Meaning:
May the following holy rivers, born from the Lotus feet of Sri Hari, always bless us with auspiciousness:
 Ganga
 Sindhu
 Saraswathi
 Yamuna
 Godaavari
 Narmada
 Krishna
 Bheemarathi
 Phalgu
 Sarayu
 Gandaki
 Gomati
 Kaaveri
 Kapila
 Kitija
 Netraavati

Rivers have always been considered to be holy and a means for us to wash away our sins. Ganga is the holiest of all rivers and directly born from the Lord’s feet. However, Sri Raja Rajeshwara Yati goes one step further and say that we should consider all rivers to be born from the Lotus feet of the Lord.
Remembering rivers with gratitude and reverence is a long-standing religious tradition in India. Even an atheist accepts their importance because they are a major source of water for humanity; we cannot survive without them. In days past, not much attention was paid towards maintaining the cleanliness of rivers and people used to dump their waste material into rivers without a second thought, thereby making them filthy and harming the lives of fish and people depending on them. This attitude has changed over time and people now understand the importance of maintaining their cleanliness and purity. There are specific statutory bodies set up specifically for this purpose. There is growing awareness that rivers belong to all of mankind and it is our solemn duty to maintain their purity and sanctity for generations to come.

Ganga: Ganga reigns supreme amongst all rivers. According to shastra, it took its genesis from the feet of Lord Trivikrama. Physically, the river originates from Gangotri glacier located at a height of 12,770 feet above sea level in western Himalayas that is in Uttarakhand state. It flows from the Himalayas to Hrishikesh, Hardwar and Kashi before it finally joins the Bay of Bengal near Calcutta. It flows for 2510 Km and is the longest Indian river. It has many tributaries like Alakananda, Mandaakini, Bhaagirathi etc. It is associated with several prayaagas in its journey (the word “prayaag’ means the confluence of two or more rivers). The most well known of these are: Vishnuprayag (confluence of Alakananda and Dhaula ganga), Nanda prayag (Alakananda, Nandakini), Karna prayaga (Alakananda, Pindaar), Rudra Prayag (Alakananda, Mandakini), Deva prayag (Alakananda, Bhaageerathi). After deva-prayag the river is known as Ganga. The final Prayag is in Prayagraj (aka Allahabad) where Ganga and Yamuna are said to meet the mystical Saraswati (which flows underground and is not visible).This spot is revered as Triveni Sangam.The river flows almost 200 KM in the Himalayas before reaching the plains of Haridwaar. That is why Haridwaar is also known as Gangaadwaar. As it moves further East, many rivers join it. Some of these ae Gomati, Tamasa, Sarayoo, GanDaki, koushaki, ShONa. It sustains many cities on its banks like Kanpur, Kanoj, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Ghazipur, Bhaagalpur, Mirzapur etc. In Bengal it is called Hoogly, in Bangladesh it is called Padma river. It finally joins with portions of Brahmaputra before reaching the Bay of Bengal.
The above describe Ganga’s journey on Earth. But shastras call her a Tripatha gamini – one who traverses the three worlds – Swarga (heaven), Bhoomi (earth) and Paataala (the nether world). She was originally a divine river flowing only in Swarga. But Bhageeratha performed penance to bring her down to Earth.. Her force was too much for Earth to bear and so Bhageeratha prayed to Shiva to slow her down. Shiva caught Ganga in his mattlock (jate) and gentle released her to the ground. While following Bhageeratha she entered the hermitage of Sage Jahnu and destroyed its contents. Angered by this, Jahnu swallowed her completely. Bhageeratha entreated with Jahnu to release Ganga, which he did through his right ear. From then on, Ganga was also known as Jaahnavi (the daughter of Sage Jahnu). According to shastra, Ganga is the wife of Varuna, who is the abhimaani devata for the oceans and water in general. As narrated in the Mahabharata, she married Shantanu (an incarnation of Varuna) and gave birth to 8 children out of which only the last one (Bhishma) survived. These 8 were the incarnation of the 8 Vasus who had been cursed by Vasishta for stealing his cow Nandini. Ganga played a major role in the birth of Subramanya (aka Kumara). After a union with Parvati, Shiva discharged his bodily fluid into Agni. Agni was unable to bear the heat of this fluid and diverted it into Ganga. The child was born on the banks of Ganga, in a meadow that was full of Sharavana plants. The child was nurtured by 6 celestial damsels who were the abhimaani devatas of Kruthika star. The baby took on six faces and drank the milk of all 6 damsels. This baby was given many names – Kumara (son of Shiva, Parvathi), Gaangeya (born on the banks of Ganga), Kaarthikeya (nurtured by the damsels of Kruthika), Shanmuga (six faces), Sharavanabhava (born amongst the sharavana plan) and so on. In a week, this child grew to become the leader of the Devata army. He killed Taarakaasura in the battle between devatas and asuras. The religious significance of Ganga is captured in all religious works like Puraanas, Itihasas (Mahabharata and Raamayana) and even the vedas. Devout people revere Ganga and invoke her presence everywhere – in the water they collect to perform pooja, in the water they drink and in the water they bathe. In fact, no religious action is performed without invoking Ganga. In addition to the above religious aspects, Ganga is also considered as the life line of North India as millions of people depend on it for their existence and livelihood.

Sindhu (aka Indus): It is one of the rivers highly regarded by the vedas. It is customary to invoke the presence of Sindhu in the water collected to perform pooja and also during all religious ceremonies.  It originates in Kailaasa Maanasa sarovar, which is in Tibet, under Chinese control. It flows through Ladakh province of Jammu and Kashmir state, Baltistaan and Gilgit before entering Pakistan. It flows through the Punjab and Sindh provinces of Pakistan before entering the Arabian Sea in Karachi. It is the longest river in the Indian sub-continent and has a length of 3180 Kms. It merges with several rivers on the way. The most prominent are Kabul river (vedic name Kubhaa) and the 5 rivers of Punjab – Jhelum (vedic name Vitasta), Chenab (Asiknee), Raavi (ParuShNi), Sutlej (Shatadru) and Beas (Vipaashaa). This river is also called Sapta-sindhu because it merges with 6 rivers. This river is considered to be a male river (‘nada’) like the Brahmputra. There are two reasons for this. The first is its vast spread and length, giving it a masculine quality. The second reason is that its abhimaani devata is a male, unlike most other rivers where the abhimaani devata is a female. According to the Mahabharata, this river flowed through the kingdom of Saindhava (aka Jayadratha), who was killed by Arjuna during the Kurusketra war. Persians called this river as Hindus (as they usually change ‘S’ to ‘H’); this eventually became Indus. This land became known as Hindu desha or Hindustan (the land where Sindhu or Hindu flows). Greeks called this land as Indus or Indoi, which eventually became India.

Sarasvati: This is an enigmatic river as there is no unanimity about its physical presence. Some people call it Gupta-gamini (one who moves invisibly) because that is how it is described in religious literature and more so in the Saama veda and Shukla Yajurveda. Others point to an existing river called Sarsuti. One school of thought calls the Gaggar river as saraswati. This river originates in Shivalik hills of Himachal Pradesh and traverses through Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan; it is visible only during the rainy season. According to the Puraanas, Brahma’s wife Saraswati incarnated as a river and flowed from Brahma’s Lake in the heavens to the Himalayas and eventually joined Ganga and Yamuna in Prayagraj. This river is extolled in the vedas and has a lot of religious sanctity. We invoke this river while collecting water to perform pooja.

Yamuna: This river originates in Yamunotri which is at a height of 10,613 feet above sea level and located to the north of Haridwar and close to Mussorie, in the mountain range of Bundar Poonch. This river acts as the boundary between Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It travels a distance of 1376 Kms before joining Ganga at Prayagraj (Allahabad). There is another hill next to Bundar Poonch. It is called KaLindagiri. A small river originates in this hill. It is called KaaLindi. This eventually joins the Yamuna. That is why Yamuna is also called KaaLindi. The abhimaani devata for Yamuna river is Yamuna (aka Yami), the daughter of Surya and the sister of Yama. Surya had 9 children – Yama, Shani, Vaivasvata manu, Soorya saavarNi manu, Tapti, Yamuna, KaaLindi and Ashwini twins. The abhimaani devata for KaaLindi river is KaaLindi. She is one of the Shan-mahishis of Krishna and occupies the 6th Kakshe in taaratamya. She is higher than Parvati and lower than Shiva. Yamuna is associated with Lord Krishna as most of the incidents linked with Him happened on its banks. When Krishna was born, he asked Vasudeva to take him to Gokula. Yamuna was flowing in full spate then. However, when Vasudeva reached its banks it river parted into two, creating a passage for him. All the exploits of Krishna including raasa leela and subduing of Kalinga happened on the banks of Yamuna. When Akrura was bringing Krishna and Balarama from Vrindavan to Mathura, he performed his evening pooja on the banks of Yamuna. When he entered the river he saw the moola roopa (main form) of Krishna as Anantha Padmanabha. That is why when performing Anantha Chaturdashi vrata, it is necessary to perform Yamuna pooja before the main pooja of Anantha Padmanabha. We invoke this river while collecting water to perform pooja.

Godaavari: This river originates in Brahmagiri, which is part of the Western Ghats located near Triambakeshwar in Nasik. It enters Andhra Pradesh and finally reaches the Bay of Bengal in Rajamahendri. Its total length is 1465 km. As stated before (while describing the greatness of Gautama) this river is Ganga in another form. Sage Gautama obtained her from Lord Shiva in order to revive the cow that he was accused of killing. We invoke this river while collecting water to perform pooja

Narmada: This originates in Amarakantaka hills of Madhya Pradesh and flows through Maharashtra and Bharuch province of Gujarat before entering the Arabian sea. Its total length is 1312 kms. Its width in Bharuch is 20kms. It is one of the few rivers flowing towards the west. It is also known as Reva nandi. Shiva lingas are found in this river, just as saligramas are found in the Gandaki river. There is a popular belief that invoking Narmada’s name and remembering her with reverence can remove the fear caused by snakes. We invoke this river while collecting water to perform pooja.

Krishna: Krishna originates in the Sahyadri range in Maharashtra. It is the fourth-biggest Indian river in terms of water inflows and river basin area, after the Ganga, Godavari and Brahmaputra. It is also one of the longest and has a length of 1,400 km (870 mi). It flows through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telengana, Andhra Pradesh and reaches the Bay of Bengal after going through Mahendra hills. In the puraaNas it is also referred to as Krishnaveni or Krishnavena.

Bhimarathi: Bhimarathi (aka Bhima river) originates in the Bheema Shankara hills, in the Sahyadri range in Maharashtra. It also flows through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telengana and Andhra Pradesh. Since it flows close to Pandharapur it is very dear to devotees of Panduranga Vittala. This section of the river (in Pandharpur) is also called Chandrabhaaga (as it resembles the shape of the moon). After flowing for 861 ksm it merges into the Krishna along the border between Karnataka and Telangana about 24 km north of Raichur in a town called “Krishna”.

Phalgu: The Phalgu (Falgu) originates in Jharkand. It flows past Gaya and Buddha gaya in the state of Bihar. It is a sacred river and flows close to the Vishnupaad temple and several other minor shrines in that area. It is also called as “Niranjana” (blemishless). It is subject to high floods during the monsoons but in other seasons dwindles to a stream wandering through a wide expanse of sand. It eventually joins the Ganga.

Sarayu: It is a holy river mentioned in the Vedas and the Raamayana. It originates in the maapchaachungo glacier near Manasa sarovar in Tibet,at a height of 13,000 feet. It flows South towards Nepal and is called karNaaLi. It flows for 507 KM through Nepal before entering India. It goes by many names in India – Sarayu (the vedic name), Phagwaara, Ghaagraa, gOgraa, khaakra etc. It flows through Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh before joining the Ganga at dOriganj near chaapraa nagar in Bihar and flowing to the Bay of Bengal. Its total length is 1080 kms. It flows close to Ayodhya and is associated with Lord Raama. On Ram Navami thousands of people take a dip in the Sarayu River at Ayodhya.

Gandaki: It originates at the Nhubine Himal Glacier in the Mustaang region of Nepal near the Tibet border at a height of 12,759 feet. It then flows South-west with the name of Mustaang khOla or kaali ganDaki. It flows through a steep gorge known as the Kali Gandaki Gorge, or Andha Galchi, between the mountains Dhaulagiri (elevation 26,795 ft) to the west and Annapurna (elevation 26,545 ft) to the east. This gorge is the world’s deepest (based on the difference between the river height and the heights of the highest peaks on either side). It meets another tributary called trishooli at Devi Ghat. It then flows southwest and is called Gandak / Gandaki or Naaraayani. Since it has 7 tributaries it is also called as Sapta Gandaki. It then enters India at the Indo–Nepal border at Triveni where it meets with rivers Pachnad and Sonha descending from Nepal. It flows southeast 300 kilometres across the Gangetic plain of Bihar through West Champaran, Gopalganj, Saran and Muzaffarpur districts. It joins the Ganges near Patna just downstream of Hajipur at Sonpur (also known as Harihar Kshetra). Its total length before joining Ganga is 630 km.
It derives its importance from the fact that it abounds in Saaligramas, which are worshipped as having the special sannidhaana (presence) of the Lord.

Gomati: The Gomati/Gomti originates from Gomat Taal (formally known as Fulhaar jheel) near Madho Tanda, Pilibhit in Uttarkhand close to the famous Naimishaaranya which is closely associated with puraaNas and Mahaabhaarata. It flows for 960 Kms through Uttar Pradesh and meets the Ganges near Saidpur. It flows past several prominent towns like Lucknow, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sultanpur Kerakat and Jaunpur.

Kaaveri: It is a major river in South India. It originates in in a small pond called Brahmagiri in tala Kaaveri which is in the Sahyaadri hills. It flows for 765 Km though Karnataka and Tamilnadu before reaching the Bay of Bengal near Tanjore. It has many tributaries that contribute to the volume and size of the final river. The main ones are Shimshaa, Hemaavati, Arkaavati, HonnuhoLe, Lakshmana teertha, Kabini (aka Kapila), Bhavaani, LOkapaavani, Amaraavati etc. Another rivulet called Kannike that originates in Brahmagiri also joins kaaveri.It descends from the hills and enters the plains at Kushaala nagara. It joins the Kabini in TirumakooDalu, in T Narasipur and in the process creates two islands – Srirangapatna and Shivanasamudra. The famous gagana chukki and bhara chukki falls are located in Shivasamudra, where the river falls 320 ft. In addition to providing millions of farmers with their livelihood it is also the source of drinking water for several major cities and has several dams, supporting irrigation and power generation. There are two popular beliefs about its origin. One is that Sage Agastya brought Ganga in his Kamandalu (small vessel carried by ascetics) when he came from North India to the South. One day when he was in deep meditation a crow tried to drink the water in his Kamandalu and in the process spilled it on the ground. The potency of Ganga was such that this small spill became a large river called Kaaveri. The other story is that Agastya’s wife Lopamudra saw that people in South India were suffering due to paucity of water. She used her tapaH-shakti (mystic powers) and became a river. Both stories underscore the divine origins of this river and highlight its sanctity as a holy river. Another notable fact is that there are 3 shrines dedicated to Lord Ranganatha at 3 different places on the banks of this river – Shimsha (Karnataka), Srirangapatna (Karnataka) and Srirangam (Tamilnadu). So, in a manner of speaking, this river is dear to Lord Ranganatha and is triply blessed by Him.

Kapila: It is also known as Kabini, It originates in Kerala near Wayanad and flows into Karnataka . It joins Kaaveri at Tirumalakoodalu (T Narsipur). The famous shrine dedicated to Lord Nanjunda Swamy (aka SrikanTha) is on the banks of this river in Nanjanagud, Karnataka. It flows for a total distance of 230 kms.

Prayaga (aka Allahabad aka Prayagaraj): This is the spot where three holy rivers – Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi meet. This spot is also known as triveni sangam – the meeting spot of three rivers. The name is appropriate for another reason too. In Sanskrit, “VeNi” also means braid (jade in kannada). The braid on a woman’s head has 3 major strands, out of which the central one is usually not visible. The three rivers are like three braids on Mother Earth’s head. Sarasawathi is the central braid that is invisible, whereas Ganga and Yamuna are the two visible braids. One of the popular rituals performed here is “Veni samhaara” wherein married women offer a small part of their hair to God as a token for blessing them with a happy married life. Another popular ritual is performing homage to dead ancestors (aka shraadha or pitru kaarya)

Kitija: Kiti in Sanskrit means Boar (aka ‘Varaaha’). So Kitija means “born from Varaha”. Three rivers meet this description. First is River Tunga that originates in Varaha hills. The second is Netravati that was born from Varaha’s tears of happiness. The third is a river called Vaaraahi ; this river originates in Shimoga and flows in Udupi district. However, most scholars opine that kitija should be interpreted as Tunga because Netravati is mentioned separately and Vaaraahi is not a big river Tunga water is considered to be the sweetest of all rivers in the world and there is a saying “tunga paana, ganga snaana” (One should drink Tunga water and bathe in the Ganga)..

Netraavati: Netravati originates in the western ghats near Kudremukh in Chikkamagaluru district. It flows through the famous pilgrimage place Dharmasthala and is dear to devotees of Lord Manjunaatha. It flows for 103 km before merging with the Kumaradhara River at Uppinangadi and flows near Bantwal town before flowing to the Arabian Sea, south of Mangalore city.