Editing Kaveri (section)

== Etymology ==
Kaveri is mentioned in [[Sanskrit]] as a holy river in various Hindu religious texts including the ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and the ''[[Puranas]]''.<ref name="Wisdom">{{cite web|url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kaveri|title=Kaveri|work=Wisdom library|access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref> The name itself might have had different etymologies. As per ''[[Skanda Purana]]'', the river arose after [[Ganesha]] took a form of a crow and toppled sage [[Agastya]]'s [[kamandala]]. The river then took its name from the [[Tamil language]] words ''kā'' meaning "crow" and ''viri'' meaning "spread" literally translating to "spread by a crow". It might also mean a river with wide spread banks as ''viri'' can also be translated as wide spread.<ref name="Wisdom"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://tamil.samayam.com/religion/temples/story-of-river-kaveri-how-lord-ganesha-and-maharshi-agasthiyar-started-river-cauvery/articleshow/70820021.cms|title=River Kaveri Story|date=9 September 2021|access-date=1 June 2024|work=Samayam|language=ta}}</ref><ref name="Pao">{{cite web|url=https://e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=travel.Manipur_Travel_Log.Cauvery_flows_thanks_to_a_crow_By_S_Balakrishnan|title=Cauvery flows, thanks to a crow!|date=4 January 2024|access-date=1 June 2024|work=E-pao}}</ref> The etymology of the river might have also been derived from ''kāviri'', the [[Sankethi dialect|Sankethi]] word for "river" from the language spoken by the [[Sankethi people]], who live along its waters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/travel/how-the-rivers-of-india-descended-from-the-heavens-kaveri-news-185689|title=How the Rivers of India Descended From the Heavens: Kaveri|date=5 November 2022|access-date=1 June 2024|work=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]]}}</ref> Cauvery is the [[anglicized]] version of the original name.<ref name="Pao"/>

The river is also known by other names. In ancient [[Tamil literature]], the river was called ''Ponni'' meaning "the golden one" in reference to the fine silt it deposits.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/daughter-of-ponni/|title=Daughter of Ponni|date=27 April 2014|work=[[The Indian Express]]|access-date=27 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newslaundry.com/2020/02/08/cauvery-chronicles-ii-ponnis-perish|title=Cauvery Chronicles II: Ponni's Perish|work=Newslaundry|date=8 February 2020|access-date=8 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.millenniumpost.in/opinion/the-death-of-a-river-357460|title=The death of a river|date=11 June 2019|work=Millennium Post|access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref> It is known as ''Daksina gaṅgā'' meaning the "[[Ganges]] of the South" indicating its geographical location and its significance.<ref name="Brit">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Kaveri River|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Kaveri-River|encyclopedia=[[Britannica]]|access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref> It is also mentioned as ''Ardha gaṅgā'' meaning ''Half Ganga'' in Mahabharata and other literature, due to its purported mythology of having arisen from the Ganges.<ref name="Wisdom"/> Marudvṛdhā is another hypothesised name for this river, meaning "the beloved of the [[Maruts]]" in Sanskrit.<ref>{{cite web|title=Marudvṛdhā|url=https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2020/web/index.php|access-date=18 July 2022|work=Sanskrit Lexicon}}</ref>