perennial river A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

Papanasam Papanasam is a Panchayati raj in India, panchayat town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Kumbakonam. The name literally translates to "Destruction of Sins" in the Tamil language. It ...

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port city, port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the di ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

Gulf of Mannar The Gulf of Mannar ( ) (; ) is a large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean with an average depth of .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 long and is the only

perennial river A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. This river flows towards north direction initially. However, it changes to east direction later.

Etymology

From the Tamilakam era, the area of the Tamraparni river, in

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

, Tamil Nadu, has had changes in its name, from the original ''Tan Porunai'' river to ''Tamira Porunai'', from ''Tamraparni'' to ''Tambraparni'' and now called "Thamirabarani River". A meaning for the term following its derivation became "copper-colored leaf", from the words ''Thamiram'' (

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

/red) in Tamil/Sanskrit and ''parani'' meaning leaf/tree, translating to "river of red leaves". According to the ''Tamraparni Mahatmyam'', an ancient account of the river from its rise to its mouth, a string of red lotus flowers from sage

Agastya Agastya was a revered Indian sage of Hinduism. In the Indian tradition, he is a noted recluse and an influential scholar in diverse languages of the Indian subcontinent. He is regarded in some traditions to be a Chiranjivi. He and his wife ...

at Pothigai hills transformed itself into a damsel at the sight of Lord Siva, forming the river and giving it its divine name. Other name derivations include the Pali term "Tambapanni", "Tamradvipa" of Sanskrit speakers and "Taprobana" of ancient Greek cartographers. Robert Knox reported from his 20 years of captivity on the island in the hills that "Tombrane is a name of the

Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province a ...

for God in Tamil, which they often repeated as they lifted up their hands and faces towards Heaven".

History

Its many name derivations of Tan Porunai include Tampraparani, Tamirabarni, Tamiravaruni. Tan Porunai nathi finds mention by classical Tamil poets in ancient Sangam

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

literature ''

Purananuru The ''Purananuru'' (, literally "four hundred oemsin the genre puram"), sometimes called ''Puram'' or ''Purappattu'', is a classical Tamil literature, Tamil poetic work and traditionally the last of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') i ...

''. Recognised as a

holy river Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cleri ...

in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

literature ''

Puranas Puranas (Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature
(1995 Editio ...

'', ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

'' and ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

'', the river was famed in the Early Pandyan Kingdom for its pearl and conch fisheries and trade. The movement of people, including the faithful, trade merchants and toddy tapers from Tamraparni river to northwestern Sri Lanka led to the shared appellation of the name for the closely connected region. One important historical document on the river is the treatise ''Tamraparni Mahatmyam''. It has many ancient temples along its banks. A hamlet known as Appankoil is located on the northern side of the river. In the

Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succe ...

(3:88) the river is mentioned as "Listen, O son of Kunti, I shall now describe Tamraparni. In that asylum the gods had undergone penances impelled by the desire of obtaining salvation". A Miami-based Beta Analytic Testing Laboratory published a report in 2021 which claimed that the Tamirabharani civilization along the banks of the river dates back to 3,200 years.

Hydrology

Vanatheertham falls on Thamraparni River

Origin

The Thamirabarani River originates from the peak of the Pothigai hills on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats at an elevation of 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, 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.

Course and tributaries

The river flows on the plains eastwards from

Papanasam Papanasam is a Panchayati raj in India, panchayat town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Kumbakonam. The name literally translates to "Destruction of Sins" in the Tamil language. It ...

. The first tributary to join Thamirabarani in the plains is the Manimuthar River, which originating from Manjolai hills and joins Thamirabarani near Aladiyoor village. The towns Ambasamudram and

Kallidaikurichi Kallidaikurichi () or Kalladaikurichi is a town on the right bank of the Thamiraparani river in Ambasamudram Taluk of Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu, a southern state of India. Etymology 'Kal + idai + kurichi' meaning exactly in Tamil, ...

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 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 above sea level joins the Thamirabarani near Tharuvai village in Palayamkottai Taluk. The river bisects the twin cities

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

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 kadayanallur) .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. ;List of major tributaries

Drain

The river drains into

Gulf of Mannar The Gulf of Mannar ( ) (; ) is a large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean with an average depth of .Tuticorin Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the district. ...

district. The river drains with its tributaries an area of about . As most of its extensive catchment areas lie in the Western Ghats, the river enjoys the full benefit of both the monsoons, which make the river perennial. Since all its tributaries are arising from the Western ghats, the river is prone to heavy floods especially during the northeast monsoon. In 1992, there was an unexpected flood in Thamirabarani, which claimed hundreds of lives as the dam water was let out so massively and suddenly that the river and its channels could not bear the excess water inflow. It flooded again in 2015 with water entering the Kurukuthurai Murugan Temple, In December 18,19 2023 due to Massive rain fall in River Catchment area this river flooded again it discharged Maximum n 4.5 lakh Cubic feet water on Bay of Bengal . flood occurs the City of Tirunelveli, Palayamkottai in Tirunelveli district and Eral, Athur of Thoothukudi district Worsley affected during this Flood.

Irrigation

The many anicuts,

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

s and

reservoirs A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of water, interrup ...

on the Thamirabarani river, along with those on the Manimuthar River, provide a large proportion of the water for irrigation and power generation for Tirunelveli district. It 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. The Gadananathi River has 6 anicuts and a reservoir of , and irrigates of wetlands. The Ramanadhi has 7 anicuts, a reservoir of , and irrigates of wetlands. Pachaiyar River has 12 anicuts and irrigates of wet and dry lands. The important irrigation channels branching off from both the banks of the river Thamirabarani are, South Kodaimelalagian channel, North Kodaimelalagian channel (Kodaimelalagian anicut), Nathiyunni channel (Nathiyunni anicut), Kannadian channel (Kannadian anicut), Kodagan channel (Ariyanayagipuram anicut), Palayam (Palavur anicut) channel, Tirunelveli channel ( Suthamalli anicut), Marudur Melakkal, Marudur Keelakkal (Marudur anicut), South Main Channel and North Main Channel (Srivaikundam anicut). Of these the first seven anicuts were constructed during the period of ancient and medieval rulers and the last anicut namely the Srivaikundam anaicut was constructed and completed by the British in 1869. List of dams across Thamirabarani river: # Kodaimelaalagain anicut, # Nathiyunni anicut, # Kannadian anicut, # Ariyanayagipuram anicut, # Palavur anicut, # Suthamalli anicut, # Marudur anicut, List of channels: # South Kodaimelalagain channel # North Kodaimelalagain channel # Nathiyunni channel # Kannadian channel # Kodagan channel # Palayam channel # Tirunelveli channel # Marudur Melakkal

Pollution and exploitation

*Mixing of sewage, paper mill and industrial effluents, dumping etc. into the river is a worrying aspect. *Sand mining in this river was banned in 2010 but it still continues illegally. *Illegal encroachments of its banks is also a growing concern. *Pepsi and other Cola companies bottling facility plants were thought to be exploiting the river water, however a court ruling in April 2018 dismissed the allegations and allowed the companies to extract excess water as per the original agreements they have signed. *Many industries have come in the banks of the river in and around Srivaikuntam that injudicially use the river water and discharge untreated sewer. *Untreated sewer of towns like Ambasamudram,

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...

,

Papanasam Papanasam is a Panchayati raj in India, panchayat town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Kumbakonam. The name literally translates to "Destruction of Sins" in the Tamil language. It ...

etc. also reduce the water quality downstream.

Fishes

Thamirabarani River is full of fishes and it is one of the

perennial river A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

s in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. Locals not involved in fishing resulting in the vast diversity of fishes in the river. As water flows non-stop throughout the year, it is one of the most fish-rich river in the world where the river is dominated by more than 16 native Snakehead species. It is estimated that nearly 669 fish species found in the river.

Snakehead

Various types of snakehead fish species like Channa diplogramma, Channa bleheri, Channa striata, Channa maculata, Channa punctata, Channa harcourtbutleri, Channa asiatica, Channa marulius found throughout the river. Snakeheads are considered as top level predators in Thamirabarani River. Northern Snakehead also found in small numbers on the starting part of river where top level predators like other snakeheads are missing. Thamirabarani River is the largest reservoir of Snakehead in the world with 17 types of Snakeheads present in this river. Snakehead fishes are locally called as ''Viraal'' in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

and all the species are consumed as food around the regions of Thamirabarani when they enter paddy fields.

Catfish

Following Snakehead, Catfish are also abundant in the river. African Catfish are an invasive species first caught in 2009 in the Aruvankulam area of Tirunelveli district. The most common catfish species found are Blue Catfish,

Channel Catfish The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus''), known informally as the "channel cat", is a species of catfish native to North America. They are North America's most abundant catfish species, and the official state fish of Kansas, Missouri, Nebra ...

,

Flathead Catfish The flathead catfish (''Pylodictis olivaris''), also called by several common names including mudcat or shovelhead cat, is a large species of North American freshwater catfish in the family Ictaluridae. It is the only species of the genus ''Py ...

, Mystus guli Catfish, Pangas Catfish, '' P. hodgarti,'' Goonch catfish, '' Pseudolaguvia''. 13 species of Catfish species found throughout this river.

Alligator Gar

Alligator Gar is not native to the river but caught sometimes. this was the result of releasing aquarium fish into the wild. on 2015, over 100 Juvenile alligator gar fishes caught and handed over to local authority. Because of the presence of huge number of native Snakehead fishes, the Alligator Gar invasion is not spreading and under control.

Eels

Eels found in this river mainly belongs to

Anguillidae The Anguillidae are a family of ray-finned fish that contains the freshwater eels. All the extant species and six subspecies in this family are in the genus ''Anguilla'', and are elongated fish of snake-like bodies, with long dorsal, caudal and a ...

and

Synbranchiformes Synbranchiformes, often called swamp eels, though that name can also refer specifically to Synbranchidae, is an order of ray-finned fishes that are eel-like but have spiny rays, indicating that they belong to the superorder Acanthopterygii. ...

family and most common one is Indian mottled eel (Anguilla b. bengalensis). 90 species of eel found in this river. the fish '' Macrognathus'' found in this river is mistakenly thought as eel because of its eel-like structure.

Carp

Carp fishes found in large numbers throughout the river. Three type of carp fishes are silver carp,

grass carp The grass carp (''Ctenopharyngodon idella'') is a species of large herbivorous freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae, native to the Pacific Far East, with a native range stretching from northern Vietnam to the Amur River on the Sino-Russian ...

,

common carp The common carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), also known as European carp, Eurasian carp, or simply carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Ark ...

. These three species of carp form 75% of carp fish population in Thamirabarani River.

Loaches

Large number of species of sucker fishes found throughout the river. the most common one is Acanthocobitis botia ''and'' Horseface loach''.'' Pangio loach,

Schistura ''Schistura'' is a genus of fish in the stone loach family Nemacheilidae native to the streams and rivers of the southern and eastern Asia. Some of these species are troglobitic. Species There are currently over 200 recognized species in this g ...

loach also common in this river and

Schistura ''Schistura'' is a genus of fish in the stone loach family Nemacheilidae native to the streams and rivers of the southern and eastern Asia. Some of these species are troglobitic. Species There are currently over 200 recognized species in this g ...

is mistakenly treated as snake or eel because of its snake-like appearance.

Others

Other fishes belong to genus '' Puntius'', ''

Devario ''Devario'' is a genus of fish in the family (biology), family Danionidae, a family which also contains several other genera of popular freshwater aquarium fish such as ''Rasbora'' and ''Danio''. ''Devario'' are native to the rivers and streams ...

'', '' Etroplus, Mystus, Aplocheilus, Dawkinsia,

Garra ''Garra'' is a genus of fish in the family (biology), family Cyprinidae. These fish are one example of the "log suckers", Suckermouth, sucker-mouthed Barb (fish), barbs and other cyprinids commonly kept in Aquarium, aquaria to keep down algae. T ...

, Glossogobius, Macrognathus, Batasio, Barilius, Badidae'', ''

Clupisoma ''Clupisoma'' is a genus of catfish in the family Ailiidae native to Asia.Wang, J., Lu, B., Zan, R., Chai, J., Ma, W., Jin, W., Duan, R., Luo, J., Murphy, R.W., Xiao, H. & Chen, Z. (2016): Phylogenetic Relationships of Five Asian Schilbid Genera ...

,

Nemacheilus ''Nemacheilus'' is a genus of stone loaches native to Asia. Species These are the currently recognized species in this genus: * '' Nemacheilus anguilla'' Annandale, 1919 (eel loach) * '' Nemacheilus arenicolus'' Kottelat, 1998 * '' Nemache ...

, Oreichthys,

Oryzias ''Oryzias'' is a genus of ricefishes native to fresh and brackish water in east and south Asia. Some species are widespread and the Japanese rice fish (''O. latipes'') is commonly used in science as a model organism, while others have very small ...

, Osteobrama, Raiamas, Salmophasia, Tor ( Masheer), Xenentodon,'' are commonly found in this river''.''

References

External links

{{Authority control Rivers of Tamil Nadu Geography of Tirunelveli district Thoothukudi district Tirunelveli Rivers in Buddhism