Thamirabarani River 1

Thamirabarani RiverCoordinates: 8.641316°N 78.127298°E [1]

ThamirabaraniRiver

Thamirabarani River flowing across Tirunelveli

Country India

State Tamil Nadu

Districts Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi

Tributaries

 - left Karaiyar, Servalar, Gadananathi, Chittar River

 - right Manimutharu, Pachaiyar

Cities Tirunelveli, Ambasamudram

Source Pothigai hills

 - coordinates 8.601962°N 77.264131°E [2]

Mouth

 - location Gulf of Mannar

 - coordinates 8.641316°N 78.127298°E [1]

Length 125 km (78 mi)

Discharge for Sri Vai Kuntum

 - average 32 m3/s (1,130 cu ft/s)

The Thamirabarani River (also spelt Tamaraparani, Tamiraparani, or Thamiravaruni) originates from thefamous Agastyarkoodam peak in the hills of the Western Ghats above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram taluk andflows through Tirunelveli & Tuticorin districts of the Tamil Nadu state of southern India. It was called theTamraparni River in olden days, a name also associated with Sri Lanka. The old Tamil name of the river is Porunai.From the source to sea, the total length of the river is about 125 km.

Thamirabarani River 2

EtymologyThe Thamirabarani river contains traces of copper, hence its name (Thamiram means copper in Tamil). The coppercontent gives it a distinct reddish shade[citation needed]. The river has also been historically known as Porunai.Thamaraparani in Tamil is Than Marantha Para Nir means the river which spreads forgetting itself.The meaning and origin of the name Tamiraparani is reasoned out differently. Bishop R. Caldwell, in his book AHistory of Tinnevelly, discussed the interpretations of the word ‘Tamiraparani’ at length. According to him themeaning of the name in itself is sufficiently clear, but its application in this connection is far from self-evident.Tamara means red, parani means parana: a tree that has leaves. Tamiraparani might, therefore, mean a tree with redleaves. But this is a strange derivation for the name of a river. Ideas naturally suggest that some events or legendscapable of explaining the name lies beyond. He further discussed the similarity of the name Tamiraparani and of theold name of the Sri Lanka — which was called in olden days as Tambrabane — and tried to find out the political,cultural and anthropological intercourse of the land of the river with that island. He concludes that it seems morenatural that Tamiraparani, the tree with the red leaves should have been first the name of a tree, then of a town, thenof a district and then of a river (it being not uncommon in India for villages to adopt their names from remarkabletrees).Some scholars interpret the name Tamiraparani as Tamiram (copper) and Varuni (stream or river). They ascribe thisorigin as the bed of the river is of red soil; when the water flows on the red soil it gives a copper-like appearance.The Ancient Greeks of the time of Ptolemy refer to the river as Solen.

HistorySpelt as Tampraparani, Tamraparni, Tamiravaruni, etc., the river is mentioned as the Porunai nathi in Tamil poeticliterature. It gets recognition and is referred to as the renowned one in Sanskrit literature references to which are asold as that of the Puranas and Epics. The river is mentioned in existing ancient Sangam and Tamil texts. There is anancient script written as Thamirabarani mahathmiyam.In Mahabharatha (3:88) the river is mentioned as "Listen, O son of Kunti, I shall now describe Tamraparni. In thatasylum the gods had undergone penances impelled by the desire of obtaining salvation".

Thamirabarani River 3

Hydrology

Vaanatheertham waterfalls

Origin

The Tamiraparani River originates from the peak of the Pothigai hillson the eastern slopes of Western Ghats at an elevation of 1,725 metresabove sea-level. The river is joined by its headwater tributaries Peyar,Ullar, Pambar before it flows into the Kariyar Dam reservoir, where itmeets Kariyar. The river forms the Vaanatheertham waterfalls (40mhigh) as it enters the Kariyar reservoir. Servalar joins Thamirabaranibefore it enters into the Papanasam lower reservoir, which was built forthe Papanasam Hydroelectric station. The river descends down themountains near Papanasam, where it forms the Kalyanatheertham fallsand Agasthiar falls.

Course and tributaries

The river flows on the plains eastwards from Papanasam. The firsttributary to join Thamiraparani in the plains is the Manimuthar River,which originating from Manjolai hills and joins Thamiraparani nearAladiyoor village. The towns Ambasamudram and Kallidaikurichi are located respectively on the left and rightbanks of Thamiraparani, after which the river meets the tributary Gadananathi at Tiruppudaimaruthur. Before theGadananathi's entry into the Tamiraparani, the Gadananadhi is joined by the rivers Kallar, Karunaiyar andVeeranathi or Varahanathi which joins the river Gadananathi about 1.5 km north-east of Kila Ambur. TheGadananathi is fed by the Jambunadhi and Ramanadhi Rivers. The Pachaiyar river which originates from theKalakkadu reserve forests at about 1,300 m above sea level joins the Tamiraparani near Tharuvai village inPalayamkottai Taluk. The river bisects the twin cities Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai before meeting its major andaffluent tributary Chithar (Chitranathi) which arises in the Kutralam hills and receives supply from the riversGundar, Hanumanathi and Karuppanathi. The Chittar river runs almost parallel to Thamirabarani till it joins the mainriver near Sivalaperi. Thamiraparani passes through the taluks of Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai of Tirunelvelidistrict and Srivaikundam and Tiruchendur taluks of Thoothukkudi district.

List of Major tributaries of Thamirabarani

Tributaries Length of Tributary Origin Joins at Length of course of Thamirabarani

Karaiyar Mundanthurai reserve forests Karaiyar Dam 6 km

Servalar River Mundanthurai reserve forests Papanasam Reservoir 22 km

Manimuthar River 9 km Manjolai hills Aladiyoor 36 km

Gadananathi Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve Tiruppudaimaruthur 43 km

Pachaiyar River 32 km Kalakkadu reserve forests Tharuvai 61 km

Chittar River 80 km Kutralam Hills Sivalaperi 73 km

Thamirabarani River 4

Drain

Map showing the river

The river grains into Gulf of Mannar near Punnaikayal in Tiruchendurtaluk of Tuticorin district. The river drains with its tributaries an areaof about 4400 km2. As most of its extensive catchments areas lay in theWestern ghats, the river enjoys the full benefit of both the monsoonswhich make the river perennial. Since all its tributaries are arising fromthe Western ghats, the river is prone to heavy floods especially duringthe northeast monsoon. In the year 1992, there was an unexpectedflood in Thamirabarani, which claimed hundreds of lives.

Prior to the bifurcation of the Tirunelveli district, the Tamiraparani wasthe only major river in Tamil Nadu which had its source and drain inthe same district. After bifurcation, the river traverses the two districtsof Tirunelveli and Tuticorin.

Irrigation

River Thamirabarani from Authoor bridge

The many anicuts, dams and reservoirs on the Thamirabarani river,along with those on the Manimuthar River, provide a large proportionof the water for irrigation and power generation for TirunelveliDistrict. It is fed by both the monsoons – the south west and thenorth-eastern and is seen in full spate twice a year if the monsoons donot fail. The Gadananadhi has 6 anicuts and a reservoir of 9,970,000m³, and irrigates 38.87 km² of wetlands. The Ramanadhi has 7 anicuts,a reservoir of 4,300,000 m³, and irrigates 20.23 km² of wetlands.Pachaiyar River has 12 anicuts and irrigates 61.51 km² of wet and drylands.

The important irrigation channels branching off from both the banks of the river Tamiraparani are, SouthKodaimelalagian channel, North Kodaimelalagian channel (Kodaimelalagian anaicut), Nathiyunni channel(Nathiyunni anaicut), Kannadian channel (Kannadian anaicut), Kodagan channel (Ariyanayagipuram anaicut),Palayam (Palavur anaicut) channel, Tirunelveli channel (Suthamalli anaicut), Marudur Melakkal, Marudur Keelakkal(Marudur anaicut), South Main Channel and North Main Channel (Srivaikundam anaicut). Of these the first sevenanaicuts were constructed during the period of ancient and medieval rulers and the last anaicut namely theSrivaikundam anaicut was constructed and completed by the British in 1869.List of dams across Thamirabarani river:

1.1. Kodaimelaalagain anaicut 1281.67Hectares2.2. Nathiyunni anaicut 1049.37 Hectares3.3. Kannadian anaicut 2266.69 Hectares4.4. Ariyanayagipuram anaicut 4767.30Hectares5.5. Palavur anaicut 3557.26Hectares6.6. Suthamalli anaicut 2559.69Hectares7.7. Marudur anaicut 7175.64HectaresList of channels:

1.1. South Kodaimelalagain channel2.2. North Kodaimelalagain channel3.3. Nathiyunni channel

Thamirabarani River 5

4.4. Kannadian channel5.5. Kodagan channel6.6. Palayam channel7.7. Tirunelveli channel8.8. Marudur Melakkal9.9. Marudur Keelakal

References[1] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ geohack/ geohack. php?pagename=Thamirabarani_River& params=8. 641316_N_78.

127298_E_type:river_region:IN-TN[2] http:/ / tools. wmflabs. org/ geohack/ geohack. php?pagename=Thamirabarani_River& params=8. 601962_N_77.

264131_E_type:river_region:IN-TN

Article Sources and Contributors 6

Article Sources and ContributorsThamirabarani River  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=585571989  Contributors: Anbu121, Aymatth2, BAALAA, Bobblewik, Bogdan Nagachop, CarTick, Chandan Guha,Chanvis18, Colonies Chris, Danh, Darwinek, Delivi, Dr. Blofeld, Ezhilnarasu, Fconaway, Fundamental metric tensor, Grafen, Hasiru, Jihg, JustAGal, Kanags, Karthik.Pandia,Karthikeyan.pandian, Khazar2, Klemen Kocjancic, Krishps, Lifebonzza, Lisamh, Luna Santin, Malarmisai, Marcus334, Martinevans123, Mattisse, Naniwako, Nmadhubala, RajeshUnuppally,Roland zh, Rsrikanth05, Saravan p, Saved theirs, Sharmi amala, ShivNarayanan, Sivanesh, Sixsigma69, Ssriram mt, Stepheng3, Sundar, Thiseye, Udooz, Vikram2009, Wiki5d, Woohookitty,Young Pioneer, Zip600001, 45 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Thamirabarani River தாமிரபரணி பொருணை ஆறு.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Thamirabarani_River_தாமிரபரணி_பொருணை_ஆறு.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: User:Karthikeyan.pandianFile:Vanatheertham falls on Thamraparni River.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Vanatheertham_falls_on_Thamraparni_River.jpg  License: Creative CommonsAttribution 3.0  Contributors: Bastintonyroy at en.wikipediaFile:Tamil Nadu topo deutsch mit Gebirgen.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Tamil_Nadu_topo_deutsch_mit_Gebirgen.png  License: Creative CommonsAttribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: JungpionierFile:Thamirabarani.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Thamirabarani.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors: Pandiaeee

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