Goddess of the Week: CAUVERY (KAVERI) DEVI

[Guest guest]

Continuing our celebration of the Great Mother manifest as the life-

giving waters of the Earth, this week we honor the Goddess Cauvery,

or Kaveri. Known known to devout Hindus as "Daksina Ganga" ("The

Ganges of the South"), She is celebrated for Her scenery and sanctity

in Tamil literature and music, and Her entire course is considered

holy ground.

 

October is the time in which She is given special honor:

 

* "Her praises were sung by Agastya Muni in the 2nd century BCE. The

river personified as a goddess nourished the lands, and art, music,

and culture flowered along her path through the lands of Karnataka

and Tamil Nadu. The Talakaveri shrine marks the natural spring that

is the first manifestation of the river. When the sun enters the sign

of Libra the eternal river is reborn and ripples in a small trough.

This is the holiest moment when crowds throng in October to take a

holy dip at her rebirth and it is believed that the dip cleanses the

bather of sins." (http://www.shubhyatra.com)

 

* "People make a trip to Talacauvery, amidst beautiful mountains, to

pay obeisance to mother Goddess Cauvery. The river provides water for

drinking irrigation and hydroelectricity along its 475-mile course.

Without it life in the region would be difficult if not impossible.

So the river is treated as a mother, a life-giving force and

venerated."

(http://www.womeninfoline.com/travel/pilgrim/Talacauvery.asp)

 

ABOUT THE RIVER

 

Cauvery rises on Brahmagiri Hill in the Western Ghats in Coorg

district of Karnataka state, flowing in a southeasterly direction for

475 miles (765 km) through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and descending

the Eastern Ghats in a series of great falls. Before emptying into

the Bay of Bengal south of Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, She breaks into a

large number of distributaries describing a wide delta called

the "Garden of Southern India." (http://www.cauvery.com/)

 

 

ABOUT THE GODDESS

 

A number of legends are woven around the river Goddess. Like

Saraswati, She is said to have been the daughter of Brahma, the God

of Creation, but Cauveri/Kaveri was brought up by the great saint

Kavera.

 

Her festival is spread over two days. On the first day the male

members of the household visit their estate and other immovable

property. A priest sitting by the side of the tiny pond where the

river originates, performs a puja, seeking the blessings of the

Goddess for a long and happy married life. The pond is calm, its

waters red with vermilion that is liberally sprinkled in it during

the puja.

 

The priest breaks the coconuts into halves and then hands them back

with the bananas and sugar candy as prasadam. The water from this

little pond fills up a larger pool, which is used for the holy dip. A

few small shrines dot the expanse of hill above the pool. If you

climb up, you'll get a fabulous view of the verdant hills of south

Coorg.

 

"Talacauvery retains its aura of peace. It's a place for meditation

and prayer, a place where the life-giving force originates."

(http://www.womeninfoline.com/travel/pilgrim/Talacauvery.asp)

 

Aum Maatangyai Namahe