Kāverī
Kāverī
The Kāverī is a holy river of Bhārata, in the south. The Agni Purāṇa, which Agni Deva taught to Vasishṭha Maharshi, calls her the Kāverī who grants varas (blessings) and counts her among the excellent tīrthas of the south, with Śrīparvata, the Godāvarī, the Tuṅgabhadrā, the Tāpī, the Payoshṇī and the Revā. In the chapter on the glory of the Narmadā it says that the Kāverī-saṅgama, the tīrtha at the confluence of the Kāverī, is very holy. It names the land on her banks in the rules for who may consecrate a mūrti, and it calls on her with the holy rivers to bathe and protect a king at his abhisheka.
The land on her banks
Bhagavān Hayagrīva taught Brahmā the pratishṭhā (consecration) of the mūrtis of Vishṇu and the other devatās. According to the tantras, he said, a dvija born in Madhyadeśa and similar lands should perform the pratishṭhā of the mūrtis of devatās. A brāhmaṇa born in these lands should not perform the deva-pratishṭhā and the like: Kaccha, the land on the banks of the Kāverī, Koṅkaṇa, Kāmarūpa, Kaliṅga, Kāñcī and Kāśmīra. The deśika, the teacher who performs the rite, is one who holds the thought “I am the Parabrahman freed from pāpa; I am Vishṇu”; even without outward marks or dress, he is called an ācārya who knows the tantra.
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 39
The river who grants varas
Agni Deva told Vasishṭha Maharshi the glory of the tīrthas, which grants bhukti (worldly enjoyment) and mukti (release). Only one whose hands, feet and mind are held in restraint, and who has learning, tapas and good name, gains the full fruit of a tīrtha. The tīrtha-yātrī who gives up accepting gifts, eats measured food, keeps his senses in check and is free of pāpa gains the fruit of all yajñas; the fruit that comes from yajñas comes from tīrtha-yātrās. One who has not fasted for three nights and has not gone on tīrtha-yātrā becomes poor.
Among the tīrthas of the south Agni Deva named: “Śrīparvata, Kolācala, Sahyagiri, Malayagiri, the Godāvarī, the Tuṅgabhadrā, the Kāverī who grants varas, the Tāpī, the Payoshṇī, the Revā (the Narmadā) and Daṇḍakāraṇya are also excellent tīrthas.”
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 109
The Kāverī-saṅgama
Agni Deva said: “Now I shall tell the glory of the Narmadā and the others.” The Narmadā is a supreme tīrtha that purifies by darśana alone, a hundred yojanas long and two wide, and all round the Amarakaṇṭaka mountain there are sixty crore and sixty thousand tīrthas of the Narmadā. Then he said: the Kāverī-saṅgama tīrtha, the confluence of the Kāverī, is very holy. From there he went on to tell the glory of Śrīparvata.
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 113
At the abhisheka of a king
Agni Deva told Vasishṭha Maharshi how Pushkara taught Paraśurāma the mantras for the abhisheka (consecration bath) of a king, mantras that remove all pāpas. If the kalaśa is filled with water and kuśa grass and the king is bathed with it, all his wishes are fulfilled. Each mantra is a blessing on the king: may Brahmā, Vishṇu, Śiva and all the devatās perform his abhisheka; may the maharshis, the pitṛs and the great nāgas protect him; may the lokas, the dvīpas, the varshas and the mountains give him the kingdom and śānti. After the seven oceans and the great tīrthas, the holy rivers are called on: “May these holy rivers perform your abhisheka and protect you”: the Gaṅgā, Sarasvatī, Śatadru, Gaṇḍakī, Acchodā, Vipāśā, Vitastā, Devikā, Kāverī, Varuṇā, Niścirā, Gomatī, Pārā, Carmaṇvatī, Rūpā, Mahānadī, Mandākinī, Tāpī, Payoshṇī, Veṇā, Vaitaraṇī, Godāvarī, Bhīmarathī, Tuṅgabhadrā, Araṇi, Candrabhāgā, Śivā, Gaurī and the rest.
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 219
Sources
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapters 39, 109, 113, 219