Thamiraparani River...

The Thamirabarani is one of only two perennial rivers in Tamil Nadu, the other being Cauvery. The great river like the Cauvery, but unlike most of the other Indian rivers, is fed by both the monsoons – the south west and the north-eastern and is seen in full spate twice a year if the monsoons do not fail.

Spelt differently as Tampraparani, Tamraparni, Tamiravaruni, etc., the river is mentioned as the Porunai nathi in Tamil poetic literature. It gets recognition and is referred to as the renowned one in Sanskrit literature references which are as old as that of the Puranas and Epics. The river has also been historically known as Podhigai.

It originates more than 2,000 metres above sea-level in Agasti Hill[Periya Pothigai hills], a part of the Aanamalai range on the eastern slopes of Western Ghats above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram taluk of the Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu, near the peaks of Aduppukkal Mottai, Agastya Malai and Cherumunji Mottai. It flows roughly east and enters the Gulf of Mannar of the Bay of Bengal near at Punnaikayal in Tiruchendur taluk of Thoothukkudi district. At 130km it is a relatively short river.

Mythology: The Tirunelveli Sthalapurana associates the origin of the river with sage Agasthiyar. It states that when Agasthiyar was requested by Lord Siva to move to the South, Parvathi Devi, the divine consort of Siva filled the sage’s font meant to hold water for poojas (kamandala) with the water from the Ganges and on his arrival at Pothigai, he released it and the water ran as Tamiraparani.

The Thamirabarani basin is situated between latitudes 8.21' N and 9.13' N and east of longitude 77.10' E. The 40 metre Vanatheertham waterfalls are located close to the origin of the main river. The Papanasam Reservoir is 16km downstream. It is fed both by monsoons and by its tributaries.

The river is mentioned in ancient Sangam and Tamil texts.[1] There is an ancient script written as Thamirabarani mahathmiyam.

It is the major river of Kanyakumari District and is locally known as Kuzhithuraiar. [It has got two major distributaries namely Kodayar and Paralayar. There are many distributaries for Kodayar River of which Chittar I and Chittar II and major ones.] It confluences with Arabian Sea at Erayumanthurai, near Thengapattanam, at a distance of about 56 Km. west of Cape Commorin, the southern most tip of India.

It drains an area equal to 1937 sq.miles. The valley of the river contains some of the richest lands in Tamil Nad. [Collected and edited from various sources in the internet]