TheVaigaiis a river in theTamil Nadustate of southern India; it passes through the towns ofTheni,Madurai,Manamadurai,ParamakudiandRamanathapuram.[2]It originates inVarusanaduHills, the Periyar Plateau of theWestern Ghatsrange, and flows northeast through theKambam Valley,which lies between thePalani Hillsto the north and the Varushanad Hills to the south. TheVattaparai Fallsare located on this river. As it rounds the eastern corner of the Varushanad Hills, the river turns southeast, running through the region ofPandya Nadu.Madurai, the largest city in the Pandya Nadu region and its ancient capital, lies on the Vaigai. The river empties into thePalk BaynearAlagankulam,close toPamban BridgeinRamanathapuramDistrict.
| Vaigai River | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Map of Vaigai river | |
| Etymology | … |
| Location | |
| Country | India |
| . | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | VarusanaduHills |
| • location | Tamil Nadu,India |
| Mouth | |
• location | Palk Bay,India |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 258 km (160 mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 36 m3/s (1,300 cu ft/s) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Peranai[1] |
| • average | 28.8 m3/s (1,020 cu ft/s) |
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The Vaigai is 258 kilometres (160 mi) long, with adrainage basin7,031 square kilometres (2,715 sq mi) large.[3]This river flows through 5 districts namely Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Sivagangai and Ramanathapuram and this river Serves as a Lifeline for 6 districts namelyTheni,Dindigul,Madurai,Sivagangai,VirudhunagarandRamanathapuramas farmers of all these districts are greatly depends on this river water.
Vaigai in literature
editSangam literature(circa 300 BCE to 300 CE[4][5][6]) has paid many tributes to Vaigai, extolling it as 'the river that brings water when one touches it', viz the etymology Vai (Earth) + yai (sky) = Vaiyai.[7][8]
The following story is told about the birth of the river Vaigai.Koodal Puranadetails the origin of Vaigai river flowing throughMadurai.It is believed thatVishnustood up asTrivikrama,with one of his feet rising to the skies and the foot reached Brahmaloka, the abode ofBrahma.Brahma was pleased to perform ablution to the raised foot and the water is believed to have emerged as a rivulet called Krithimala. As the river came from the sky and fell into Earth it is calledVaiwhich meansVaiyam(Earth) andYaimeans coming down hence, the nameVaiyaiand later changed intovaigai.It is mentioned asVaiyaiinParipataland not Vaigai.[9]A large number of banana trees sprang up in the place and it came to be known as Kadhalivana, a forest of banana trees.[7][8]
It also is mentioned as the Sanskrit nameKrithamalby aPandyaking in the following story. Satyavrata, a ruler of Madurai was a staunch devotee of Vishnu. It is believed that once Vishnu came out of the riverKrithimalaas a fish (Matsyaavatar, one of theavatarsof Vishnu) to teachVedasto the ruler. From then on, the Pandyas started using fish as the symbol of the kingdom.[7][8]
Tributaries
editThe main tributaries of the Vaigai are Siruliar, Theniar, Varaha Nadi, and Mangalar.[10]Vaigai Damis the major dam in this river which is present inTheni district.[11]
Vaigai gets major feed from thePeriyar Damin Kumili,Kerala.Water from the Periyar River in Kerala is diverted into the Vaigai River inTamil Naduvia a tunnel through theWestern Ghats.In summers, the Vaigai river ends up dry very often. The water scarcely reachesMadurai.[12]
Dams
edit
The Vaigai Dam is built across the river inPeriyakulam taluk,in the Theni district of Tamil Nadu. It provides water for irrigation for theTheni District,Dindigul District,Madurai district,Sivagangai District,Ramanathapuram Districtand indirectly servesVirudhunagar Districtthrough Irrigation canals from Sivagangai District. It also provides drinking water to Madurai and Andipatti.[13]Near the dam, the Government of Tamil Nadu has constructed an Agricultural Research Station for researching the growing of a variety of crops, including rice,sorghum,blackgram,cowpeaand cotton.[14]
TheMullaperiyar Damwas built in 1895 by John Pennycuick, who implemented a plan proposed over a century earlier byPradani Muthirulappa Pillaiof Ramnad. The dam was built by the British Army Engineering corps for theTravancore kingdom.The first dam was washed away by floods, and a second masonry dam was constructed in 1895.[15]
References
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- ^"Gauging Station – Data Summary".ORNL.Retrieved1 October2013.
- ^Madurai, Temple Town of South India. Cultural capital of Tamilnadu
- ^Garg, Santosh Kumar (1999).International and interstate river water disputes.Laxmi Publications. p. 10.ISBN978-81-7008-068-8.Retrieved16 May2011.
- ^Upinder Singh (2008).A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century.Pearson Education India. pp.27–28.ISBN978-81-317-1120-0.
- ^Nadarajah, Devapoopathy (1994).Love in Sanskrit and Tamil Literature: A Study of Characters and Nature, 200 B.C.-A.D. 500.Motilal Banarsidass Publ.ISBN978-81-208-1215-4.
- ^University, Vijaya Ramaswamy, Jawaharlal Nehru (25 August 2017).Historical Dictionary of the Tamils.Rowman & Littlefield.ISBN978-1-5381-0686-0.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^abcM., Rajagopalan (1993).15 Vaishnava Temples of Tamil Nadu.Chennai, India: Govindaswamy Printers. pp.119–128.
- ^abcS., Sundararajan (6 September 2004)."Symbol of togetherness".The Hindu.Archived fromthe originalon 27 November 2004.Retrieved29 October2015.
- ^V.N. Muthukumar; Elizabeth Rani Segran (2012).The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal.Penguin Books. pp.3–11.ISBN978-81-8475-694-4.
- ^"Vaigai River | Map, India, & Tributaries | Britannica".www.britannica.com.18 August 2023.Retrieved10 September2023.
- ^"Vaigai takes the edge off water woes in Madurai".The New Indian Express.18 April 2022.Retrieved3 October2024.
- ^Sivarajah, Padmini (11 December 2020)."How Madurai's thirst quencher turned dry".The Times of India.ISSN0971-8257.Retrieved3 October2024.
- ^"Water released from Vaigai dam for irrigation".The Hindu.Archived from the original on 25 November 2020.Retrieved9 August2007.
- ^"Welcome to Agricultural Research Station, Vaigai Dam".Tamil Nadu Government.Retrieved9 August2007.
- ^Kandaswamy, Deepa (28 August 2016)."John Pennycuick: The man who built the Mullaiperiyar dam".Mint.Retrieved6 October2024.
Further reading
edit- Tectono-climatic and depositional environmental controls on the Neolithic habitation sites, Vaigai River Basin, Southern India. Geological journal. 8 January 2024.https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.4919