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TALAKAVERI & ITS GLORY
INTRODUCTION
History of the sources of
objects, whether animate or inanimate fascinates the young and old
alike. It furnishes an abundant fund of odd and unheard of
information, useful for a wide variety of the disciplines of human
knowledge, besides exhilarating with its uncommon features.
Normally, obscurity lays its thick impregnable cover over them, and
by penetrating deep scholars bring out gems that afford a delightful
study and enlighten the readers, besides entertaining. The myriad
charms they flash, when the curtain is lifted both literates and
illiterates alike, as a matter a fact exhilarate. The sources of
rivers have many exciting and fantastic legends. They, every class
of reader by sending thrill and chills too from start to finish.
Invariably! Each river has a special background and is associated
with some divinity or the other. Even sages and saints are not
disassociated, nor are the godmen eliminated from their ken. The
examples of the Ganga and Yamuna, originating in the lap of the
highest Himalayas, going by the musical names Gangotri and
Yamunotri, or Godavari at Triyambak, or Bhima at Bhimasankar etc.
answer the point in question and serve the purpose well with their
long and enchanting stories. The read like romances, but they are
received with mixed feelings; for, the pure religionist offer mental
prayers on listening, and decide to avail the earliest opportunity
to reach to offering obeisance and cleansing the gross and dross
settling on their bodies, whereas the rationalist chuckling audibly
close the book uttering "Damn it". Well, tastes differ, and
attitudes have their ends. As the Indian tradition considers the
rivers as Goddesses, their beginning gains some more colour, and
flashes extra light. And at each of the source there are sacred
shrines dedicated to some deity or the other, other than the river
Goddess. Hence pilgrimage is undertaken with a zeal unique and
devotion emulating.
UNIQUENESS
The source of Cauvery, one of the most
famous of the South Indian rivers has an appropriate, auspicious
name called Talakaveri and its association with sages and gods is
also equally captivating, as that of its counterparts in North
India. It has on its bank, at the source many temples for worship.
Besides, it has some more uniques that made it all the more sacred
for an indispensable visit by the devotees in particular, and
sightseers in general. The river Cauvery, to begin with is the life
breath of the farmers of Karnataka and TamilNadu; the inexhaustible
gold mine of the South; the sacred font of the religionist and the
El Dorado of Mercara, to be specific. Its course, though not the
largest, has certain singular features that have made signal
contributions both to natural and spiritual resources of the country
-it is the only river embellished by three famous, holy islands
-Srirangapattana, Sivasamudra and Srirangam on its course, and at
the confluence a great city poompuhar, which brought ineffable fame
to a great nation that sustains them till eternity. The world
renowned shrines built on their banks have immortalised Hinduism to
a degree unparalleled. Many more the river claims, and its merits,
verily out-number many of its sister rivers. Undoubtedly, they are
due to the sacredness of the place of its birth. Its antiquity is
associated the redoubtable sage Agasthya and equally famous Sayana
maharshi, who are chiefly responsible to divinising its source. The
Tula Sankrama festival, an annual festival, the star attraction of
the shrine adds gaiety to piety, when the generality of the theistic
community in their lakhs assemble on its banks for holy bath. It is
here lies the Salam Kallu, the standing testimony of divinity
permeating in this kshetra and Bhimakallu marking the visit by the
Pandava brothers. These are only a few among many.
ANTIQUITY
There are many interesting
episodes connected with the origin, course and confluence of this
holy river, Scriptures embody exciting accounts, and although they
are at variance in certain factors, they sing in unison about its
glory and status with one voice, as it were. Tamil devotional
literature has elaborate anecdotes and it grows eloquence, since
Cauvery was the dear spouse of Sage Agasthya, their patron
saint, instrumental for their life and living in their entirety. The
linking up of Cauvery with Agasthya has different versions.
THE
BIRTH OF CAUVERY
According to one version, she was the
daughter of Rajarshi Kavera, a sage of great spiritual eminence.
While doing penance, Lord Brahma appeared and blessed him with a
daughter. She was called Cauvery, and known for her fecundity and
volubility. She had an ideal and it was two-fold in end. She decided
to get Sayujyamukti for her father by doing penance, propitiating
Lord Maheswar, and also become a river that cleanses the sins of all
those Who bathe in it. When her penance was in progress, Brahma
advised Agasthya to marry Kaveraputri, as she was the most suitable
for him in every aspect. Accordingly, Agasthya met her and
communicated his desire to marry as bid by Brahma. She confessed the
real intention of the two-fold purpose of her penance. Yet Agasthya
persuaded her with a view to honouring the divine injunction. She
agreed, and then turned herself into Lopamudra; though it was a new
name, it was her amsa only. Agasthya married her and confined it to
his Kamandal.
After
sometime, the sages living in the Vindhya region came to him and
narrated about the unusual and rapid growth of the Vindhya mountains
which indeed had obstructed the passage of the sun and the moon, and
as such they could not carry on their daily routine in the fixed
time And added that their appeal to the Vindhyas to stop its growth
fell on deaf ears. They ended with an earnest solicitation that his
intervention would obviate the difficulty and it was also the only
solution. As the request by reasonable, he promised to win over the
Vindhyas with a strategy. Then he set out, giving his Kamandal to
his disciples to carrying it with care. They nodded. On reaching the
Vindhyas he said to it, "I want passage to go to the south, bend
your head and allow it at once; don't rise your head till I return".
Realising unequalled powers and the status enjoyed, the Vindhyas
bent his head at once and gave easy passage. And stopped further
growth too! Agasthya did not go back to North again, nor the
Vindhyas dared growing further. The disciples when they reached this
spot the Kaveri thanaya remembering her past ambition of flowing in
the form of river to wash off the sins of people came out of
Kamandal and started flowing. This happened here and hence sanctity.
THE
SAYANA MAHARSHI EPISODE
Another story connects this holy
spot with some other sage by name Sayana, who held a conspicuous
place among the sages. He was a Rajarshi. It happened that once
there visited a severe famine in the Dravidadesa, now called Tamil
Nadu. For years it continued making the living impossible -no water
anywhere. All the sources went dry, fields parched; animals died,
people perished and the country reverberated with wails, as a matter
of fact. The heart-rending wails of the people moved the Sayana
maharshi. At once the humanist sage commenced severe penance,
propitiating Lord Kasi Viswanath. Gratified with his ardour for
Viswasreyas the Lord came down and on hearing his earnest petition,
granted his request anon. He ordained that Ganga should flow down
perennially and she would be called Cauvery in the down south
thenceforth. Gladdened at the eyeful sight of the gorgeous Nature in
its virgin beauty, blooming up due to good rains, Lord Kasi
Viswanath decided to stay here permanently with his ganas. This
kshetra thenceforward became stranger to drought and deaths, and
greenery in its bloom never for a second enjoyed a holiday. The
Ganga that descended at this spot is called with a different name -
Cauvery. She is not only feeding, pleasing and emancipating the
people of Tamil Nadu due to its long course in it, but lifting the
Kannada desa and Kanndigas as it is flowing from this source.
Even the
Andhra Pradesh is also a beneficiary due to lying close to its
border. The sacred spot thus came to lime light is now considered as
one of the famous centres of pilgrimage, not only of the Kannadigas,
Tamilians or Andhras, but of the whole Hindu race, or it can be said
of the whole mass of theists belonging to any race or nationality,
to be precise.
THE
SOURCE
The actual. birth place of this sacred river is
astonishingly small and staggers the imagination a little, since it
is only a petty, pretty little lake measuring two by two feet in
area. It has steps on four sides. A little further away is located
another -fairly a big tank with masonary work and measures thirty by
thirty feet in extent. It is two feet in depth. It is here people
take bath during the ordinary and festival days. It is into this
water percolates from the small one situated above and its flow goes
by the name of Cauvery -a little stream in the beginning, but gets
broader and broader as rivulets joint it from several places on its
course. When it reaches Ratnakara -Bay of Bengal -her own Lord, it
is majestic in shape; graceful in flow; broad in size and sacred in
contents. The surrounding area of the origin studded with tall trees
and green verdure is an eyeful sight that delights forever, and
elevates when surveyed, why the very reminiscence itself flashes an
unearthly splendour on the mental screen even after decades of
visitation. Normally people offer prayers first to this pretty tank,
and during the Tula festival, they worship it with fruits, flowers,
saffron etc. treating it as ii bride going to meet her groom -the
Samudraraja. The sights and sounds of its gurgling, chuckling,
babbling, hopping, leaping etc. alternating in quick succession
affords an unforgettable experience and beckons visits often. Hence
the repetition by the visitors.
They are
holy shrines in the proximity of this sacred origin. The shrine
dedicated to Viswanatha resembles the shrines of North India, the
presiding deity is called Viswanatha. In addition to the august
Sivalinga, there are many adorable images of Vinayaka, Dandapani,
Dundi Vigneswara, Kalabhairava besides Mother Visalakshi -all
wrought in stone and are majestic and soul-lifting, when viewed and
worshipped. With the assemblage of all these deities here at one
place has given it the honorific name of this kshetra as
Dhakshanakasi. There is another shrine called Saktalaya, where the
Akhandajyoti is installed. It burns throughout the year -all the 365
days, without a break for any reason what so ever. Will the eternal
lamp ever prefer a holiday? Does it require eight-hour shift? If
preferred, well the whole world plunges darkness to perish. Another
object that attracts the visitors is the Aswarthavriksha with a
niche for Aswartanarayana. People circumambulate it after taking
bath. Just above, at about 150 feet high there lie seven kundas
where Saptarishis performed yagnas in the dim past after penance. It
is sanctified by the association of several luminaries of both
legends and histories.
BHIMAKALLU
It is seen on the way to
Talakaveri from Bhagamandala is a huge boulder supposed to haven
been liked by Bhima, perhaps due to its resemblance to him in
dimensions. As the story goes the Pancha pandavas during their exile
visited this area and Sri for some time. To perpetuate their visit,
perhaps, people I called it Bhimakallu and the tradition is
continued. From here spectacles of colourful Nature feasts the eyes
of the people moving towards the origin and relieves their fatigue.
The Brahmagiri on the lap of which the river takes its birth is
extremely lovely and infinitely pleases both tourists and theists.
And will do for ever and ever.
THE
SALAM KALLU
As visitors move further from this, there is
another big boulder called the Salamkallu. People visiting the
shrines and the origin salute them from this spot both while going
up and coming down. It has an exciting story recorded in the history
and the achieves are preserving it. According to it, Tippu Sultan in
his zeal for conquering Mercara and Coorg made repeated attacks.
Once while going on this way, he was overpowered by a mysterious
feeling. His inner voice forbade his going ahead. His further march
as stopped abruptly as he realised the divinity hovering over the
area. And he attributed it, rightly to the powers of Mother Cauvery.
Being a cultured man with religious tolerance, he ordered for
graceful retreat. He saluted Mother Cauvery and the shrines before
his retreat. And hence that name and salutations invariably by
everyone passing it. The Mother Cauvery tolerates not desecration by
any. The Salam kallu thus is making people join Tippu in offering
obeisance both while going and returning. Doesn't Divinity wring
veneration from all, irrespective of badges? God is one and
humanity. His creation too is one and only ONE. Always!
FESTIVALS
Of the festivals celebrated,
the Tulasankrama falling in the month of October tops the list. It
is called the Cauvery Jatra or Cauvery Pushkar. It is celebrated on
the exact moment when the Sun enters into the sign of Libra. Whether
it is day or night, people in their lakhs await this auspicious
moment and at the right time enter the big pond for holy bath with a
zeal as great as the members gather on the bank, which normally
exceeds lakhs; for, there prevails a custom in the whole of Mercara
that each house must send two pilgrims to the temple on this day
invariably. This tradition has been followed with great rigidity, as
it were, since the beginning. After ducking in the water and sipping
the thirtha thrice, they emerge and offer dhakshana to the priests
sitting on the bank, who sprinkling a few drops of chanted water
mutter some slokas that are efficacious to the theists. The bathers
collect some water from the tank to taking it home for distribution
among their friends and relatives. This festival last for a month
normally, of course with decreasing strength of visitors along with
the sanctity as well. All along the road from Bhagamandal to
Talakaveri, Peddlers with a wide variety of their wares do a roaring
business, during the season. The beggars and sanyasis too amass
fabulous wealth then. This uniqueness either in the number of
shrines at the source, celebration of festivals is not or found
anywhere to any river. So is the perennial charm it is holds on
religionists. A visit -worthy thirtha kshetra. A soul-Lifting
experience to be cherished forever.
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