The South Pennar River (also known as ''Dakshina Pinakini'' in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

and ''Thenpennai or Ponnaiyar'' or ''Pennaiyar'' in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

) is a river in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Hosur Hosur is an industrial city located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Hosur is one of the municipal corporations in Tamil Nadu. It is located on the bank of the river River Ponnaiyar, southeast of Bengaluru and west of Chennai, the state ...

Tiruvannamalai Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city, a spiritual, cultural, economic hub and also the administrative headquarters of Tiruvanna ...

, and

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is the city and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important port during the British Raj. While the early history of Cudda ...

are the important cities on the banks of South Pennar river. This is the second longest river in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, with a length of 497km, after the

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dis ...

Chandapura Chandapura is a Town Municipality Council (TMC) in the Bengaluru urban district of Karnataka state in India. Chandapura is 6 km from Electronics City on NH 44 (widely known as Hosur Road). It has a Saturday market for fresh fruits and vege ...

, Anekal,

, Bagalur and Chengam are the major industrial settlements on its banks. The river is severely polluted by industrial waste as it flows through major industrial areas in the eastern suburbs of

, Industrial parks of Hosur and Chengam. The river originates in the Nandi Hills in the Chikkaballapura district of Karnataka and flows through Tamil Nadu before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. It has a

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of located in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states. Small dams of Kelavarapalli and

Krishnagiri Dam The Krishnagiri Dam is a dam that spans the Thenpennai River by the village of Dhuduganahalli, located in Krishnagiri district, Tamil Nadu, India. The Krishnagiri Dam is also known as Krishnagiri Reservoir Project (KRP) Dam. The KRP Dam is loca ...

s are built across this river near

and Krishnagiri. The largest dam on this river,

Sathanur Dam Sathanur Dam which forms the Sathanur reservoir, is one of the major dams in Tamil Nadu. It is constructed across the Thenpennai River also called as Pennaiyar River in Thandarampet taluk among Chennakesava Hills. The dam can be reached by ro ...

with 7.3 Tmcft Gross Capacity is built near Tiruvannamalai. Moongilthuraipattu Sugar Factory is also situated on the bank of river. The river is dry for the most part of the year. Water flows during the monsoon season when it is fed by the south-west monsoon in catchment area and the northeast monsoon in Tamil Nadu. However this water flow raises the water table throughout the river basin and feeds numerous reservoirs/tanks. The old river Dakshina Pinakini does not exist anymore. Substantial part of

's sewage enters this river via

Bellandur Bellandur is a suburb in south-east Bangalore, Karnataka, India. It is bounded by HSR Layout to the west, Devarabisanahalli to the east, Sarjapura, Sarjapur Road to the south, and the Bellandur Lake to the north. The Bellandur Lake is the larges ...

and Varthur Lakes and other channels. The sand build of the river is quite impressive, suggesting that it may have been a perennial river with much larger water flow in the past. Mention of the river is found in Sangam and medieval (

Tevaram The ''Thevaram'' ( ta, தேவாரம், ), also spelled ''Tevaram'', denotes the first seven volumes of the twelve-volume collection ''Tirumurai'', a Śaiva narrative of epic and puranic heroes, as well as a hagiographic account of early ...

Bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

cult era) literature, where it is depicted as rich with lush vegetation on its banks. There are Famous temples on its banks like

Penneswaraar Temple Penneswaraar Temple, also known as Penneswaramadam Shiva Temple, is a Shiva temple in the Krishnagiri district in India. It was built by Kulothunga Chola III in the year 1188 C.E. (9th Century C.E.) after defeating the Hoysala Dynasyty of presen ...

Shree Venkateshwara Swamy temple, Dakshina Tirupati Chikka Tirupati (meaning 'Small Tirupathi' in Kannada, with reference to Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh) is a Hindu temple dedicated to Venkateshwaraswamy, the Hindu god Vishnu. It is located in Chikka Tirupathi Hobli of Malur Taluk, in the outsk ...

, Veerateshwarar Temple and

Kabilar Kundru Kabilar Kundru (or Kabilar rock) is a hill rock in the middle of the Ponnaiyar River near Tirukoilur in Viluppuram district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is known for Tamil poet Kapilar did Vadakirrutal (fast unto death) here, after his friend Vēl Pār ...

. It irrigates Chikkaballapur district, Bengaluru Rural district,

Bengaluru Urban district Bangalore Urban district is the most densely populated district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is surrounded by the Bangalore Rural district on the east and north, the Ramanagara district on the west and the Krishnagiri district of Tamil ...

, Kolar district Krishnagiri district,

Dharmapuri district Dharmapuri is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil-Nadu, India. It is the first district created in Tamil Nadu after the independence of India by splitting it from then-Salem district on 2 October 1965. Dharmapuri District is one of t ...

, Viluppuram district and

Cuddalore district Cuddalore District is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. History Since ancient times, the old town has been a seaport. Through the centuries, Cuddalore has been subject to a number of foreign powers including the Net ...

. It splits into a delta on which

town is located. This river is now looted for its rich availability of sand. As the water flow will be only in monsoon seasons, the river is dry in remaining parts of the year.

References

Rivers of Tamil Nadu Rivers of Karnataka Rivers of India {{India-river-stub

See also

References