Incessant rains bring water to Thiruvallikkeni Kairavini Pushkarini ~ !! 2015

Heavy rains lashed parts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, and neighbouring Puducherry, disrupting flight movement and leaving several areas inundated. It is gloomy for people, as Weather Office is forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall for Tamil Nadu, especially over the northern districts of Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram.

There have been incessant rains ~ Schools remain closed from Deepavali – and resumed last week – after  a few days of relief from rain, monsoon activity resumed over the State with heavy showers on the last day of the month, making this November the second wettest month in a century for battered Chennai.  According to newspaper reports,  Kodavasal in Tiruvarur received the highest volume of 120mm.  The Meteorological department expects a decrease in rainfall from Thursday.

Now, the Hindu reports that Chennai City seems to be heading for a crisis of sorts as the Govt.  has started releasing 20,000 cubic feet per second of water from Chembarambakkam reservoir into Adyar. This is the highest volume of outflow from the reservoir in several years.  Chennai Collector E. Sundaravalli has issued a flood warning and appealed to families living along the Adyar river to move to safer places.  After pounding and battering the city for a month, heavy rains resumed overnight on Monday after a brief break for four days.  Today, it was heavy battering with water logging in many places and vehicles getting struck.Suburban train services on the Chennai Beach-Tambaram sector were crippled. Services on the Chennai Central-Tiruvallur sector were also disrupted. Arterial roads were flooded and traffic was affected.

In Dec 2011, Cyclone Thane made a landfall nearer Cuddalore and in its wake brought rains everywhere.  I had posted about Cyclone Thane bringing water to Kairavini Pushkarini - Sri Parthasarathi Swami Temple tank.  The temple tank has great significance attached with the birth of the greatest Acharyar ‘Shri Bhagawad Ramanujar” – the reincarnation of Adi Seshan. The great scholar Asuri Sarvakruthu Keshava Dikshithar better known as Keshava Somayajiaar performed yagnam at the temple tank of Thiruvallikkeni and Sri Ramanujar was born to him and Kanthimathi.

In most traditional temples, one would find temple tanks in front of the temple.  Bathing in sacred waters of these tanks is believed to cure diseases and get rid of sins.  Temple tanks are wells or reservoirs built as part of the temple complex in Indian temples.  In Hindu way of life, water is considered sacred and pureficatory.  Protection and management of water supplies helped the Society at large.  The underlining the importance of temple tanks is not their sanctity alone, they serve  a very practical purpose - that of maintaining ground water tables and replenishing community water supplies.

The divyadesam of Thiruvallikkeni derives its name from the holy pond known as “kairavini pushkarini’ – the pond of lily flowers.  The holy tank of Lord Sri Parthasarathi – the ‘kairavini pushkarini’ was laid with cement in the mid 1970s.  Cyclone Thane did cause damage to parts of Tamil Nadu but copious water flowed  into the tank and the water level has risen well. 

Comparatively, the water level now due to the present continuous rains have not risen that much. - see the photos taken today at around 04.15 pm

Going by the Sthala puranam, the temple tank had no fish – they were released much later – and here is some spotted during rains ….. !!

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

1^st Dec 2015.