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Palar River

Palar River

About:
Palar is a river of southern India. It rises in Nandidurg hills in Kolar district of Karnataka state, and flows 93 km in Karnataka, 33 km in Andhra Pradesh and 222 km in Tamil Nadu before its confluence into the Bay of Bengal at Vayalur about 100 KM south of Chennai. It flows as a Guptagamini (underground course) for a long distance only to emerge near Bethamangala town, from where, gathering water and speed, it flows eastward down the Deccan Plateau. The cities of Vaniyambadi, Ambur, Vellore, Arcot, Walajapet (Anaicut), Kanchipuram, and Chingleput are located on banks of Palar River. Of all the total of seven tributaries, the chief tributary is Cheyyar River.

Palar River (295 km) is a perennial river in Tamil Nadu. Palar literally means the river of milk - 'Pal' in Tamil means 'Milk' and 'Aar' means 'River'. It orginates from the south-west of Chintamani, in Karnataka, flows around 295 km south-eastward through Tamil Nadu and falls into the Bay of Bengal. The main tributaries of the Palar are the Ponnai and Cheyyar rivers. The water flow of the river is irregular, and varies from season to season. The Palar is one of the major rivers flowing through Vellore District and Kanchipuram District in Tamil Nadu.

River in southern India, rising in Karnataka state and flowing through Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu into the Bay of Bengal, south of Chennai (formerly Madras); length 370 km/230 mi. There is intermittent flow for some of its length. It is tapped for ground water, which is used for irrigation purposes and is also supplied to the Kolar goldfields. Its waters are often polluted, especially by the tanning industry. There is a dam at Arcot.

Location info:
Address:It rises in Nandidurg hills in Kolar district of Karnataka state
District:Kolar district
Nearest City:Kolar
Best time to visit: Jan-Dec

Climate/Weather:
Moderate through out the year.

History:
Kolar, the headquarters of the Kolar district, was earlier known as Kuvalala. Historically, Kolar is said to be associated with the epic age, which recalls many legends associated with Avani in Mulbagal Taluk, which was also called Avani Kshetra.

It is said that the sage Valmiki, the author of the epic Ramayana, lived here and Sri Rama stayed here on the way back to Ayodhya, after his conquest of Lanka. The legend goes further to establish that Seetha Devi, after being rejected by Rama, gave birth to her twins Lava and Kusha in this Avani.

The hill to the west of Kolar, called the Satasringa Parvata or 'Hundred-Peaked Mountain' is 'Antharagange', associated with the story of Parasurama and his fight with King Kartaviryarjuna over Surabhi, the divine cow. As the story goes, King Kartavirya Arjuna (Sahasrarjuna) and his army visited Jamadagni, Parasurama's father, when the king demanded the magical cow from Jamadagni. When Jamadagni refused, the King sent his soldiers to take the cow, but Parashurama killed the entire army and the king with his axe. In return, the princes beheaded Jamadagni. Thus, Parasurama took an oath to behead the entire Kshatriya race, which is said to have taken place on the hills. It is said that the 'kolahala' on the death of Kartaviryarjuna gave its name to the town, which later become Kolar. Kannada, Tamil and Telugu are the main languages spoken in the district of Kolar.

Interesting things to do:
 

Interesting things to Visit:
The major temples in the town are the Kolaramma Temple and the Someswara Temple. Someswara Temple is a fine example of the Vijayanagara style, complete with a massive pillared Mukha Mandapa, heavy Prakara walls, ornate Kalyana mantapa, a Devi Shrine and a lofty Gopura with fine stucco figures on the tower; while the door frame is carved in the typical Vijayanagara style, with dwarapalas, etc. The temple has a large tank (Kalyani) also. There are Vijayanagara inscriptions on the wall of the store room and the yagashala, dated to 15th century A.D.

Kolaramma Temple: This 'L' shaped temple has two shrines, one for Durga (Kolaramma) and the other for the Saptamatras. Both have a common vestibule. The Durga Shrine has a wagon-roof tower. The stucco figures in the Saptamatras shrine are unusually large. The temple is of Dravida Vimana Style, built in the Ganga Tradition (11 century AD). The Mahadwara has imposing pavilions in the inner side. The temple contains several Chola inscriptions, the earliest belonging to Mr. Yendeti (1012-1045 AD).

Mobile range info:
 

How to reach?
Nearest Railway Station:Kolar
Nearest Airport:Bangalore
Road Transport:Well connected by roads various KSRTC & Private Buses ply daily to Kolar from various places. Enter the city (Kolar) and take a left turn near the KSRTC bus stand to reach Antargange.

Nearest Visiting places:
1. Tipu's Drop the place from where Tippu Sultan made his prisoners fall.
2. Tipu's Summer Residence a beautiful palace on top of this hill. This palace is closed to the general public .
3. Temples There are temples dedicated to Sri Bhoga Narasimha, Sri Ugra Narasimha and Sri Yoga Narasimha .
4. Gavi Veerbhadra swamy temple on top of the hill (The temple inside a big rock/cave)
5. Nehru Nilaya, where Jawaharlal Nehru used to stay, now a guest house of the horticulture department of India.
6. Rivers The rivers Pennar, Palar and Arkavati originate from these hills.Most of the sources have dried up .
7. Brahmashram It is said that Sage Ramakrishna Paramhamsa meditated here.Its a cool cave .
8. Muddenahalli The home town of Sir M. Visvesvarayya, the architect of modern Karnataka. Muddenahalli is just a few kilometres from Nandi Hills. His house is now a museum.

Nearest Petrol Pump:
Kolar

Hotels/Lodge/Accommodation:
* American Club
* Inn on Woodlake
* The Carriage House at the American Club

Things to carry:
 

Tips & Suggestions:
 

Help Line/Phone Number:
Police Station:Kolar
Nearest Hospital:Kolar
Society/Community Phone Number

Palar River Nearest Attraction
Savana Durga Hills
A left turn some 7 kms before Magadi in Magadi road reduced our travel distance by some 8 kms and itz around 65 kms from bangalore city. Nice road to drive on and lotz of quarries on the way and road having lotz of bends and turns makes your drive a splendid one....more
Antharagange Temples
One of the ancient temples of india. It has miraculous water coming from mouth of got cow statue 365 dayz a year. It is a holy place people visit this temple from many parts of the Karnataka, Kolar District and karnataka state on Mahashivratri festival day every year. It is protected by Forest authority of india, has lots of Monkeys and wild Deers....more
Chikka Thirupathi Temples
Chikka Thirupathi : This sleepy little town is 10 km off Sarjapur. It takes about an hour from the Sarjapur ring-road junction. The road (if you can call it that) is very bad for a few kilometres after the Wipro office. It gets much better as you near Sarjapur. The scenery certainly isn't breathtaking, but it is a nice break from the chaos in Bangalore.....more
Kaivara Temples
Kaivara is centre for pilgrimage. This place is located in the Chintamani Taluk of Kolar district in Karnataka, a state that is in the south western part of India.. It is about 65 km from Bangalore. This place is historically significant. It is said that the Pandavas of the great Indian epic Mahabharata lived here during the exile in the forest (Vanavasa).....more
Kudumalai Temples
Though the name sounds like a place in Tamilnadu, this historically important place is located in Mulabagal taluk of Kolar district in Karnataka. Many people would have seen the century-old giant idol of Lord Ganesha in Bangalore on Bull Temple Road. The idol at Kurudumalai is as awe-inspiring.....more
Ponnaiyar River
249 The river finally surrenders in to the Bay of Bengal at Cuddalore. The Ponnaiyar river basin is encircled by the Cauvery river basin in the west and south and Palar and Tondiar basins in the east and north respectively.....more
South Pennar River
The South Pennar River is known as Dakshina Pinakini in Kannada and Thenpennai in Tamil. It is also referred as Ponnaiyar .The river originates in the Nandi Hills in the Kolar district of Karnataka and flows through Tamil Nadu before entering into the Bay of Bengal.....more