NARMADA RIVER

The Narmada River is considered the mother and giver of peace. Legend has it that the mere sight of this river is enough to cleanse one’s soul, as against a dip in the Ganga or seven in the Yamuna. The Ganga is believed to visit this river once a year, in the guise of a black cow to cleanse herself of all her collected sins.

All along the river, one will be always close to teak jungles. Apart from teaks, India’s best hardwood forests are found in the Narmada river basin and they are much older than the ones in theHimalayas. 
 

There is the Chausath Yogini (sixty-four yoginis) temple above the lower end of the gorge. The attendants of Durga are represented here. Although the images have been damaged, they still retain their pristine beauty.

The city of Jabalpur is the second largest in Madhya Pradesh after Bhopal. The metropolis itself stands in a rock basin about 10 km away from the Narmada. Named after a saint called Jabali who lived here, Jabalpur is famous for its marble rocks.

Down the Narmada, it is a myriad landscape—thickly forested mountain slopes, rocky regions with picturesque rapids, falls and whirlpools and cultivated lands with rich black cotton soil. The great river runs through rift valleys, which are part of perhaps the oldest geological formations of India. Believed to have originated from the body of Shiva, the river is also known as Jata Shankari. The worship of Shiva is common in these areas, and each stone or pebble found in the bed of the Narmada is believed to be a Shivalinga. Places along the banks—Omkareshwar, Maheshwar, and Mahadeo—are all named after Shiva.

GODAVARI RIVER

The second largest river in India, Godavari is often referred to as the Vriddh (Old) Ganga or the Dakshin (South) Ganga. The name may be apt in more ways than one, as the river follows the course of Ganga's tragedy: Pollution in this peninsular river is fast reaching unsafe levels. The Godavari originates near Triambak in the Nasik district of Maharashtra, and flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. Although its point of origin is just 80 kms away from the Arabian Sea, it journeys 1,465 kms to fall into the Bay of Bengal. Some of its tributaries include Indravati, Manjira, Bindusara and Sarbari. Some important urban centers on its banks include Nasik, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Nizamabad, Rajahmundry, and Balaghat.

KRISHNA RIVER

The Krishna River is one of the longest rivers of India. It originates at Mahabaleswar in Maharashtra, passes through Karnataka and meets the sea in the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladeevi in Andhra Pradesh.

TUNGA BHADRA

The Tungabhadra is a chief tributary of the Krishna River. The Tungabhadra is formed north of Shimoga at an elevatibn of about 610 metres by the union of twin rivers, the Tunga and the Bhadra, which rise in the eastern slope of the Western Ghats, in the state of Karnataka. The Tungabhadra flows east across the Deccan Plateau, joining the Krishna in Andhra Pradesh state, from where the Krishna continues east to empty into the Bay of Bengal.

RIVER KAVERI

Kaveri river, also called Dakshina Ganga (the Ganges of the south), is one of the great and sacred rivers of India. It has many tributaries including Shimsa, Hemavati, Arkavathi, Kapila, Honnuhole, Lakshmana Tirtha, Kabini, Bhavani, Lokapavani, Noyyal and Amaravati. It is also considered sacred by the Hindus as water will purify all sin. The origin of river Kaveri is Talakaveri located in the Western Ghats in Coorg (Kodagu) district. Talakaveri is a famous pligrimage and tourist spot set amidst Bramahagiri Hills near Mercara (Madikeri) in Coorg (Kodagu) district of Karnataka. It flows south and east for around 765 km, emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

RIVER SARASWATI

The Sarasvati River is one of the chief Rigvedic rivers mentioned in ancient Hindu texts. TheNadistuti hymn in the Rigveda  mentions the Sarasvati between the Yamuna in the east and the Sutlej in the west, and later Vedic texts like Tandya and Jaiminiya Brahmanas as well as the Mahabharata mention that the Sarasvati dried up in a desert. The goddess Sarasvati was originally a personification of this river, but later developed an independent identity and gained meaning.

The identification of the Vedic Sarasvati River with the Ghaggar-Hakra River was accepted by Christian Lassen,^[1] Max Müller,^[2] Marc Aurel Stein, C.F. Oldham^[3] and Jane Macintosh,^[4] while some Vedic scholars believe the Helmand River of southern Afghanistan corresponds to the Sarasvati River

RIVER YAMUNA

                                                                                                    Yamuna river forms the eastern boundary of Haryana with Uttar Pradesh. Yamuna enters Haryana near the Kalesar forest in Yamuna nagar district. It flows south along the districts of Yamunanagar, Karnal, Panipat, Sonipat, and exits Haryana near Hasanpur in district Faridabad. At Tajewala barrage in district Yamunanagar, the waters of the river Yamuna are caught and diverted in the Western Yamuna Canal for irrigation. There is a nice tourist spot at Hathni Kund near this barrage. The world famous Taj Mahal is situated on the banks of this river in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. This river is also called Yamna, Jamna and Jamuna in different Hindi dialects.

Religious: The Rivers Ganga and Yamuna along with the now dried Saraswati, are the most sacred rivers in India. Yamuna, according to the legends, is the daughter of the Sun God, Surya and the sister of Yama, the God of Death. According to ancient beliefs it is said that those who take a dip in the holy waters of the river do not fear death. This river is also closely connected to Mahabharat and Lord Krishna. His father Vasudeva, crossed the Yamuna with baby Lord Krishna for a safe place. It is said that Lord Krishna played along with his cowherd friends on the banks of river Yamuna during his childhood.

Yamuna is popularly called as Jamuna in Uttar Pradesh state and northern India which rises in Himalayas near Yamunotri. It is from here the river started her journey to Vrindavan and Mathura. Then she started flowing towards south and southeastern parts and flourished the places on her way. Reaching the Prayag, one of the most sacred places in India, she joins with Ganges. Then they both flow together till Ksheer Sagar.