Rivers of India
An overview
Almost all the important Indian cities are situated on the banks of the rivers of India. Rivers of India also have a crucial role in Hindu mythology and are regarded sacred by all the followers of Hindu religion in India. There are nine important rivers of India and they are: The Ganges, Yamuna (a tributary of Ganges), Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Narmada, Godavari, Tapi, Krishna, and Kaveri. Parts of the Indus River also flow over Indian soil.
Eight important rivers together with their various tributaries comprise the river system of India. Majority of the rivers discharge their waters into the Bay of Bengal; nevertheless, a number of the rivers whose itineraries take them across the western end of India and in the direction of the east of the state of Himachal Pradesh pour into the Arabian Sea. Northern portions of the Aravalli range, portions of Ladakh, and the barren areas of the Thar Desert have inland drainage.
All the important rivers of India have their sources at any of the three principal watersheds:
- Chotanagpur plateau and Vindhya and Satpura ranges in central India
- The Himalaya and the Karakoram mountain ranges
- Western Ghats or Sahyadri in western India
Rivers running into the interiors of India include the following:
- Musi River at Hyderabad, India
- Ghaggar-Hakra River in Haryana, Rajasthan
- Samir River, India/Gujarat
Categories of Rivers of India
The rivers of India can be broadly categorized into the following:
- Peninsular rivers
- Himalayan rivers
- Inland-drainage basin rivers
- Coastal rivers
Rivers like the Ganges (with its tributaries Kameika, Yamuna, Chambal, Gomti), Brahmaputra, Godavari, Mahanadi, Kaveri, Krishna and their principal tributaries flow into the Bay of Bengal. The Indus, Tapti, and Narmada Rivers together with their key tributaries flow into the Arabian Sea. The Himalayan rivers are snow-fed and perennial rivers. The other rivers are either coastal rivers or they flow into the interiors of India.
Go to any place in India and you will be moved to see how much the rivers control the economy and indigenous cultures. Definitely, Indians have revered rivers as a shape of Mother Goddess from the prehistoric era.
