Ptolemy and River Kaveri

Dr Uday Dokras

The world according to Cl. Ptolemy. Map, 15th century. Photo credit: Wikimedia.

The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicised 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 district of the state of
Karnataka, at an elevation of 1,341 m above mean sea level and flows for about 800 km
before its outfall into the Bay of Bengal. It reaches the sea in Poompuhar,
in Mayiladuthurai district. It is the third largest river – after Godavari and Krishna –

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in southern India, and the largest in the state of Tamil Nadu, which, on its course, bisects the
state into north and south. In ancient Tamil literature, the river was also called Ponni (the
golden mother, in reference to the fine silt it deposits).

The Kaveri is a sacred river to the people of southern India and is worshipped as the Goddess
Kaveriamma (Mother Cauvery). It is considered to be among the seven holy rivers of India. It
is extensively used for agriculture in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Two books place on record the mention of the Kaveri river in the cartography and geography
of Ptolemy

1. Notes on Ptolemy (Continued)-J. Ph. Vogel,Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African
Studies, University of London,Vol. 13, No. 1 (1949), pp. 146-153 (8 pages),Published By:
Cambridge University Press
2. Two Notes on Ptolemy's Geography of India,E. H. Johnston-The Journal of the Royal
Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland,No. 3 (Jul., 1941)
Reproduced is a news bulletin from South Indian newspaper- THE DECCAN HERALD from 2013
Underwater survey to verify Ptolemy’s account on Indian ports

A coastal survey is being carried out in Tamil Nadu, India, by a team of professors and
students, seeking to throw more light on the ancient ports in south India, mentioned in Greco-
Roman geographer Ptolemy’s accounts.

The survey is performed by experts, specialising in underwater archaeology of Tamil

University, in two coastal stretches- one between Kanyakumari and Rameswaram and
another between Rameswaram and Poompuhar in Nagapattinam district intends to gather
more information from ruins of coastal towns, which are believed to have existed during the
Sangam literature era.

Facilitated by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil, the survey is headed by N. Athiyaman
of the Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Tamil University. “The survey intends to study
the ancient coastal towns, which have functioned as ports. Our preliminary survey is to locate
the area, over which we can focus for further research. We are now looking at ports,”
Athiyaman said.

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Ancient Tamil literature, including ‘Akananuru’ of the Sangam era, referred to the period
between 600 BCE and 300 CE, suggest that some 20 to 25 ports had existed in the region.
“Greco-Roman writer Ptolemy’s geographical accounts mention some 15 ports.“We want to
find out whether these ports mentioned in the Sangam era literature and by Ptolemy are the
same,” Athiyaman said. For instance, a port known as Manamelkudi near Thondi Port, is
mentioned in the ‘Akananuru’ as Sellur.

But ambiguity still remains as to whether that is the same town referred to by Ptolemy as
Sallur in his accounts, he said.

Asked how has the team planned to conduct the survey, Athiyaman said, “We are presently
surveying coastal towns, near where we believe ports might have existed. If they have ex-
isted, there would have been a heavy traffic of boats and ships. Also in towns, we are looking
for pot shreds and other remains, which can indicate a lot.”Once the preliminary survey is
over, information from fishermen, who frequent the particular area in the sea would be
collected.

“Based on the information from fishermen, we would employ scientific equipment including
SONAR to detect objects under the sea. There are state-of-the-art equipment, which will help
us detect objects, if any, under sheets of clay,” he said.

Athiyaman is leading the team in the Kanyakumari-Rameswaram stretch, while his colleague
Rajavelu is looking after the Rameswaram-Poompuhar leg, with the help of research scholars
and Ph.D students of Tamil University.

The heavy traffic between coastal towns in Tamil Nadu and commercial hubs in the West has
already been established with the use of various text from the ancient times.

“In one of the accounts, Ptolemy talked of a ‘emporia’ north of Cauvery river in the
peninsula. When historians and archaeologists looked for the same in the Sangam literature, it
was established to be Kaveripoompattinam also known as Poompuhar (a famous port in the
Chola period),” Athiyaman said, adding they were hopeful of getting something concrete
before this year
end.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. D

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eccan Chronicle, http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130914/news-current-affairs/article/
underwater-survey-tn-verify-ptolemy%E2%80%99s-account (14/09/2013)

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The Golden River
For the sacred waters of river Kaveri1
He2 raised floodgates adorning her like drapes!

By the sound of rushing water

the paddy blooms
By the sound of the chisel
the rock blooms
By the sound of conflict
the arrow blooms
To utter the greatness of the Cholas
the very language blooms...

Ponni river has to be seen (reegaari esamaari3)

Before the sun sets (reegaari esamaari)
Where walk the dainty damsels (reegaari esamaari)
Like the tranquil breeze (reegaari esamaari)

Across the barren lands (reegaari esamaari)

Across the sandy dunes (reegaari esamaari)
Across the fallow fields (reegaari esamaari)
Across the black soil (a land that birthed valour)
Awe! Such sight to behold (Semba!4 Semba!
Why has time flown?

Oh land! while I lay on your bosom (a land imbued with green)

A sweet longing springs up! (a land drizzling with blessings)
Wouldn't my time ripen to joy? (a land yielding abundance)
Wouldn't my legs find rest? (a land with the purest heart)
Oh Semba! (a land that birthed valour)

(a land that birthed valour)

Oh Mistress Ponni! (reegaari esamaari)
"Laali lalla laali
Lalla laali lalla,"
is what they sing—Oh warrior,
Prance into the majestic land of Cholaburi
Come on swiftly, you who are good with words
Oh friend, fulfil our dreams

Ponni river has to be seen (reegaari esamaari)

Before the sun sets (a land that birthed valour)
Where walk the dainty damsels (reegaari esamaari)
Like the tranquil breeze (a land that birthed valour)

Beauty of beauties (reegaari esamaari)

Stay closer to my heart (a land that birthed valour)
Oh mischievous one (reegaari esamaari)
Stay close to me (a land that birthed valour)

Isn't she a Chola sculpture? (Semba)

Chuckling like corn grains (Semba)
Causing thundering in Eezham5 (Semba)
Am I to not fall for her? (Indeed)
I cannot... (Indeed)

Oh... Is there rest for the sea? (Semba)

Duty calls, come on up! (Semba)
Be swift like an arrow (Semba)
If the golden opportunity passes
Would it ever come again, young one?

Wet lands, dry lands

Maidens alluring than that of celestial apsaras
Wet lands, dry lands
Maidens alluring than that of celestial apsaras

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Claudius Ptolemy or Claudius Ptolemaeus; c. 100 – c. 170 AD,] was an
Alexandrian mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who
wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to
later Byzantine, Islamic, and Western European science. The first was his astronomical
treatise now known as the Almagest, originally entitled Mathematical
Treatise (Greek: Μαθηματικὴ Σύνταξις, Mathēmatikḗ Syntaxis). The second is
the Geography, which is a thorough discussion on maps and the geographic knowledge of
the Greco-Roman world. The third is the astrological treatise in which he attempted to
adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day. This is
sometimes known as the Apotelesmatika (Greek: Αποτελεσματικά, lit. 'On the Effects') but
more commonly known as the Tetrábiblos, from the Koine Greek meaning "Four Books", or
by its Latin equivalent Quadripartite.

Because the Catholic Church promoted his work, which included the only mathematically-
sound geocentric model of the Solar System, and unlike most Greek mathematicians,
Ptolemy's writings (foremost the Almagest) never ceased to be copied or commented upon,
both in late antiquity and in the Middle Ages. However, it is likely that only a few truly
mastered the mathematics necessary to understand his works, as evidenced particularly by the
many abridged and watered-down introductions to Ptolemy's astronomy that were popular
among the Arabs and Byzantines. His work on epicycles has come to symbolize a very
complex theoretical model built in order to explain a false assumption.

Ptolemy's date of birth and birthplace are both unknown. The 14th-century
astronomer Theodore Meliteniotes wrote that Ptolemy's birthplace was Ptolemais Hermiou, a
Greek city in the Thebaid region of Egypt (now El Mansha, Sohag Governorate). This
attestation is quite late, however, and there is no evidence to support it.

It is known that Ptolemy lived in or around the city of Alexandria, in the Roman province of
Egypt under Roman rule He had a Latin name, Claudius, which is generally taken to imply he
was a Roman citizen. He was familiar with Greek philosophers and used Babylonian
observations and Babylonian lunar theory. In half of his extant works, Ptolemy addresses a
certain Syrus, a figure of whom almost nothing is known but who likely shared some of
Ptolemy's astronomical interests.He died in Alexandria c. 168.

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Ptolemy placed the Muziris emporium north of the mouth of the Pseudostomus river
in his Geographia. Pseudostomus (literally, "false mouth", in Greek) is generally
identified with the modern-day Periyar River.
Muziris papyrus
This Greek papyrus of the 2nd century AD documents a contract involving an
Alexandrian merchant importer and a financier that concerns cargoes, especially of
pepper and spices from Muziris. The fragmentary papyrus records details about a
cargo consignment (valued at around nine million sesterces) brought back from
Muziris on board a Roman merchant ship called the Hermapollon. The discovery
opened a strong base to ancient international and trade laws in particular and has been
studied at length by economists, lawyers, and historians.
The etymology of the river was derived from the Sankethi word for "river", ಕಾವೇರಿ
(kāveri), as this is the major river for the Sankethi people who live along its waters.
Sanskrit
Marudvṛdhā is another hypothesised name for this river, meaning "the beloved of
the Maruts". However, this is unlikely as Marudvrdhā is also identified with a river
in Punjab.
Epithets
The Kaveri River is also known as Daksina Ganga, the "Ganges of the
South"and Kaveri Amman when worshipped as a river goddess.[16] In ancient Tamil
literature, the river was also called Ponni (the golden maid, in reference to the fine silt
it deposits).

Kaveripattinam is a historic town located in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu, India.
The town is situated on the banks of the river Palar, and its name is derived from the river
Kaveri that flows nearby.
Kaveripattinam has a rich history dating back to the 3rd century BCE when it was known as
Kaveri Vanam. It was a flourishing port town during the Sangam period (3rd century BCE to
4th century CE) and served as an important trade center for spices, silk, pearls, and other
goods between India and other parts of the world.

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Kaveripattinam was also a significant center of Jainism during the 2nd century BCE, and
several Jain temples and sculptures have been found in and around the town. The town was
later ruled by various dynasties, including the Cholas, Pallavas, and Vijayanagara Empire.

In the 16th century, the town came under the rule of the Nawab of Arcot, and it continued to
thrive as a center of trade and commerce under the British Raj. Today, Kaveripattinam is
known for its cultural heritage, and its ancient temples and historic sites attract tourists from
all over the world. Kadambas existed as contemporaries to Ancient Cheras as a thalassocratic
power prior to the formation of independent Kannada kingdom under Mayurasharma.
Kadambas are said to be the descendants of the ancient Kadambu tribe as per prominent
historians Sha. Shettar & KK Pillai.

Ancient Kadambas exerted control over the western sea coast from Karwar till Srilanka. They
were often termed as Pirates in the Greek & Roman records.

Mc Crindle’s Ptolemy mentions that the region between Nitroy and Mangalore was a Pirate
coast. Pliny’s Periplus mentions that Nitroy was their base. Kadambu tribe also had its
presence near the present day Aripo river in Srilanka which was called as Kadamba river
then.

Historian K K Pillai in his book “South India & Srilanka: Sir William Meyer Endowment
Lectures: University of Madras 2001” has mentioned that the Kadambu tribe were Sea Pirates
& were ancestors of Kadambas of Banavasi.

Tamil Sangam Literature also has many references to Kadambas in conflict with Cheras. The
only available book on ancient Chera history mentions that the ‘’Chera King Cheralathan
had defeated the Kadambus on seas and also had cut their sacred Kadamba tree and made a
drum out of the same’’.

Eg: Pattripatthu 20

“நும் கோ யார் என வினவின் எம் கோ

இரு முந்நீர்த் துருத்தியுள்
முரணியோர்த் தலைச்சென்று
கடம்பு முதல் தடிந்த கடுஞ்சின முன்பின்…….”

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The same is reiterated/mentioned in Pattripatthu 11,12 & 17

Even Akanannuru 347 mentions the same incidences

“சால் பெருந் தானைச் சேரலாதன்

மால் கடல் ஓட்டிக் கடம்பு அறுத்து இயற்றிய
பண் அமை முரசின் கண் அதிர்ந்தன்…..’’

Another reference for the cultural interaction between the western coast and Srilanka is the
similarities of suffixes to women in the Sinhala Brahmi inscriptions of 2nd and 4th Centuries
CE. Prof. Sha. Shettar in his scholarly work” Shangam Tamilagam matthu Kannada Naadu
Nudi’’ has mentioned that the honarary suffix “abbe/abbi/bi’’ used in the inscriptions like
Pusa’s wife Pusabi;Kada’s wife Kadabi has many similarities with the current day Banavasi
region & North Karnataka as these are still commonly used as a suffix to address women. It is
also to be noted that the cultural interaction through sea route to Srilanka from this region
predates Kadambas as Banavasi was a major Buddhist centre during the Mauryan era.This is
evident in similarities in the Kadamba & Sinhala script to a certain extent.

Ancient Kadambas prior to the Mayurasharma had Mahishaka(Erumaiyur),Punnatas, Gangas

and Banas as contemporary Kannada kingdoms.
How did the name 'Cauvery' come to be associated with the Kaveri River, and when was it so
named?
People used to invoke Ganga everywhere from a well to Kaveri in South India as many
couldn't travel all the way till Kashi Prayag or Haridwar to take bath in Ganga
The name of the river kaaveri(காவேரி) is a pure Tamil name.

If you pronounce it as kaaviri(காவிரி), it is also a pure Tamil word.

Kaaveri (காவேரி) = kaa + aeri (கா + ஏரி)

Kaa (கா) --> means defense. (காவல்) .

single letter giving meaning. (ஓரெழுத்து ஒரு மொழி)

Aeri(ஏரி) means a big storage water body.

The river which acted as a defense to the people by means of its water wealth similar the lake is called
as lake of defense. தன் ஏரி பொன்ற நீர்வளத்தால் மக்களைக் காத்தமையால்
காவல் ஏரி என்ற பொருளில் காவேரி என வழங்கப்படுகிறது.

It may also be called as Kaaviri (காவிரி)

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Kaaviri means ,the river spreading defense throughout its reach.

காவிரி →(தன் நீர்வளத்தால்) தான் விரிந்து பாயும் இடங்களைக் காத்து

நிற்பது.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. “Shangam Tamilagam Maathu Kannada Naadu Nudi’’ by Sha. Shettar.(Pages 84,85,153,154 &
155)
2. Learn Sangam Tamil
3. “South India & Srilanka: Sir William Meyer Endowment Lectures: University of Madras 2001” by
K.K Pillai
These are the ancient names. In addition , the has also a nick name as ponni.(பொன்னி)

The story of Kaveri river is as follows-In Hinduism, the Kaveri River is considered one of
seven holy rivers in India. There are many stories narrated in the Puranas about the origin of
Kaveri as a river and a goddess. The Skanda Purana narrates that during the Samudra
Manthana, or churning of the Ocean of Milk, Mohini and Lopamudra retrieved the nectar of
immortality for the gods. Afterwards, Mohini became a cave in the Brahmagiri
hills and Brahma took care of Lopamudra as his daughter. Later, Brahma offered Lopamudra
to king Kavera, who was childless, as he was pleased by king Kavera's devotion. Lopamudra
was then renamed as Kaveri. In another legend, Lopamudra becomes sage Agastya's wife and
takes on a form of water during a severe drought in south India. Sage Agastya carries her in
his small brass water pot on his journey to the south. Arriving on a hill, he places the water
pot on the ground, but Ganesha, in the form of crow, knocks the water pot down. The spilled
water runs down the hill and onto the drought-stricken land.
When Kaveri grew up she prayed to Brahma to transform her into a purifying river. In
another legend, Lopamudra becomes sage Agastya's wife and takes on a form of water during
a severe drought in south India. Sage Agastya carries her in his small brass water pot on his
journey to the south.

It may be that the first blow at the importance of the port of Kaverippattinam was the event
recorded in the Manimekalai in some detail. The Chola king of the time having lost his son at
sea wandered along the beach, distraught with grief, and the people abandoned in
consequence the usual festival to Indra; thereupon, the patron deity of the city grew wrath and
laid a curse on it. The sea quickly overwhelmed the city and in consequence the king betook
himself elsewhere. This account does not make it clear whether Kaverippattinam was

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completely ruined and leaves us in doubt whether the present village is a fraction of the
ancient city or is a new hamlet sprung from the carcass of a city long defunct. The other
blows to befall it were probably the cutting of channels to divert the water from the main
river Kaveri for irrigating areas not served by it. We might, therefore, conclude that the
palmiest days of that city were those of Karikalan and of the composition of the
Silappadikaram.
But we find it mentioned as an important port in the Geography of Ptolemy, the classical
geographer, astronomer, mathematician and musician who flourished about the middle of the
2nd century AD. Ptolemy mentions ‘Khaberis, an emporium’ which has been identified with
Kaverippattinam. He mentions also the ‘Mouth of the River Khaberos’ which has been
recognized as the mouth of the river Kaveri. Two points seem to emerge from his mention of
these two places. The first is that while Ptolemy gives 128°30’ and 15°40’ for Khaberis—
Ptolemy had worked out a system of reckoning by latitudes and longitudes—he gives 129°
and 15°15’ for the mouth of the Khaberos.
Howsoever we might frame a system of latitudes and longitudes and howsoever we might
work it, we cannot arrive at the results he gives for two places in such juxtaposition as we are
accustomed to associate with Kaverippattinam and the mouth of the Kaveri. Is it likely that
Ptolemy was misled by the authorities on whom he relied? Or is it possible that by Ptolemy’s
days the city and the river had divorced themselves? The second point is that in Ptolemy’s
days the mouth of the Kaveri, as distinguished from Kaverippattinam was a spot of
importance. Had the Kaveri been at its mouth the insignificant stream which it now is, it is
most unlikely to have been noted and made special mention of by Ptolemy.

To admit that in the days of Ptolemy, the Kaveri was a river of notable proportions at its
junction with the sea and to admit also that probably ever since the days of the Manimekalai,
that is, one or two decades after the Silappadikaram and two or three decades after Karikalan,
the Kaveri had been undergoing shrinkage in its lower course and diminishing at its mouth to
almost the proportions of an Euclidean point, would not amount, however, to an admission
that the dates of Karikalan and Ptolemy could not have been far distant from each other; for
we do not know with certainty for how long before and after Karikalan’s times the damsel
Kaveri ran due east and appeared near Kaverippattinam in an expanse of swelling waters nor
yet the period when its attenuation started or the rate at which it progressed.

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There is a widespread belief that the Kaveri flowed much farther north than now; there is
even a tradition that the Kollidam is the real Kaveri. The tradition has its counterpart in the
belief that the Kaverippattinam of today does not stand on the site of the city celebrated in
Tamil literature. The difficulties of the problem are greatly increased by the fact that we have
both a Palankollidam (or Old Kollidam) and a Kollidam (which, however, is not definitely
called the New Kollidam). The former flows within about a mile of the latter from which
really it seems to branch off. The width of the former is about a hundred yards while that of
the latter is about three furlongs.
If the distance between the mouth of the Kollidam and the present-day Kaveripattinam be
fairly represented in the latitudes and longitudes of Ptolemy, we shall have to abandon the
unanimous testimony of the most ancient among the available Tamil classics about
Kaverippattinam standing on the Kaveri.
We might indulge in the supposition that Kaverippattinam is to be sought for elsewhere than
in the sands on which lies perched the hamlet that goes now by that name were it not that
local traditions associate a number of places in the neighbourhood with various incidents in
the story of the Silappadikaram. Tradition against tradition leaves the historian in a plight
identical with that in which the judge is left by oath against oath.
The belief that Kaverippattinam has not migrated along the sea coast has this much at least to
support it that beside the village now going by that name are to be traced the relics of what
must have been once a large city, whereas for miles higher up and lower down we do not
come across sites which have the appearance of being the ruins of perished cities.

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