Major Indian Rivers

Major Rivers of India: Origins and Characteristics

• The Ganga River originates from the Gangotri Glacier in Uttarakhand, considered India's most sacred river. Its major tributary, the Yamuna, also starts from Uttarakhand's Yamunotri Glacier.

• The Brahmaputra begins in Tibet (as Tsangpo) and flows through Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and into Bangladesh.

• The Indus, one of the longest rivers, originates near Lake Mansarovar in the Tibet Autonomous Region and flows primarily through Pakistan.

• The Godavari, the longest river in peninsular India (also known as Dakshina Ganga), starts from Trimbak in Maharashtra's Nashik district.

• The Krishna River rises from Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra's Western Ghats, flowing through Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.

• The Cauvery, a major southern Indian river, originates at Talakaveri in Karnataka's Western Ghats.

• The Narmada (from Madhya Pradesh's Amarkantak Plateau) and Tapi (from Madhya Pradesh's Multai) both flow westward into the Arabian Sea.

• The Mahanadi starts in Chhattisgarh's Sihawa Hills, flowing through Odisha to the Bay of Bengal.