Tamiraparani River

Nurtured by the perennial waters of the Tamiraparani River, the Tirunelveli District is a well-known migratory bird corridor and a nesting colony for local aquatic birds. Every year, the bountiful monsoon redraws the fertile Tamiraparani riverbanks, with the temples and the sacred rituals as the memory markers of a landscape always in shift. This riverine ecosystem is also the home to an endless constellation of small towns and villages that have historically cultivated and worshiped land and water and the many forms of life they sustain. The Tamiraparani, “river of red leaves,” was considered holy in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

Recognizing the distinctive socio-ecological values of these natural and cultural landscapes, the Thiruppudaimarudur Bird Conservation Reserve (TBCR) was created in 2005. The bird habitat is located within the confines of the temple of Naarambunathar of Lord Shiva and Goddess Gomathi and the adjoining village. Villagers coexist with a rich mosaic of habitats within a primarily riparian landscape rich in species of birds, amphibians, fishes, smaller mammals, trees, and grasses. Testimony of the archeological importance of the site, the 14th-century-old Naarambunathar-Gomathiammal temple contains scripts and inscriptions, pictures of birds carved in stone, and wall murals marking a site of historical importance that Kings traveled for rituals and war.