Hidden stories of indian rivers

HIDDEN STORIES OF INDIAN RIVERS

INTRODUCTIONA river is a natural  watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river.

Rivers have been of fundamental importance throughout the human history.

Water from the rivers is a basic natural resource, essential for various human activities.

rivers use for irrigation, navigation, hydro- power generation is of special significance - particularly to a diverse country like India.

Rivers are part of the hydrological cycle.

IMPORTANCE OF INDIAN RIVERSRivers carry water and nutrients to areas all around the earth surface.

They play a very important part in the water cycle, acting as drainage channels for surface water.

 Rivers drain nearly 75% of the earth's land surface.

Rivers are an important energy source.

River deltas have many different species of wildlife.

River valleys and plains provide fertile soils. 

Many  rare plants and trees grow by rivers.

 Animals use the river for food and drink.

INDIAN RIVERS INDUS GANGA NARMADA TAPI MAHANADI KRISHNA KAVERI KOSI BRAHMAPUTRA

TYPES OF RIVERS

HIMALAYAN RIVERSo

The Himalayas is the birthplace of many important rivers.

The rivers of the Himalayas give a new dimension to the beautiful scenic beauty of the Himalayan region.

The rivers are the main source of life in those areas.

It helps in the formation of the forest belt and irrigation process in these regions.

The five main rivers of the Himalayas are the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej.

PENINSULAR RIVERS The peninsular drainage into the

Bay of Bengal includes a number of major rivers, most notably the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri.

Except for the Mahanadi, the headwaters of these rivers are in the high-rainfall zones of the Western Ghats, and they traverse the entire width of the plateau before reaching the Bay of Bengal.

The peninsular drainage into the Bay of Bengal includes mahanadi has its source at the southern edge of the Chhattisgarh Plain.

GANGANARMADACHAMBALMAHANADIBRAHMAPUTRAKOSI

RIVERS

GANGA Origin- GANGOTRI Length-2500 km Bhagirathi and Alaknanda join each other at

Devprayag to form River Ganga. Ganga is the biggest Holy River of India According to Hindu Scriptures like Skanda

Purana, the goddess Ganga is Foster- Mother of Karttikey.

It has largest drainage basin.

STORY OF GANGA Ganga is also known by another name: Jahnavi.

According to different mythological story, when Ganga came down to earth long time ago, her fast moving waters created turbulence and destroyed crops in the fields. She also disturbed the meditation of a saint named Jahnu. Now, Jahnu was so much angry that he drank up all the water Ganga. This made the Devtas (semi-Gods) very sad and they prayed to Jahnu to release Ganga so that she could proceed on her mission. After their persistent prayers, Jahnu was pleased and he released Ganga water through his ears. On account of this, Ganga came to known by the name “Jahnavi” (daughter of Jahnu) also.Kumbh Mela which is the largest religious gathering on Earth (attended by more than 80 lakh devotees) takes place after every 12 years at two places on the anks of Ganga River

PICTURES OF GANGA

NARMADA The Narmada, also called the Rewa, is a

river in central India. Length: 1,312 km Basin area: 98,796 km² Source: Amarkantak Mouth: Gulf of Khambhat Country: India Cities: Jabalpur, Vadodara

STORY OF NARMADA Narmada is also known as Narbada. There are many

legends regarding the origin of the Narmada. According to the one recorded by Beglar, Narmada was the name of the beautiful daughter of a shepherd living at the Amarkantaka. She used to carry her father’s breakfast to him in the fields where he tended his cattle. On her way to and back from her father, the girl used to spend some time daily in a Yogin’s company whose ashram was by the road side. After sometime, the girl killed herself for some unexplained reasons. One day the Yogin, while in act of drinking bhang heard about the death of the poor girl. The cup of bhang stuck to his mouth and he died. A stream of water issued from his throat which is the Narmada River.

Another version is that the girl, finding herself pregnant with a child, committed suicide by throwing herself over the falls of Kapiladhara, and the river in which she died was named after her. According to another legend, the Narmada River sprang from the body of Lord Shiva.

PICTURE OF NARMADA

CHAMBAL The Chambal River is a tributary of the

Yamuna River Length: 960 km Basin area: 143,219 km² Source: Singar Chouri Mouth: Yamuna Country: India Cities: Kota

STORY OF CHAMBAL The ancient name of Chambal River was

Charmanvati, meaning the river on whose banks leather is dried. In the ancient times, large scale Yagya (prayer meetings in which also involve offerings to please God) used to be organized on the banks of this river and in these Yagyas animals were slaughtered and offered. According to Mahabharata, the color of river water would become red due to the flow of blood of the sacrificed animals and the skins of these animals were dried on the banks of the rivers. In due course of time, this river became famous as the river of ‘chamda’ (skin) and was named as Charmanvati.

PICTURES OF CHAMBAL

BRAHMAPUTRA The Brahmaputra also called Tsangpo-

Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia.

Length: 2,900 km Mean depth: 38 m Discharge: 19,300 m³/s Source: Himalayas Mouth: Bay of Bengal Bridges: Naranarayan Setu Cities: Guwahati

STORY OF BRAHMAPUTRA Brahmaputra River originates from the Mansarovar near

Kailash range .Worth noting is the fact that the Brahmaputra River has a male name whereas all other majors rivers of India have female names. According to legends, Brahmaputra is the son of Lord Brahma. It is said that Shantanu, a famous ancient sage began a long meditation in an ashram in this area along with his beautiful wife Amodha. Amodha was so beautiful that Lord Brahma himself became enchanted by the beauty of Amodha and requested her to make love with him. But Amodha did not accept the Brahma’s proposal. However, by that time Lord Brahma had become so excited that his semen discharged at that place. When Shantanu came to know about this, he inseminated the Brahma’s semen in the womb of Amodha. Subsequently, Amodha gave birth to a son and he was called Brahmaputra. The tank near the ashram of sage Shantanu is known as the Brahmkund. Another legend is that because Brahmaputra is the largest river in India, it carries a male

PICTURES OF BRAHMAPUTRA

KOSI The Koshi or Kosi River drains the

northern slopes of the Himalayas in Tibet Autonomous Region and the southern slopes in Nepal. 

Discharge: 2,166 m³/s Length: 729 km Mouth: Ganges Sources: Tamur River, Sun Kosi, Arun

River, China-Nepal Cities: Purnia, Biratnagar, Katihar Countries: India, Nepal

STORY OF KOSI The river basin is surrounded by ridges

which separate it from the YarlungTsangpo Rive in the north, the gandaki in the west and the Mahananda in the east. The river is joined by major tributaries in the Mahabharat Range approximately 48 km (30 mi) north of the Indo-Nepal border. Below the Siwaliks, the river has built up a megafan some 15,000 km2 (5,800 sq mi) in extent, breaking into more than twelve distinct channels, all with shifting courses due to flooding. Kamalā, Bāgmati (Kareh) and Budhi Gandak are major tributaries of Koshi in India, besides minor tributaries such as

PICTURES OF KOSI

OBJECTIVESTo show Indian Culture.To introduce Indian Rivers.

To show hidden stories of Indian Rivers.

To enhance knowledge about Indian Rivers.

PLEDGE ON SAVE RIVERS

CONCLUSION

RIVERS ARE PRECIOUS ,

CONSERVE AND WISE USE OF IT.