Agasthya & Cauvery .. !! ~ நடந்தாய் வாழி காவேரி

At Thiruvallikkeni, as is in many divyadesangal,  - day 7 of Annual Brahmothsavam  is Thiruther – the grand chariot – the bigger one for Sri Parthasarathi and Sri Thelliya Singar. Ever observed the Temple Car [thiruther] in close and in detail !  - it is big, it is massive, it is ornate with hundreds of beautiful architecture carved in the tree !!  One such ther bommai – the word would never convey the original grandeur of the architecture !! – seen at the house of Sri MA Narasimhan is the subject matter of this post.

There were many depictions of Gods, avatar of Sriman Narayana and the like – this was slightly different – a bearded sage in penance sitting on small boulders, holding a kamandal, aquatic settings, fishes swimming towards and two more people !!  ~ by my own version appears to be depiction of Agastya and origin of holy Cauvery river.  

The Cauvery (Kaveri) River rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri Hills of the Western Ghats, in Kodagu (Coorg) district, Karnataka, at about 1,341 m above sea level, flows roughly 800 km southeast through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu before emptying into the Bay of Bengal near Poompuhar.Cauvery flows southeast through Karnataka for about 320 km, then runs along the Karnataka–Tamil Nadu border for ~64 km, and continues through Tamil Nadu for roughly 416 km before reaching the sea. 

In Tamil Nadu it descends the Eastern Ghats in a series of notable falls and then spreads into a wide, fertile delta often called the “Garden of Southern India.” Major reservoirs and dams along its course include Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) in Karnataka and the Mettur Dam (Stanley Reservoir) in Tamil Nadu, both crucial for irrigation and power. 

Its key tributaries include : Harangi, Hemavati, Shimsha, Arkavati; Kabini, Bhavani, Noyyal, Amaravati. These tributaries drain much of southern Karnataka and western Tamil Nadu and feed the Cauvery basin, which spans about 81,155 km² across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry. 

The Cauvery is   called “Dakshina Ganga” (Ganga of the South) and “Ponni” in Tamil, reflecting its sacred status and its association with gold‑like fertility in the delta.

 

Mythological it is – sage Agastya medidated, crow tipped his pitcher and the sacred river flowed .. .  this art work has bearded sage, kamandalam, fishes and water suggesting a riverine setting.   

It was year 1972 – a great film about the sage Agastyar (Agathiyar), son of Pulasthya, son of Brahma.  According to mythology, the river Cauvery flowed from the kamandalam of Sage Agathiya.  The title song of the film ‘Agathiyar’ was ‘Nadanthai Vaazhi Kaveri’ – glorifying the river Cauvery as one who makes all the land fertile and pervading goodness in all her path……  a beautiful song sung by ‘Seerkazhi Govindarajan’ the famous singer who was also the hero in the film.  The background music was by Kunnakudi Vaidhyanathan.

 

நடந்தாய் வாழி காவேரி,  நடந்தாய் வாழி காவேரி ;

நாடெங்குமே செழிக்க நன்மையெல்லாம் சிறக்க.. .. 

 

Interesting ! 

Regards – S Sampathkumar

30.9.2026

PS: Acknowledgement and thanks to Mr MA Narasimhan who kindly showed this brilliant piece of sculpture;  allowed it to be photographed and written about. d.