Water management practiced by 1000 years old Chozha dynasty in Tamil Nadu, India – A review

Water is closely linked with all living beings and it is the source of all developments in the form of societal, cultural, rituals and religious beliefs. The river Cauvery is the only perennial river in Tamil Nadu and the water level is raised during rainy season. Out of 133 chapters in Thirrukkural, one of the famous Tamil literature, the second chapter itself deals with the importance of water management and the need for the water cycle. All most all the ancient Tamil literatures have evidenced of various water management practices which were carried out to manage the water throughout the year. Several thousand years ago, the olden civilizations were invented to consume the water flowing through the canals and drainages to the maximum extent. Various dynasty were ruled in India before 1000 years onwards and the emperors handled the water management in a systematic approach and managed the floods and droughts in an effective manner. Various structures like canals, dams and water diversion were built by the emperors for the effective utilization of rain water. This paper deals with the effective water management exercises practiced in more than 1000 old Chozha dynasty in Tamil Nadu.