1.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
2.
Talakaveri
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Talakaveri, is the place that is generally considered to be the source of the river Kaveri. It is located by Brahmagiri hill near Bhagamandala in Kodagu district, however, there is not a permanent visible flow from this place to the main rivercourse except during the rainy season. A tank or kundike has been erected on a hillside by kodavas and it is also marked by a small temple, and the area is frequented by pilgrims mainly it is the worship place of kodavas. The river originates as a spring feeding this tank, which is considered to be a place to bathe on special days. The waters are said to flow underground to emerge as the Kaveri river some distance away. The temple has been renovated extensively by the government recently. The cauvery changrandi is observed across pilgrim towns in Kaveris banks, Talakaveri is about 8 km away from Bhagamandala and 48 km from Madikeri. The temple here is dedicated to Goddess Kaveriamma, other deities worshipped here are Lord Agasthiswara, which denotes the link between Kaveri and Sage Agasthya and Maha Ganapathi. The legend goes that the Kaveri river was held in a Kamandalu by Sage Agastya, vinaayaka took the form of a crow and perched on the kamandalu of Agasthya when Agasthya was meditating. When Agastya realised this, he shooed away the crow, but the devine crow tipped the kamandalu and toppled it. Out poured Kaveri which started flowing, the crow disappeared and in its place stood a small boy. Agasthya thought that the boy was playing some prank and clenching both his fists, went to pound the head of the small boy, but the boy escaped and Agasthya gave chase. Finally the boy vanished and Lord Ganesha showed himself to Agasthya, Agasthya was aghast at the realisation that he had just tried to knock the head of Lord Ganesha himself. As atonement, he knocked his own head with both of his clenched fists, the link between Kaveri and Lord Ganesha also extends to Srirangam as well, in Lord Ganeshas role in setting up the Ranganatha temple there. The temple at Tirumakudalu Narasipura ) is also dedicated to Agasthiwara, ahi Kshetra is mentioned in the Mahabharata as lying north of the Ganges, and as being the capital of Northern Panchala. It is apparently the Adisadra of Ptolemy, and its remains are visible near Ramnagar in Tahsil Aonla in Bareilly district, the Brahmins who first landed in Shivalli in Tulunadu and then spread across 31 villages came to be known as Shivalli Brahmins or Tulu Brahmins. It is from Shivalli and Tulu Brahmins, that the priests of Talakaveri temple have come from, Lingaraja the First was the ruler of Kodagu. One night God appeared in Lingarajas dream and indicated there was a Brahmin family currently visiting Talakaveri
3.
Kodagu district
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Kodagu is an administrative district in Karnataka, India. Before 1956 it was an administratively separate Coorg State, at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State and it occupies an area of 4,102 square kilometres in the Western Ghats of southwestern Karnataka. In 2001 its population was 548,561,13. 74% of which resided in the urban centres. Agriculture is the most important factor that upholds the economy of Kodagu, Coorg is rich in natural resources which included timber and spices. Madikeri is the headquarters of Kodagu, Kodagu is known for its coffee and its people. The dominant group are the indigenous and other ethnic groups, the chief languages presently spoken in Kodagu are Kodava, Are Bhashe, Kannada, Tulu, Konkani and Urdu. Kodagu is home to the speakers of the Kodava language. Kodagu is located on the slopes of the Western Ghats. It has an area of 4,102 km2. It is a district, the lowest elevation of which is 120 metres above sea-level. The highest peak, Tadiandamol, rises to 1,750 metres, with Pushpagiri, the main river in Kodagu is the Kaveri, which originates at Talakaveri, located on the eastern side of the Western Ghats, and with its tributaries, drains the greater part of Kodagu. In July and August, rainfall is intense, and there are often showers into November, yearly rainfall may exceed 4,000 millimetres in some areas. In dense jungle tracts, rainfall reaches 3,000 to 3,800 millimetres and 1,500 to 2,500 millimetres in the district to the west. Kodagu has a temperature of 15 °C, ranging from 11 to 28 °C, with the highest temperatures occurring in April. The principal town, and district capital, is Madikeri, or Mercara, other significant towns include Virajpet, Kushalanagara, Somwarpet and Gonikoppal. The district is divided into the three talukas, Madikeri, Virajpet and Somwarpet. Virajpet is the largest Taluk and comprises the towns Virajpet, Gonikoppal, Siddapura, Ponnampet, the Kodavas were the earliest agriculturists in Kodagu, having lived there for centuries. Being a warrior community as well, they carried arms during times of war and had their own chieftains, the Haleri dynasty, an offshoot of the Keladi Nayakas, ruled Kodagu between 1600 and 1834
4.
Western Ghats
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Western Ghats மேற்கு தொடர்ச்சி மலை is a mountain range that runs parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, located entirely in India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight hottest hot-spots of biological diversity in the world and it is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. The range runs north to south along the edge of the Deccan Plateau. These hills cover 160,000 km2 and form the catchment area for complex riverine drainage systems that drain almost 40% of India, the Western Ghats block southwest monsoon winds from reaching the Deccan Plateau. The average elevation is around 1,200 m, at least 325 globally threatened species occur in the Western Ghats. The Western Ghats are the mountainous faulted and eroded edge of the Deccan Plateau, geologic evidence indicates that they were formed during the break-up of the supercontinent of Gondwana some 150 million years ago. Geophysical evidence indicates that the west coast of India came into being somewhere around 100 to 80 mya after it broke away from Madagascar, after the break-up, the western coast of India would have appeared as an abrupt cliff some 1,000 m in elevation. Basalt is the predominant rock found in the reaching a thickness of 3 km. Other rock types found are charnockites, granite gneiss, khondalites, leptynites, metamorphic gneisses with detached occurrences of limestone, iron ore. Residual laterite and bauxite ores are found in the southern hills. The Western Ghats extend from the Satpura Range in the north and it traverses south past the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. Major gaps in the range are the Goa Gap, between the Maharashtra and Karnataka sections, and the Palghat Gap on the Tamil Nadu and Kerala border between the Nilgiri Hills and the Anaimalai Hills. The mountains intercept the rain-bearing westerly monsoon winds, and are consequently an area of high rainfall, particularly on their western side. The northern portion of the coastal plain between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea is known as the Konkan, the central portion is called Kanara. The foothill region east of the Ghats in Maharashtra is known as Desh, the range is known as Sahyadri in Maharashtra and Karnataka. The Western Ghats meets the Eastern Ghats at Nilgiris in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Nilgiris connects Biligiriranga Hills in southeastern Karnataka with the Shevaroys and Tirumala hills. In the southern part of the range is Anamudi, the highest peak in Western Ghats, following is a list of some of the highest peaks of the Western Ghats, The Western Ghats form one of the four watersheds of India, feeding the perennial rivers of India. The major river systems originating in the Western Ghats include Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna, Thamiraparani, majority of streams draining the Western Ghats join these rivers and carry large volume of water during the monsoon months
5.
Karnataka
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Karnataka is a state in south western region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, originally known as the State of Mysore, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973. The capital and largest city is Bangalore, the state covers an area of 191,976 square kilometres, or 5.83 percent of the total geographical area of India. It is the seventh largest Indian state by area, with 61,130,704 inhabitants at the 2011 census, Karnataka is the eighth largest state by population, comprising 30 districts. Kannada, one of the languages of India, is the most widely spoken. Most of these rivers flow out of Karnataka eastward into the Bay of Bengal, though several etymologies have been suggested for the name Karnataka, the generally accepted one is that Karnataka is derived from the Kannada words karu and nādu, meaning elevated land. Karu nadu may also be read as karu, meaning black, the British used the word Carnatic, sometimes Karnatak, to describe both sides of peninsular India, south of the Krishna. With an antiquity that dates to the paleolithic, Karnataka has been home to some of the most powerful empires of ancient, the philosophers and musical bards patronised by these empires launched socio-religious and literary movements which have endured to the present day. Karnataka has contributed significantly to both forms of Indian classical music, the Carnatic and Hindustani traditions, Karnatakas pre-history goes back to a paleolithic hand-axe culture evidenced by discoveries of, among other things, hand axes and cleavers in the region. Evidence of neolithic and megalithic cultures have also found in the state. Gold discovered in Harappa was found to be imported from mines in Karnataka, prior to the third century BCE, most of Karnataka formed part of the Nanda Empire before coming under the Mauryan empire of Emperor Ashoka. Four centuries of Satavahana rule followed, allowing them to large areas of Karnataka. The decline of Satavahana power led to the rise of the earliest native kingdoms, the Kadambas, the Kadamba Dynasty, founded by Mayurasharma, had its capital at Banavasi, the Western Ganga Dynasty was formed with Talakad as its capital. These were also the first kingdoms to use Kannada in administration, as evidenced by the Halmidi inscription, the Western Chalukyas patronised a unique style of architecture and Kannada literature which became a precursor to the Hoysala art of 12th century. Parts of modern-day Southern Karnataka were occupied by the Chola Empire at the turn of 11th century, the Cholas and the Hoysalas fought over the region in the early 12th century before it eventually came under Hoysala rule. At the turn of the first millennium, the Hoysalas gained power in the region, literature flourished during this time, which led to the emergence of distinctive Kannada literary metres, and the construction of temples and sculptures adhering to the Vesara style of architecture. The expansion of the Hoysala Empire brought minor parts of modern Andhra Pradesh, in the early 14th century, Harihara and Bukka Raya established the Vijayanagara empire with its capital, Hosapattana, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in the modern Bellary district. The empire rose as a bulwark against Muslim advances into South India, in 1565, Karnataka and the rest of South India experienced a major geopolitical shift when the Vijayanagara empire fell to a confederation of Islamic sultanates in the Battle of Talikota
6.
Tamil Nadu
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Tamil Nadu is one of the 29 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai, Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Puducherry and the South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. The state shares a border with the nation of Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu is the eleventh-largest state in India by area and the sixth-most populous, the state was ranked sixth among states in India according to the Human Development Index in 2011, with the second-largest state economy after Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu is the second largest state economy in India with ₹13,842 billion in gross domestic product after Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu was ranked as one of the top seven developed states in India based on a Multidimensional Development Index in a 2013 report published by the Reserve Bank of India and its official language is Tamil, which is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world. Tamil Nadu is home to natural resources. In addition, its people have developed and continue classical arts, classical music, historic buildings and religious sites include Hindu temples of Tamil architecture, hill stations, beach resorts, multi-religious pilgrimage sites, and eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Archaeological evidence points to this area being one of the longest continuous habitations in the Indian peninsula, the ASI archaeologists have proposed that the script used at that site is very rudimentary Tamil Brahmi. Adichanallur has been announced as a site for further excavation. About 60 per cent of the epigraphical inscriptions found by the ASI in India are from Tamil Nadu. A Neolithic stone celt with the Indus script on it was discovered at Sembian-Kandiyur near Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu, according to epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan, this was the first datable artefact bearing the Indus script to be found in Tamil Nadu. Mahadevan claimed that the find was evidence of the use of the Harappan language, the date of the celt was estimated at between 1500 BCE and 2000 BCE. The early history of the people and rulers of Tamil Nadu is a topic in Tamil literary sources known as Sangam literature, numismatic, archaeological and literary sources corroborate that the Sangam period lasted for about six centuries, from 300 BC to AD300. Three dynasties, namely the Chera, Chola and Pandya, ruled the area of present-day Tamil Nadu, the Chera ruled the whole of present-day Kerala and parts of western Tamil Nadu comprising Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Karur, Salem and Erode districts from the capital of Vanchi Muthur. The Chola dynasty ruled the northern and central parts of Tamil Nadu from their capital, Uraiyur, All three dynasties had extensive trade relationships with Rome, Greece, Egypt, Ceylon, Phoenicia, Arabia, Mesopotamia and Persia. Trade flourished in commodities such as spices, ivory, pearls, beads, Chera traded extensively from Muziris on the west coast, Chola from Arikamedu and Puhar and Pandya through Korkai port. A Greco-Roman trade and travel document, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea gives a description of the Tamil country, besides these three dynasties, the Sangam era Tamilakam was also divided into various provinces named nadu, meaning country
7.
Kallanai Dam
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Kallanai is an ancient dam, which is built across the Kaveri river in Thanjavur District in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India. Located at a distance of 15 km from Tiruchirapalli, the dam was constructed by the Chola king Karikalan in 2nd century AD. It is located on Kaveri river approximately 20 KM from Trichy, and is the fourth-oldest water-diversion or water-regulator structures in the world which is still in use. The dam was built by Karikalan about 2000 years ago. The idea behind the construction of the dam was to divert the river to the delta districts thereby boosting irrigation. The dam was re-modeled by the British during the 19th century, in 1804, Captain Caldwell, a military engineer, was appointed by the British to make a study on the Kaveri river and promote irrigation for the delta region. He found that an amount of water passed onto the Kollidam leaving behind a small volume for irrigation purposes. Caldwell initially proposed a solution by raising the dam and hence raised the dam stones to a height of 69 centimetres, following this, Major Sim proposed the idea of undersluices across the river with outlets leading to the Kollidam River thus preventing formation of silt. The Lower Anaicut built by Sir Arthur Cotton in 19th century CE across Coleroon, the Kaveri river splits into two at a point 20 miles west of Kallanai. The two rivers form the island of Srirangam before joining at Kallanai, the northern channel is called the Kollidam, the other retains the name Kaveri, and empties into the Bay of Bengal at Poompuhar. On the seaward face of its delta are the seaports of Nagapattinam, the purpose of the Kallanai was to divert the waters of the Kaveri across the fertile delta region for irrigation via canals. The dam splits the river Kaveri into 4 streams known as Kollidam Aru, Kaviri, Vennaru and it is constructed from unhewn stone spanning the Kaviri and is 329 m long,20 m wide and 5.4 m high. The dam is still in excellent condition, and supplied a model to later engineers, including Sir Arthur Cottons 19th-century dam across the Kollidam, the area irrigated by the ancient irrigation network is about 69,000 acres. By the early 20th century, the area had been increased to about one million acres. The Delta farmers of Tamil Nadu have demanded that the Tamil Nadu government honour Karikala Cholan, Tamil language Tamil literature Sangam period Lemuria
8.
Harangi Reservoir
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The Harangi Reservoir is located near Hudgur village, Somwarpet taluk in Kodagu district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The reservoir is formed by a dam built across the river Harangi. The dam is located about 9 km away from the heart of Kushalnagar town, the Harangi originates in the Pushpagiri Hills of Western Ghats in Kodagu, Karnataka. Heavy rainfall from the south-west monsoon is the source of water in the catchment area of Harangi river which is about 717 km2, the length of the Harangi from its origin to the confluence with the Kaveri river is 50 km. The Harangi joins the Kaveri near Kudige in Somwarpet taluk
9.
Bhavani River
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Bhavani is a major river in Kongu Nadu region of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the second longest river in Tamil Nadu and a tributary of the Kaveri River. Bhavani river originates from Nilgiri hills of the Western Ghats, enters the Silent Valley National Park in Kerala, the Bhavani is a 217-kilometre long perennial river fed mostly by the southwest monsoon and supplemented by the northeast monsoon. Its watershed drains an area of 0.62 million hectares spread over Tamil Nadu, Kerala, the main river courses majorly through Coimbatore district and Erode district in Tamil Nadu. About 90 per cent of the water is used for agriculture irrigation. Twelve major rivulets including West and East Varagar rivers join Bhavani draining the southern Nilgiri slopes, at Mukkali, Bhavani takes an abrupt 120-degree turn towards the northeast and flows for another 25 kilometres through Attappady plateau. It gets reinforced by the Kunda river coming from the north, siruvani river, a perennial stream and the Kodungarapallam river, flowing from the south and southeast respectively join the Bhavani at Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. The river then flows east along the base of Nilgiris and enters the plains near Bathra Kaliamman temple at Mettupalayam after joining with Coonoor river coming from northwest, after the Moyar it is blocked by the Lower Bhavani Dam, feeding Lower Bhavani Project Canal near Sathyamangalam in Erode District. A small barrage across the river was built by Kalingarayan in 1283 AD to feed the 90-kilometre Kalingarayan irrigation canal, the river joins Kaveri at Kooduthurai near Sangameswarar Temple, Bhavani where it is believed that the mystic Sarasvati River also joins the confluence. Bhavanisagar Bhavanisagar dam is located on the Bhavani river in Erode district, Tamil Nadu, the dam is one of the largest earthen dams in the world. The dam is situated some 16 km west of Sathyamangalam and 35 km from Gobichettipalayam, the Lower Bhavani Project was the first major irrigation project initiated in India after independence in 1948. It was completed by 1955 and opened for use in 1956, the dam was constructed at a cost of ₹210 million. The dam is 8 km long and 40 m high, the full reservoir level is 120 ft and the dam has a capacity of 32. 8×10^9 cu ft. The dam has two power stations, one on the east bank canal and the other on the Bhavani river. Each has a capacity of 16 megawatts for a capacity of 32 megawatts. Kodiveri Kodiveri dam is located on the Bhavani River near Gobichettipalayam in Western Tamil Nadu, the dam is situated along the State Highway 15 about 15 km from Gobichettipalayam towards Sathyamangalam. It was constructed by Kongalvan in the year 1125 AD, industrial, municipal and agricultural pollution of the river results in poor water quality and negative impacts on the health of people, plants and animals dependent on the river water
10.
Godavari River
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The Godavari is the second longest river in India after the river Ganges having its source at Tryambakeshwar, Maharashtra. Measuring up to 312,812 km2, it one of the largest river basins in the Indian subcontinent, with only the Ganges. However, in the past few decades, the river has been abused with relentless construction of barrages and dams. The river delta, supporting 729 persons/km2 – nearly twice the density average for the nation, has been categorized as having substantial risk to greater risk of flooding with rising sea levels. The Godavari originates 80 km from the Arabian Sea in the Western Ghats of central India near Nasik in Maharashtra. The Godavari River has an area of 312,812 km2. The river basin is considered to be divided into 3 sections, Upper, Middle and these put together account for 24. 2% of the total basin area. The rivers annual average water inflows are nearly 110 billion cubic metres, nearly 50% of the water availability is being harnessed. The water allocation from the river among the states are governed by the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal. The river has highest flood flows in India and experienced recorded flood of 3.6 million cusecs in the year 1986, within Nashik District the river assumes a north-easterly course till it flows into the Gangapur Reservoir created by a dam of the same name. The reservoir along with the Kashypi Dam provides potable water to Nashik, about 25 km below Nasik is the confluence of the Godavari and one of its tributaries, the Darna river. The stream occupies, for nine months in the year, a space in a wide and gravelly bed. A few kilometres after its meeting with the Darna, the Godavari swerves to the north-east, till the Banganga, from the north-west, the course of the main stream then tends more decidedly south. At Nandur-Madhmeshwar, the Kadva, a large affluent, brings considerable increase to the waters of the Godavari. The river begins its southeasterly course characteristic of rivers of the Deccan Plateau, the river beyond exits the Niphad Taluka of Nashik and enter the Kopargaon taluka, Ahmednagar District. Within Ahmednagar the river completes its short course, flowing alongside the town of Kopargaon. By virtue of a sub-tributary of Pravara – Mandohol, which originates in Pune District – the basin impinges the Pune District, the river at Paithan has been impounded by the Jayakwadi Dam forming the NathSagar Reservoir. Kalsubai located in Godavari basin, is the highest peak in Maharashtra, Beed and Jalna Beed and Parbhani, Located along here is its merger with Sindphana, an important tributary which drains a considerably large area within Beed
11.
Krishna River
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The Krishna River is the fourth-biggest river in terms of water inflows and river basin area in India, after the Ganga, Godavari and Brahmaputra. The river is almost 1,300 kilometres long, the river is also called Krishnaveni. It is a source of irrigation for Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana. Krishna river originates in the western ghats near Mahabaleshwar at an elevation of about 1,300 metres and it is one of the longest rivers in India. The Krishna river is around 1,400 km in length and it flows through the state of Karnataka before entering Telangana State. The delta of river is one of the most fertile regions in India and was the home to ancient Satavahana. Vijayawada is the largest city on the River Krishna and it causes heavy soil erosion during the monsoon floods. It flows fast and furious, often reaching depths of over 75 feet, ironically, there is a saying in Marathi Shant vaahate Krishnamaai which means quiet flows Krishna. This term is used to describe that a person should be as quiet as Krishna, there are four rivers that join the Krishna at a confluence known as Preeti Sangam, or Lovers Meeting Point in the Satara District. These are Venna River, Urmodi River, Tarli River and Koyna River, three tributaries meet Krishna river near Sangli. These places are considered very holy and it is said that Lord Dattatreya spent some of his days at Audumber on the banks of river Krishna. Sangameswaram of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh is a pilgrim center for Hindus where Tungabhadra. The Sangameswaram temple is now drowned in the Srisailam reservoir, Krishna Basin extends over an area of 258,948 km2 which is nearly 8% of the total geographical area of the country. This large basin lies in the states of Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, the Krishna river rises in the Western Ghats, at an elevation of about 1,337 m just north of Mahabaleshwar, about 64 km from the Arabian Sea. It flows for about 1,400 km and outfalls into the Bay of Bengal, the principal tributaries joining Krishna are the Ghataprabha River, Malaprabha River, Bhima River, Tungabhadra River and Musi River. Most of this basin comprises rolling and undulating country, except for the western border, the important soil types found in the basin are black soils, red soils, laterite and lateritic soils, alluvium, mixed soils, red and black soils and saline and alkaline soils. An average annual surface water potential of 78.1 km3 has been assessed in this basin, out of this,58.0 km3 is utilizable water. Culturable area in the basin is about 203,000 km2, the irrigation canals of Prakasam Barrage form part of National Waterway 4
12.
Kerala
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Kerala historically known as Keralam, is an Indian state in South India on the Malabar Coast. It was formed on 1 November 1956 following the States Reorganisation Act by combining Malayalam-speaking regions, spread over 38,863 km2, it is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33,387,677 inhabitants as per the 2011 Census, Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state. The region has been a prominent spice exporter since 3000 BCE, the Chera Dynasty was the first prominent kingdom based in Kerala, though it frequently struggled against attacks by the neighbouring Cholas and Pandyas. In the 15th century, the spice trade attracted Portuguese traders to Kerala, after independence, Travancore and Cochin joined the Republic of India and Travancore-Cochin was given the status of a state in 1949. In 1956, Kerala state was formed by merging Malabar district, Travancore-Cochin, Hinduism is practised by more than half of the population, followed by Islam and Christianity. The culture is a synthesis of Aryan and Dravidian cultures, developed over millennia, under influences from other parts of India, the production of pepper and natural rubber contributes significantly to the total national output. In the agricultural sector, coconut, tea, coffee, cashew, the states coastline extends for 595 kilometres, and around 1.1 million people in the state are dependent on the fishery industry which contributes 3% to the states income. The state has the highest media exposure in India with newspapers publishing in nine languages, mainly English, Kerala is one of the prominent tourist destinations of India, with backwaters, beaches, Ayurvedic tourism and tropical greenery as its major attractions. The name Kerala has an uncertain etymology, One popular theory derives Kerala from Kera and alam is land, thus land of coconuts, this also happens to be a nickname for the state due to abundance of coconut trees and its use by the locals. The word Kerala is first recorded in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription left by the Maurya emperor Ashoka, the inscription refers to the local ruler as Keralaputra, or son of Chera. This contradicts the theory that Kera is from coconut tree, at that time, one of three states in the region was called Cheralam in Classical Tamil, Chera and Kera are variants of the same word. The word Cheral refers to the oldest known dynasty of Kerala kings and is derived from the Proto-Tamil-Malayalam word for lake, the earliest Sanskrit text to mention Kerala is the Aitareya Aranyaka of the Rigveda. It is also mentioned in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the two Hindu epics, the Skanda Purana mentions the ecclesiastical office of the Thachudaya Kaimal who is referred to as Manikkam Keralar, synonymous with the deity of the Koodalmanikyam temple. Keralam may stem from the Classical Tamil cherive-alam or chera alam, the Greco-Roman trade map Periplus Maris Erythraei refers to Keralaputra as Celobotra. According to Hindu mythology, the lands of Kerala were recovered from the sea by the warrior sage Parasurama. Parasurama threw his axe across the sea, and the water receded as far as it reached, according to legend, this new area of land extended from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. The land which rose from sea was filled with salt and unsuitable for habitation, so Parasurama invoked the Snake King Vasuki, out of respect, Vasuki and all snakes were appointed as protectors and guardians of the land
