sacred river of southern India. It rises on Brahmagiri Hill of the Western Ghats in southwestern Karnataka (Karnātaka) state, flows in a southeasterly direction for 475 miles (765 km) through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu (Tamil Nādu), and descends the Eastern Ghats in a series of great falls. Before emptying into the Bay of Bengal (Bengal, Bay of) south of Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, the river breaks into a large number of distributaries forming a wide delta called the “garden of southern India.” Known to devout Hindus as Daksina Ganga (“Ganges of the South”), the Kaveri River is celebrated for its scenery and sanctity in Tamil literature, and its entire course is considered holy ground. The river is also important for its irrigation canal projects.

Its uppermost course is tortuous, with a rocky bed and high banks under luxuriant vegetation. After passing through a narrow gorge and tumbling about 60 to 80 feet (18 to 24 metres) in the rapids of Chunchankatte, the river widens about 900 to 1,200 feet (275 to 365 metres) across the Karnataka Plateau. There its flow is interrupted by a number of anicuts or weirs. At the Krishnaraja Sagara, the Kaveri is joined by two tributaries, the Hemavati and Lakshmantirtha, and dammed for irrigation, forming a 12-square-mile (31-square-km) reservoir.

In Karnataka (Karnātaka) the river bifurcates twice, forming the sacred islands of Srirangapatnam and Sivasamudram, 50 miles (80 km) apart. Around Sivasamudram are the scenic Sivasamudram Falls, comprising two series of rapids, Bhar Chukki and Gagana Chukki, plunging a total of 320 feet (100 metres) and reaching a width of 1,000 feet (300 metres) in the rainy season. The falls supply hydroelectric power to Mysore, Bangalore (Bengaluru), and the Kolar Gold Fields, more than 100 miles (160 km) away.

Upon entering Tamil Nadu, the Kaveri continues through a series of twisted wild gorges until it reaches Hogenakal Falls and flows through a straight, narrow gorge near Salem. There the Mettur Dam, 5,300 feet (1,620 metres) long and 176 feet (54 metres) high, impounds a lake (Stanley Reservoir) of 60 square miles (155 square km). The Mettur Project, completed in 1934, created an important agricultural and industrial area by improving irrigation and providing hydropower.

After sweeping past the historic rock of Tiruchchirappalli, the Kaveri breaks at Srirangam Island (Srirangam), a major pilgrimage centre. There, in eastern Tamil Nadu state, its braided and extensively irrigated deltaic region of about 4,000 square miles (10,360 square km) begins. A dam called the Grand Anicut was built in the 2nd century at the point where the river divides. A second dam (1836–38) across the Coleroon River, the Kaveri's northern and larger channel, saved the old system from silting and extended irrigation. The open roadsteads of Nagappattinam and Karikal are on the seaward side of the delta. The Kaveri's main tributaries are the Kabbani, Amaravati, Noyil, and Bhavani rivers.