuru ll"
The great poet Venkatadhvari, in his work named Visvaguna-Aadharsa-Champoo, described the river Cauvery thus: “Eshaa Khalu Dhoshaakula sakal manujakula sakala kalusha soshana baddha kankanaa………, …….., …….., Sammajjana dhuritha haraapi namajjana dhuritha haraa niraakrutha pathika-sraanthihi sravantheeyam kandhalayathi chakshushoh amandam aanandam” ll
In
Tamil, the great poet Ilango Adikal, in his Silappadhikaaram,
described thus: “Nadanthaai Vaazhi Kaaveri”
The
river is also important for its irrigation-canal projects. Its uppermost course is tortuous with a rocky
bed and high banks under luxuriant vegetation.
After passing through a narrow gorge and tumbling 60-80 ft (18-24m) in
the rapids of Chunchankatte, the river widen to 900-1,200 ft across the
Karnataka Plateau. There, its flow is
i8nterrupted by a number of anicuts of or weirs. At the Krishna-Raja-Sagara, the Cauvery is
joined by two tributaries, the Hemavati and LakshmanaTheertha, and dammed for
irrigation, forming a 12sq-mi (31 sq-km) reservoir.
In
Karnataka, the river bifurcates twice, forming the sacred islands of
SrirangaPattanam and SivaSamudram, 50 mi apart.
Around Sivasamudram are the scenic Sivasamudram falls, comprising two
series of rapids, Bhar Chukki and Gagana Chukki, plunging 320 ft and reaching a
width of 1,000 ft in the rainy season.
The falls supply hydroelectric power to Mysore, Bangalore and then Kolar
Gold Fields, more than 100 mi away.
Upon
entering Tamil Nadu, the Cauvery continues through a series of twisted wild
gorges until it reaches Hogenakal Falls and flows through a straight, narrow
gorge near Salem. There, the Mettur Dam,
5,300 ft long and 176 ft high, impounds a lake (Stanley Reservoir) of 60 sq
mi. The Mettur Project, completed in
1934, created an important agricultural and industrial area by improving
irrigation and providing hydropower.
After
sweeping past the historic rock of Tiruchchirappalli, the Cauvery breaks at Sri
Rangam Island, a main pilgrimage centre.
There in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu state, its braided and
extensively irrigated deltaic region of about 4,000 sq mi begins. Kallanai called as the Grand Anicut
was built in the 2nd century by the great Chola King Karikaal
Chozhan, at the point where the river divides. A second anicut (1836-38) across the
Kollidam, the northern and the larger channel, saved the old system from
silting and extended irrigation. The
open roadsteads of Nagappattinam and Karaikkal are on the seaward side of the
delta. The only navigation on any part
of the Cauvery course is in basketwork boats.
Its main tributaries are the Kabini, Amaravati, Noyyal and Bhavani
rivers.
On the banks of the River Cauvery, numberless Vaishnavite and Saivite temples can be found.
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