Giving thanks to rivers

The Tamil month of Adi that falls during the rainy season, is when the faithful offer prayers of gratitude to all the rivers that begin to get replenished with rainwater. Swelling with fresh water, the rivers are believed to be 'pregnant' and offerings are made, charities are given and prayers are offered, propitiating the river goddess. The Cauvery, Tamirabarani, Vaigai and Palaar rivers are all revered and invoked during the monsoon season. For harvests and abundance are not possible without the grace of the river goddess. The Cauvery, originating in the beautiful Western Ghats, is often called Dakshina Ganga, the Ganga of the South. On full-moon days, local people in the region flock to its sandy banks to enjoy picnics and frolic in its waters.

The source of the River Cauvery is in Kodagu, in the hills of Coorg, now in Karnataka, rich in flora and water bodies and nestled in the salubrious environs of the Western Ghats knows for its rich biodiversity. It was here, at Thalai Cauvery, that the 69th pontiff of the mutt at Kanchi, Shankaracharya Sri Jayendra Saraswati, took silent refuge when he 'disappeared' for three days from Kanchipuram to spend time in self-reflection. One of the stories related to the origin of this river is that it is named after Lopamudra or Kaveri, who was sent by the gods to relieve the woes of a region parched for water. Another story is that she is the wife of Sage Agastya, who carried her in a container as water, and let her flow in the southern region to bring abundance.