The Holy Temple Tank of Cooum (Waterbodies of Chennai - 9)

There is hardly anyone in Chennai who doesn't know about the river Cooum. Geographically, the origin of the river is in a different place. However, per the Hindu tradition, the river originates from the holy tank of a Shiva temple in a village called Cooum.

As per the legend, Shiva went to fight against the Asuras to help the Devas. As the Devas missed to worship Lord Ganesha, he got angry and broke the axle of the chariot of Shiva. To maintain his balance, Shiva placed his bow on the ground. Immediately, the underground water gushed out and washed his feet. It is said that this water is holier than the river Ganga. The water flees into the sacred tank, which is believed to be the origin of the Cooum. This tank stands near the Shiva temple in the village even today. Shiva is called Tiruvirkolanathar on this site.

It is a colossal tank covering an area of about 2 acres. The tank is picturesque as it is surrounded by trees and shrubs. It is maintained well, and it has water even during the summer season.

Happy travelling.

Note: As per a report, there were about 650+ waterbodies in the Chennai region till the 1980s. Today, only a fraction of them exist. And most of those surviving waterbodies hardly have water, and even some of them that have water have been poorly shrunk. In Chennai, there are tank roads without tanks nearby and lake-view roads without lakes. There is a high possibility that even the few waterbodies we have today might vanish soon. I decided to visit the currently surviving waterbodies of Chennai and its suburbs and write about them in my blog as a series.

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