Indian Rivers

The Indian River system is made up of two  major rivers systems- himalayan and peninsular river systems. The majority of rivers empty into the Bay of Bengal. There are some rivers that flow through the western portion of the nation and end up in the Arabian Sea. Inland drainage exists in portions of Ladakh, the northern Aravalli range, and the parched Thar Desert. One of the three primary watersheds in India is the source of all of India’s major rivers.

The rivers of India can be categorised according to their source in the course of General Knowledge.

Indian Rivers and the sources

Himalayan rivers

The Ganga, Indus, and Brahmaputra River systems are the three primary Himalayan River systems. Large basins are formed by the Himalayan rivers. The Himalayas are crisscrossed by numerous rivers. The down-cutting of the river in the era of the Himalayan uplift created these deep gorges with sheer rock walls. They convey massive loads of sand and silt upstream due to intensive erosional activity. They generate enormous meanders and a variety of depositional structures such as flood plains, river cliffs, and levees in the plains.

The main Himalayan River systems are as follows:

• Indus River System: 

The Indus River, also known as the Sindhu River, has been mentioned in early Hindu scriptures along with mythical works. The river is known as the ‘Puranik River.’ The river begins close to Mansarovar Lake in Tibet. It enters India in Jammu and Kashmir, runs through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, and finally into Pakistan. It enters the Arabian Sea in Karachi as it flows westward. The Indus is Pakistan’s biggest river and the country’s national river. Zanskar, Shyok in India and Nubra, along with Hunza in Pakistan, are its tributaries. Other tributaries include the Sutlej, Beas, Chenab, Ravi, and Jhelum, after which the province of Punjab is called.

• Ganga River System: 

The Ganga (Ganges) River system is India’s biggest river system. It comes from the Gangotri glaciers. At Devprayag, the Bhagirathi meets the other stream, the Alaknanda, to become the Ganga. Both banks of the Ganga have tributaries; the Yamuna (a large river) and Son are on the right bank. Left bank tributaries include the Gomti, Gandak, Ghaghara and Kosi. The Ganges River runs through Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal in India. It eventually makes its way to the Bay of Bengal.

• Yamuna River System:

In Northern India, the Yamuna is an important river system. The river travels through Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana after rising in Yamnotri. It flows through Mathura Delhi, and Agra, and connects with the rivers like Chambal, Ken and Betwa on its way to Allahabad, where it joins the Ganga. 

• Brahmaputra River System: 

The Brahmaputra, one of India’s major rivers, rises from Tibet’s Angsi glacier in the Himalayas. The Tsangpo River is the name given to it there. It is known as the Dihang River as it enters India from Arunachal Pradesh. It joins numerous other tributaries, including the Dibang, Lohit, and Kenula, to create the main Brahmaputra River, which flows through Assam, Bangladesh, and eventually into the Bay of Bengal. The river has the largest volume of water of any Indian river.

Peninsular Rivers

The Narmada, Tapi, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, and Mahanadi River systems are the most important peninsular river systems. The rivers of the Peninsular run across shallow valleys. Because their flow is reliant on rainfall, many of them are seasonal. Because of the softer slope, the intensity of erosional activity is also lower. The paucity of silt and sand in the hard granite substrate prevents any considerable meandering. As a result, many rivers follow a straight and linear path. These rivers provide enormous potential for hydroelectric power generation.

The main Peninsular River systems are as follows:

• Mahanadi River System: 

In the regions of East-Central India, the Mahanadi is an important river. Its source is in the Sihava Mountains of Chhattisgarh, and it flows primarily through Orissa (Odisha). This river deposits silt in the Indian subcontinent compared to any other. The Mahanadi River runs through Sambalpur, Banki and Cuttack.

• Godavari River System: 

After the Ganga, the Godavari River has the second-longest river system in India. The river begins in Maharashtra in Triambakeshwar and runs through Maharashtra, Orissa (Odisha), Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Puducherry before emptying into the Bay of Bengal with its tributaries (Pravara, Indravati, Maner Sabri, and others). The river is known as the Dakshina Ganga because of its length.

• Krishna River System: 

With a length of roughly 1,300 kilometres, the Krishna is India’s third-longest river. It runs from Maharashtra’s area of Mahabaleshwar to the Bay of Bengal, passing through Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh.

• Kaveri River Basin: 

The Kaveri (Cauvery) is a prominent river in Southern India that begins as a spring at Brahmagiri Hill in Talakaveri near Kogadu, Karnataka. It is also known as the Ganges of the South and is one of South India’s holy rivers. 

• Narmada Tapti River Basin: 

The only large rivers that flow into the Arabian Sea are the Narmada and the Tapti. The Narmada River flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat for a total length of 1,312 kilometres. The source of the Narmada is Amarkantak near Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh. Narmada flows mostly across Central India, merging with the Arabian Sea as it flows from east to west.

Conclusion

India’s rivers play a significant part in the lives of its citizens. Irrigation, drinkable water, low-cost transportation, and energy are all provided by river systems, which also offer livelihoods for a vast number of people across the country. This explains why virtually all of India’s main cities are situated around riverbanks. The rivers are also revered by all Hindus in the country and play a significant part in Hindu mythology.