Netravati

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

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Netravati River (नेत्रावती) has its origins at Bangrabalige valley, Yelaneeru Ghat in Kudremukh in Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka, India. It flows through Kerala.

Variants

• Netravati River (नेत्रावती) = Netravali (नेत्रावली) (AS, p.506)
• Nethravathi River (नेत्रावती नदी)
• Netravathi Nadi (नेत्रावती नदी)
• Bantwal River
• Nitrias (Pliny.vi.26)
• Nitra (Ptolemy)

Course

Netravati river originates in the Western Ghats in Bangrabalike forest Valley in Yellaner Ghats of Kudremukha range in Karnataka State. The river drains an area of about 1,353 square miles. The Kumaradhara River, which originates in the Subramanya range of Western Ghats, meets the Netravati river near Uppinangadi village. Every year nearly around more than 100 tmc of water flowing to Arabian sea.

This river flows through the famous pilgrimage place Dharmasthala and is considered as one of the Holy rivers of India. This river is the main source of water to Bantwal and Mangalore. The Netravati railway bridge is one of the known bridges which serve as the gateway to Mangalore.

History

Earlier in the last century it was known as the Bantwal River; the important town of Bantwal is seen on its banks. A reference to the River Netravati, as unfordable during the South-West Monsoon, can be seen in the Gazetteer of Southern India, published in 1855. It has an apparent breadth of about 200 yards with a bed encumbered by large rocky masses, chiefly of hornblende rock, containing spangles of mica and small garnets. Sienites also occur, as fragments of a beautiful pegmatite with flesh coloured feldspar are seen in the beds of rivulets. The Netravati River is navigable by small country craft for many miles. The train Netravati Express, passing through Mangalore, is named after this river.

Often Bantwal has been submerged in bygone years during the monsoon by overflowing river Netravati. Many residents left the town, settled elsewhere, and prospered. The major floods remembered by the elders of the town occurred in 1928 and 1974.

Early history

Mangalore's historical importance is highlighted by the many references to the city by foreign travellers. During the first century CE, the Roman historian Pliny the Elder made references to a place called "Nitrias" as an undesirable place for disembarkation because of the pirates who frequented its vicinity, while Greek second-century historian Ptolemy referred to a place called "Nitra". These remarks were probably referring to the Netravati River that flows through Mangalore. In his sixth-century work Christian Topography, Cosmas Indicopleustes, a Greek monk, mentions Malabar as the chief seat of the pepper trade and Mangarouth (port of Mangalore) as one of the five pepper markets that exported pepper.

Mention by Pliny

Pliny mentions....If the wind, called Hippalus³², happens to be blowing, it is possible to arrive in forty days at the nearest mart of India, Muziris³³ by name. This, however, is not a very desirable place for disembarcation, on account of the pirates which frequent its vicinity, where they occupy a place called Nitrias; nor, in fact, is it very rich in articles of merchandize. Besides, the road-stead for shipping is a considerable distance from the shore, and the cargoes have to be conveyed in boats, either for loading or discharging. At the moment that I am writing these pages, the name of the king of this place is Cælobothras.

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32 Or Favonius, the west wind, previously mentioned in the present Chapter.

33 The modern Mangalore, according to Du Bocage.

नेत्रावती - नेत्रावली

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर ने लेख किया है ...नेत्रावती/नेत्रावली (AS, p.506)(AS, p.506) नेत्रावती नदी कर्नाटक और केरल की एक नदी है। नेत्रावती नदी श्रृंगेरी से 9 मील दूर वराह-पर्वत या श्रृंगगिरि नामक पहाड़ से निकलकर मंगलौर की ओर बहती हुई पश्चिम-समुद्र में गिरती है। दक्षिण का विख्यात तीर्थ धर्मस्थल नेत्रावती या नेत्रावली के तट पर, मंगलोर से 45 मील दूर है।

References

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