Talakaveri – The Origin Place of Holy River Kaveri

11:20 am we started our journey via cab from Madikeri Town for Talakaveri (birthplace of Cauvery river) following Mangalore Ghat road. After 8 km of driving a left turn that goes straight to Talakaveri. 33 km driving and we reach Bhagamandala. Rs. 25/- toll tax paid. 12:40 noon hours after driving 8 more km we reach Talakaveri.

The total distance from Madikeri Town to Talakaveri is approx. 49 km

The total journey hours from Madikeri Town to Talakaveri is approx. 1 hour 20 minutes.

We met Narayan Acharya – The head priest. Upon the request he narrated The History as follows:

There are seven important holy rivers in India – Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu, and Kaveri. Talakaveri is the birthplace of the Kaveri River. From here Kaveri the river starts as a river flowing via Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu finally merging into the Bay of Bengal near Poompuhar Town in Tamil Nadu. Kaveri is Agasthya rishi wife. Agasthya rishi meditate here above Brahmagiri Mountain. 360 steps are there to reach the top of Brahmagiri Mountain. It is a good viewpoint. If the weather is clear and there is no fog you can watch part of Kerela state and the 60 km seashore.

Thank you – said I and we offer prayers.

More from a display board:

The Ashwatha tree here believe to be the shoot of the original tree under which Agasthya muni meditated.
At the level above are temples of Agastheshwara and Ganpati. Local legends have it that Sage Agasthya had originally installed a linga of sand and offer worship here.

The birth of Agni
Ashwatha peepal is found in most temple premises. It’s sacred perhaps comes from Vedic rituals of tingling the sacrificial fire by friction between two pieces of wood. One of which was Ashwatha ceremony called the birth of Agni. Different part of the trees have different medicinal properties.

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