Course of Chitravathi river of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, in Anantapur district in particular, and from source to joining Penna river and through Penna river, joining sea

Last updated on 1st Dec. 2021

I did some digging up on the course of Chitravathi river from its origin to the point at which it joins the Penna river, and through Penna river, the point at which it merges into the sea. I thought some readers may be interested to know it too and so am putting up this post. Please note that there may be mistakes in the information I have gathered. If readers come across such mistakes, I would be glad to be informed of these mistakes and be given the corrections.

The wiki page of Chitravathi river, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitravathi_River , informs us that Chitravathi river originates in Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka and then flows into Anantapur district.

https://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/andhrapradesh/rivers/ shows a map of rivers of Andhra Pradesh. Chitravathi is mispelt as Charavathi. We can see how Chitravathi river flows from Karnataka (Chikkaballapur district) into Anantapur district and from Anantapur district into Kadapa (spelt as Cuddapah in the map) district, where it flows only over a short distance on its own, before joining (becoming a tributary of) Penna (or Pennar/Penneru) river, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penna_River . 

Chitravathi wiki page also mentions that the Chitravathi joins Penna river at Gandikota in Kadapa district where Gandikota irrigation project has been taken up by A.P. govt.

https://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/andhrapradesh/rivers/anantpur.html shows the rivers in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. We can see the course of Chitravathi river within Anantapur district in the map. The Puttaparthi label and corresponding location are confusing but then we have both Puttaparthi town and Puttaparthi mandal (larger administrative area) as well as Bukkapatnam town and Bukkapatnam mandal. One does not know whether the labels refer to town or mandal. I think Puttaparthi town is, or should be, just below i.e. to the south of, Bukkapatnam town in the map. Chitravathi first goes to Puttaparthi town and then moves on to Bukkapatnam town and Bukkapatnam lake (cheruvu).

Note that Google Map shows Chitravathi course (in blue colour) in Puttaparthi area only when it is zoomed in adequately. But on adequate zoom in, we can see the Chitravathi course in Puttaparthi area and Bukkapatnam area very well: https://www.google.com/maps/@14.1503872,77.8230433,12z .

From the map with the above correction, we can say that Chitravathi course within Anantapur district is from Kodikonda to Gorantla to Puttaparthi to Bukkapatnam to Dharmavaram to Chennakothapalli to Parnapalli shortly after which the river exits Anantapur district and enters Kadapa district. We also see that Chitravathi flows roughly in an overall northerly direction (overall south to north direction) from its entry into Anantapur district to around Dharmavaram after which it flows roughly in a north-east direction till it exits Anantapur district and enters Kadapa district.

To know the path of Chitravathi river into the sea, we need to follow the course of Penna river from Gandikota at which point Chitravathi merges into Penna river. From Gandikota, the Penna river flows roughly in an eastward direction through Kapada district into and through Nellore district passing cities of Kadapa and Nellore (district capitals of the districts with same name), eventually joining the Bay of Bengal near Utukuru (in Nellore district).

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Update: I dug up some more info. on Chitravathi river in Karnataka.

Paragodu dam on Chitravathi river near Bagepalli in Karnataka is shown in this video from around 2 mins to around 8 minutes in the video (English & Kannada): CHITRAVATHI DAM | PARAGODU DAM | Unexplored | Weekend getaway within 100 km from Bangalore | Highway, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDwlx0TppY , around 10 mins. published on 26th July 2021.

The following video shows, what seems to me to be the same dam, overflowing : Chitravati Dam | ಚಿತ್ರಾವತಿ ಡ್ಯಾಂ | Chikkaballapur | ಚಿಕ್ಕಬಳ್ಳಾಪುರ |,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjaSzWVt1Kc , 30 seconds, published on 9th April 2020.

I was not able to get clear data on the exact origin(s) of Chitravathi river in Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka through the Internet. Google Map shows one main blue river/stream at adequately zoomed in levels which comes from Chikkaballapur district of Karnataka into Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh with Google Map also labelling it as Chitravathi river (seen at zoomed in level map). It also shows a smaller stretch blue stream starting close to Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border in Chikkaballapur district which crosses into Anantapur district and merges into  Chitravathi river a short distance into Anantapur district. I have tried to capture the associated Google Maps showing the paths of main Chitravathi river in Karnataka and also the other smaller stretch stream.

https://www.google.co.in/maps/@13.6584353,77.7965587,13z?hl=en shows what seems to be the beginning of Chitravathi river in Google Map. A thin blue stream starts just above S. Kurabarahalli (near Sri Prasanna Veeranjaneya temple marked prominently in this map, at this zoom level) going north to Chintakayalahalli and then to Nallapanahalli, Somenahalli, Chikanancharlu, Singanakudure and then to Vardaiahgaripalli.

https://www.google.co.in/maps/@13.5518216,77.8089183,12z?hl=en is less zoomed in, than above map, showing Chikaballapur city at the bottom of the map. S.Kurubarahalli and Nallapanahalli is shown in the upper side of the map on my 21.5 inch monitor at 1920x1080 resolution with the blue stream starting above S.Kurubarahalli and going near or through Nallapanahalli.

https://www.google.co.in/maps/@13.737155,77.7851432,14z?hl=en shows a blue stream labelled in Telugu script (English translation: “Chitravathi river”) flowing from Vardaiahgaripalli north into “Chitravathi River Reservoir” (Google  Map label) which seems to be the Paragodu dam with Paragodu village/town being shown nearby. Further north, the river flows to Bagepalli.

https://www.google.co.in/maps/@13.8336422,77.7300828,13z?hl=en shows Chitravathi river as a blue stream on the right from near Bagepalli going to Kodikonda in Karnataka (seems to be different from Kodikonda checkpost in Andhra Pradesh which is not too far away) and then into Andhra Pradesh flowing to Subbaraopet and a little distance later merging with the left blue stream. The left blue stream gets visible in Karnataka at this level of zoom, only at area close to Andhra Pradesh border. Within Andhra Pradesh, the left blue stream flows through what seems to be Chilamathur tehsil/mandal and then Kodur, after which, at a short distance, it joins the right blue stream, i.e. Chitravathi river, just above Subbaraopet.

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1st Dec. 2021: In response to a private remark about my post on Chitravathi river course, I wrote (slightly edited):

The recent Chitravathi river floods caused the biggest non-medical natural mini-calamity/mini-disaster I have experienced in Puttaparthi over past almost 2 decades since I moved to Puttaparthi in Oct. 2002. So I wanted to know more about the river course and as I was not able to access it easily in one page/location on the Internet, I thought I should write a post on it for others who want to know about it.

I should also add that I was reading Kamala Subramanian's Ramayana English translation yesterday, about Bharata pleading to Lord Rama in Chitrakoot, to get crowned as king and rule Kosala kingdom (with capital Ayodhya) as he (Lord Rama) is the rightful heir and not himself (Bharata). 

Bharata says to Rama (in this English translated version of Ramayana) "This kingdom is now like a dam which has burst its banks because of the floods caused by heavy rains. Only you can gather up the broken fragments and make it whole." The pic below shows the sentences in the book, which are on page number 244.

When I read these sentences yesterday night, I immediately thought about how the recent Chitravathi river floods had caused immense suffering to those living in ground floor of houses/ground floor flats in what I think are northern parts (Bukkapatnam side) of Puttaparthi town, especially Sai Nagar and areas near Satyamma temple and Panchayat/municipality office. Such flooding has not been seen/experienced in Puttaparthi for decades!

That Bharata uses such a floods metaphor to convey how grievous the Kosala kingdom situation was then (due to Rama's absence and passing away of King Dasaratha), in this English translation of Ramayana, was very striking.

I wondered whether the Valmiki Ramayana Sanskrit shlokas use such terms. Note that due to lack of time, I have not been able to parallelly read Valmiki Ramayana Sanskrit shlokas - I am reading only the English translation now.

But what became clear to me was that river floods calamity that parts of India experience at times, even today, is a common experience that we share with people of Lord Rama's time! River floods was as big a calamity in Lord Rama's time, if not worse, as it is now, and this aspect of it is brought out in Bharata's words quoted above (if the English translation is a fairly accurate translation of Sanskrit Ramayana authoritative version(s))!