Sivasamudram ('Sea of Siva')
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Sivasamudram ('Sea of Siva')
An island in the Cauvery river, in the Kollegal taluk of Coimbatore District, Madras, situated in 12° 16' N. and 77° 13' E. It has given its name to the famous Falls of the Cauvery, which lie on either side of it and which are described in the account of the river. The stream on both sides is very rapid and is fordable in only one place, and that with difficulty, even in the hot season. The island is thus a place of great natural strength, and was consequently in ancient days the site of a considerable town. Tradition ascribes the original foundation to a petty king from Malabar in the sixteenth century. His son and grandson held it after him, and it was then deserted for some years until reoccupied by a Mysore chief- tain called Ganga Raya. Some picturesque stories were gleaned about him and his successors by Buchanan' when he visited the place in 1800. They seem to have greatly extended the fortifications, remains of three lines of which still exist, to have built the temples and palaces with the ruins of which the island is strewn, and to have bridged the two arms of the river which surround it. The place remained in their family for only three generations, and they were then forcibly dispossessed by another local chieftain. The town shortly afterwards fell into ruins. In 1800 it was inhabited only by two Muhammadan hermits, other people being afraid of the demons and tigers which were declared to haunt it. In 18 18 it was granted to a native gentleman named Ramaswami Mudaliyar, who cleared away the jungle with which it had become overgrown and rebuilt the old bridges leading to it. Mysore, Canara, and Malabar, vol. i, p. 406 ff, (Madras reprint, 1S70). Two temples, which are elaborately sculptured and contain inscrip- tions, still stand on the island. There is also the tomb of Pir Wall, a Muhammadan saint, which is much reverenced by Musalmans and is the scene of a large annual festival.
