The Thamirabarani or Tamraparni or Porunai is
a perennial river that
originates from the Agastyarkoodam peak of Pothigai hills of
the Western Ghats, above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram
taluk. It flows through Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts of the
Tamil Nadu state of
southern India into the Gulf of Mannar. It was called
the Tamraparni River
in the pre-classical period, a name it lent to the island of Sri Lanka. The old Tamil name
of the river is
Porunai. From the source to
sea, the river is about 128 kilometres (80 mi) long and is the only perennial river in Tamil Nadu. This river flows
towards north direction initially. However, it changes to east direction later.
The Thamirabarani River originates from the peak of the Pothigai
hills on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats at
an elevation of 1,725 metres (5,659 ft) above sea-level. The river is
joined by its headwater tributaries Peyar, Ullar, Pambar before it flows into
the Karaiyar Dam reservoir, where it meets Karaiyar. The river forms the
Paanatheertham waterfalls, 40 metres (130 ft) high, as it enters the
Kariyar reservoir. Servalar joins the Thamirabarani before it enters into
the Papanasam lower reservoir, which was built for
the Papanasam Hydroelectric station. The river descends down the mountains near
Papanasam, where it forms the Kalyanatheertham falls and Agasthiar falls.
The river flows on the
plains eastwards from Papanasam. The first tributary tofrom Manjolai hills and joins Thamirabarani near Aladiyoor village.
The
towns Ambasamudram and Kallidaikurichi are
located respectively on the left and right banks of Thamiraparani, after which
the river meets the tributary Gadananathi
River at Tiruppudaimaruthur. Before the Gadananathi's entry
into the Thamirabarani, the Gadananathi
River is joined by the rivers Kallar, Karunaiyar and Veeranathi
or Varahanathi which joins the river Gadananathi about 1.5 kilometres
(0.9 mi) north-east of Kila Ambur. The Gadananathi is fed by the Jambunathi and Ramanathi
Rivers. The Pachaiyar
River which originates from the Kalakkadu reserve forests at
about 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) above sea level joins the Thamirabarani near
Tharuvai village in Palayamkottai Taluk. The river bisects the twin
cities Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai before
meeting its major and affluent tributary Chithar (Chitranathi) which arises in
the Kutralam hills and receives supply from the rivers Gundar, Hanumanathi and Karuppanathi(vairavangkulam kadaya-nallur) .The Chittar River runs
almost parallel to Thamirabarani till it joins the main river near Sivalaperi.
Thamirabarani passes through the taluks of Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai of
Tirunelveli district and Srivaikundam and Tiruchendur taluks
of Thoothukkudi district.
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