The river Arasalar is a river that flows through

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

and Pudducherry, and a tributary of

Kaveri river The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu d ...

which splits into 5 different rivers when it enters into

Thanjavur district Thanjavur District is one of the 38 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur. The district is located in the delta of the Cauvery River and is mostly agrarian. As of 2011, Thanjavur district ...

from

Trichy Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

. It separates from river Kaveri in the place near

Pullambadi Pullambadi is a Panchayat town in Tiruchirappalli district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Pullambadi town panchayat heads the revenue block of Pullambadi in the taluk of Lalgudi. History The village of Pullambadi was upgraded into town pa ...

where the Kaveri is stopped by

Lower Anaicut The Lower Anaicut or Anaikkarai is a dam and bridge built on the Kollidam (the northern tributary of Kaveri River) in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was built in 1902 by the colonial administration of the Madras Presidency for irrigatin ...

and from

Thiruvaiyaru Thiruvaiyaru (also spelled as Tiruvaiyaru or Tiruvayyaru) is a panchayat town in Thanjavur District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Etymology Thiruvaiyaru means ''Five Rivers around the city''. The Five Rivers are Vadavaar, Vennaar, Vet ...

. The river is one of the seven rivers that run in the

Karaikal Karaikal ( /kʌdɛkʌl/, french: Karikal /kaʁikal/) is a town of the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry. Karaikal was sold to the French by the Rajah of Thanjavur and became a French Colony in 1739. The French held control, with occa ...

region of Puducherry.

River pollution

Findings of

Central Pollution Control Board The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India is a statutory organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Mo.E.F.C.C.). It was established in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of pollution) Act, ...

had revealed that the river is polluted by high concentrations of nitrate and chromium due to mixing of sewage water into the river stream and industrial activities in 2013. The river has the highest arsenic concentration among all rivers in India (13.33 µg/L at Porakudi).

River course

The river takes is course from Thiruvaiyaru of

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the ...

where it branches from Kaveri, travels through

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headquarters of the ...

. It runs a distance of 11.2 km before emptying itself into the sea of

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line bet ...

at Karaikal, east of Akalanganni. The river forms the natural boundary line separating

Neravy Neravy, or Neravi, is a town and commune in the Karaikal District of Puducherry, India. The village lies 145 km south of Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pond ...

from

Thirunallar Thirunallar is a small town in Karaikal, India, in the Union Territory of Puducherry, and can be reached by road from the town of Karaikal, an enclave which lies within the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. Thirunallar contains the shrine of ...

on the north-west and Karaikal on the north-east. The river also feeds other smaller rivers such as ''Nattar'', ''Vanjiar'' and ''Nular''. Karaikal once served as a

river port An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port. Examples The United States Army Corps of Engineers ...

till 19th century where the yachts and ''Marakkalam'' ships of Karaikal Marakkayar harboured in and, loaded and unloaded the goods towards exports and imports. The dockyard by name "HMTS Pandagasalai" that is situated 2 km from the Sea Shore stands as an evidence for the same to proclaim that Karaikal was once a traditional River Port through the River Arasalar. From this River port

got connected with Siam ( Now 'Thailand'), south east and far-east Asian countries, Middle East and African Countries in its tradeline. The historical Novel by name "Ponniyin Selvan" that describes the life of Rajaraja Chola, written and scripted by the Tamil writer Shri. Amarar Kalki speaks a lot about Arasalar.

References

{{Reflist Rivers of Puducherry Rivers of Tamil Nadu Rivers of India