There is hardly anyone in Chennai who doesn't know about the river Cooum. Geographically, the origin of the river is in a different place. However, as per the Hindu tradition, the river originates from the holy Tank of a Shiva temple in a village called Cooum.
As per the legend, Shiva went to fight against the Asuras in order to help the Devas. As the Devas missed to worship Lord Ganesha, he got angry and broke the axle of the chariot of Shiva. In order to maintain his balance, Shiva placed his bow on the ground. Immediately, the underground water gushed out and washed his feet. It is said that this water is holier than the river Ganga. The water flee into the holy tank, which is believed to be the origin of the river Cooum. This tank stands near the Shiva temple in the village even today. Shiva is called as Tiruvirkolanathar in this site.
(To know the complete details about the temple and the legend, visit this page.)
The tank is picturesque as it is surrounded by trees and shrubs. It is a huge tank covering an area of about 2 acres. It is maintained well and it has water even during the summer season.
Note: As per a report, there were about 650+ waterbodies in Chennai region till 1980s. Today, only a fraction of them exist. And, most of those surviving waterbodies hardly have water and even some of them that have water had been shrunk badly. In Chennai, there are tank roads without tanks nearby and lake view roads without any lake in the vicinity. There is a high possibility that even the few waterbodies that we have today might vanish in the near future. I thought of visiting the currently surviving waterbodies of Chennai and its suburbs and write about them in my blog as a series.
As per the legend, Shiva went to fight against the Asuras in order to help the Devas. As the Devas missed to worship Lord Ganesha, he got angry and broke the axle of the chariot of Shiva. In order to maintain his balance, Shiva placed his bow on the ground. Immediately, the underground water gushed out and washed his feet. It is said that this water is holier than the river Ganga. The water flee into the holy tank, which is believed to be the origin of the river Cooum. This tank stands near the Shiva temple in the village even today. Shiva is called as Tiruvirkolanathar in this site.
(To know the complete details about the temple and the legend, visit this page.)
The tank is picturesque as it is surrounded by trees and shrubs. It is a huge tank covering an area of about 2 acres. It is maintained well and it has water even during the summer season.
Note: As per a report, there were about 650+ waterbodies in Chennai region till 1980s. Today, only a fraction of them exist. And, most of those surviving waterbodies hardly have water and even some of them that have water had been shrunk badly. In Chennai, there are tank roads without tanks nearby and lake view roads without any lake in the vicinity. There is a high possibility that even the few waterbodies that we have today might vanish in the near future. I thought of visiting the currently surviving waterbodies of Chennai and its suburbs and write about them in my blog as a series.
