River and Water Management

Kings those days very well knew that only if Agriculture prospers the country prospers. All the kings brought in a lot of water harvesting plans, irrigation systems like man-made lakes & ponds. But Raja Raja Chozhan mastered the art of river management. Uyyakondaan and Keerthimaan are a few distributary channels that flow from large rivers during Raja Raja Chozhan’s rule. In places where there are no large rivers, man-made lakes were made.

Today, people are still struggling to establish a Cauvery Water Regulation Committee, he established a Uyyakondan lake committee 1000 years back. From Uyyakondam lake, close to 2000 man-made tributaries were made in the current day districts of Thanjavur, Pudukottai. The water flows from the Uyyakondan river to the next river, from there to the one after that and so on and on.

He also established Kumizhi Thoombu floodgate (Roughly termed as Bubble Pillar floodgate in english) a stone like structure built scientifically to open stagnant water for irrigation. There are two sections of holes on the pillar. Only one hole in the upper section and several holes in the lower section. Those holes are sealed with stone spheres. The hoses are attached to the bottom of the abutment. When there is a need for water, people swim underwater and remove stone balls from the holes. From the upper hole, the water flows to the agricultural fields and from the lower hole, the dirt flows. Thus, the dirt does not sediment on the lake.

He has also carved his names on those pillars so that people treat those pillars with the same respect as the king himself.

He was also named as Siva Paadha Sekaran (Feet of Lord Siva at my head). He says that he keeps the feet of people who preserve such lakes and Kumizhu Thoombu at his head. The head where the feet of Lord Siva are kept. Such was the importance given by him for people’s welfare.

One of the main reasons why he is still being praised by millions and millions of people is his magnanimous architecture built 1000 years back in a small city of Tamil Nadu called Thanjavur. The great Raja Rajeshwaram @ Peru Udaiyaar Koil @ Periya Koil @ Brihadeeshwarar Temple.