Longest River in India:- India is a land of rivers, and the Indian River system is classified into two part-Himalayan Rivers and the Peninsular Rivers. In this article, find out which are the ten longest rivers of India. Rivers play an essential role in the development of the country.
Most of the Indian rivers flow eastwards and drain into the Bay of Bengal, but there are only three rivers in India that run from east to the west Narmada, Mahi, and Tapti River. While the Nile is the longest river in the world, do you know which is the longest river in India?
There are very few people who would know the ten longest rivers of India. Actually, this question seems easy to hear. But in reality, it isn’t easy. Our country is vast and religious. Many rivers flow here.
There is a flow of rivers around India. We have a total of 200 rivers in India. Most of India’s rivers merge into the Bay of Bengal. But there are only three rivers of India which merge in the Arabian Sea. These rivers originate from the Himalayas, South, West, and coastal regions, etc. In such a situation, everyone wants to know which is the longest river. Let’s find out the ten longest rivers of India.
Longest River in India: Length
| Sr. No. | River | Length in India (km) | Total Length (km) |
| 1. | Ganga | 2525 | 2525 |
| 2. | Godavari | 1464 | 1465 |
| 3. | Yamuna | 1376 | 1376 |
| 4. | Narmada | 1312 | 1312 |
| 5. | Krishna | 1290 | 1290 |
| 6. | Indus | 1114 | 3180 |
| 7. | Brahmaputra | 916 | 2900 |
| 8. | Mahanadi | 890 | 890 |
| 9. | Kaveri | 805 | 805 |
| 10. | Tapti | 724 | 724 |
Top 10 Longest River in India
1. Ganga River – (2525 km)
Its holiness is enshrined in Hindu epics and scriptures, such as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Vedas, the Puranas, etc. The river is considered to be the sacred river of Hinduism. The river is worshiped as Ganga Devi. It is the most important river in India and the Longest River in India.
The Ganga basin is among the most densely populated river basins in the world. About eight percent of the world’s population lives in this basin. The monsoon precipitation varies widely along the foothills of the Himalayas and gradually diminishes as it travels from southeast to northwest.
Variation of time and space in monsoon precipitation gives rise to fluctuations in the flow, with over 75% of the flow concentration in three to four monsoon months only. The three major trans-Himalayan tributaries — the Ghagra, the Gandak, and the Saptakosi — contribute about 7% of the natural and traditional dry-season flow and 41% of the total annual flow of the Ganga.
The river originates from Gangotri in Uttarakhand and joins the Bay of Bengal. Its length is 2,525 km. Thousands of people come to worship it every day. The river flows in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. The Ganga is one of the longest rivers in the world. But sadly, the Ganga is also one of the polluted rivers of the world.
2. Godavari River – (1464 km)
The Godavari river originates from Trimbakeshwar near Nashik in Maharashtra and covers a distance of about 1465 km before falling into the Bay of Bengal. The Godavari River is an important river flowing in the south of India.
The river is one of the most sacred rivers in India. The Godavari is also called the Ganga of South India. It is one of the major rivers of India. There are seven holy rivers in India. The Godavari river is one of them. It is the second-longest river in India.
The Godavari river system is the largest river system in peninsular India. The river has been a revered river for Hindus since ancient times. The Godavari River merges into the Bay of Bengal, passing through Maharashtra, Nashik, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. Every year Kumbh Mela is organized on the banks of the Godavari river in Nashik.
3. Yamuna River – (1376 km)
The Yamuna River is related to Lord Krishna, and so it has a special place in the Hindu religion. Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world, is located in Agra at the bank of the Yamuna River and attracts tourists from all parts of the world. It is 3rd Longest River in India.
The Yamuna River, a major right-bank tributary of Ganga, originates from the Yamunotri glacier near Banderpoonch peaks in the higher Himalaya at an elevation of about 6387 m AMSL. It is the largest tributary of the Ganga River.
Yamuna river is one of the sacred rivers of Hindus. It is the longest river tributary of the Ganges. The Yamuna originates from Yamunotri in Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand. It joins the Ganges in the state of Allahabad. Its length is 1376 kilometers. Yamuna river flows in Uttarakhand, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. It has five tributaries.
4. Narmada River – (1312 km)
The Narmada: It means deep blue waters. The legend says that Lord Brahma was resting on the Amar-kantak range of hills when he happened to drop two tears. One became the Son river on the one side of the range, while the other became the Narmada on the other side of the hill.
The Narmada and the Son are separated only by a small ridge. The Narmada is considered sacred throughout its length. Even the Ganga is supposed to take a bath every year in the Narmada to purify herself. Whereas a dip for three days in Sates-wail, or a dip for seven days in the Yamuna, or just a dip in the Ganga purifies the soul, the mere sight of the Narmada is enough to sanctify the soul.
The river flows through Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. The Narmada River originates from the Amarkantak hunt of the Mahakal Mountains. This river is the longest river flowing in the west of India. This river is also included in the seven sacred rivers of India. Its length is 1,312 km. It is mentioned in Hindu scripts. This river merges into the Arabian Sea.
The average rainfall of the Narmada basin is 1178 mm, whereas annual rainfall for the entire basin varies from 800 to 1600 mm. Despite being a holy river, this river has a lot of dirt. The major sources of water pollution in Narmada are the discharge of sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff, and annual fairs and festivals. Turbidity from Amarkantak to Hoshangabad ranges.
5. Krishna River – (1290 km)
The Krishna is one of the major rivers of peninsular India, along with the Godavari and the Kaveri. The river is the fifth-longest river in India after Ganga, Godavari, Yamuna, and Narmada regarding water flow and river basin area.
Covering a length of 1290 km, it serves as one of the significant sources of irrigation for Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh. It originates in Mahabaleshwar and then flows into these states and enters the Bay of Bengal.
The main tributaries of Krishna are Bhima, Panchganga, Dudhganga, Ghatprabha, Tungabhadra and its main cities are Sangli and Vijayawada. Krishna River is also known as Krishnaveni. The Krishna River originated from the Mahabaleshwar Mountains in Maharashtra. This river is one of the major rivers of India.
6. Indus River – (1,140 km)
Indus River is one of the largest rivers in the world, which originates from Mount Kailas (5182 m asl) in the Gangdese range of southern Tibet. The river drains through the tectonically active zones of the Karakoram in Tibet, Ladakh Himalaya.
If we talk about its length in India, it is approx 1114 km. The river originates in the northern slopes of the Kailash range in Tibet near Lake Manasarovar.
The Indus River flows from Tibet to the middle of Kashmir. Many rivers flow on the right and left sides of this river. The length of the Indus River is 3180 km. This river flows from the northern part to the south in the middle of Pakistan. This river was very important in history. The Indus River is one of the longest rivers in Asia.
7. Brahmaputra River – (916 km)
The Brahmaputra originates from the northern slope of the Himalayas in Tibet, called Tsan Po. In Tibet, it is known as the Sangpo. It flows eastward for a length of about 1,430 km (900 miles) along the foothills of the northern Himalayas and then turns southward and enters Arunachal Pradesh, an Indian State at its north-easternmost point, and flows for about 180 km (110 miles). Then it turns west and flows through the other Indian States, namely, Assam — for about 650 km (400 miles) and then enters Bangladesh.
At the border, the river curves southward and continues on this course for about 240 km (150 miles) to its confluence with the Ganga. After this, the combined river flows for about 100 km (60 miles) and joins the Meghna.
After about another 240 km, the combined discharge joins the Bay of Bengal. The entire river’s entire length from its origin to the sea is approximately 2,840 km (1,760 miles). The channel varies considerably in width within Bangladesh, ranging from less than two to more than 15 km.
The Brahmaputra is a braided channel, unlike the Ganga, basically a meandering channel. During low flows, it becomes a multiple channel stream with sand bars in between and the channels shifting back and forth, between the mainstream banks which are often 6 to 12 km apart; an aerial view of the river shows many channels, shoals, and islands, which indicate a river of low hydraulic efficiency and heavy sediment load.
The Brahmaputra River is the second-longest river in the world. This river is named as Dev, i.e. Brahmaputra, the son of Brahma. It originates from the Chemayung Dung of Tibet. Its length is 2900 kilometers all across the globe. The river has a length of 916 km in India.
The Brahmaputra river is known by many names, such as snakes, Brahmaputra, etc. Suvanashree, Teesta, Torsa, Lohit, Barak river are the tributaries of Brahmaputra.
8. Mahanadi – (890 km)
Mahanadi is the river of Orissa. Unlike all other rivers, Mahanadi does not originate from the Himalayas. The Mahanadi originates from the mountain range named Sihawa in the Dhamtari district near Raipur in Chhattisgarh and flows east and southeast into the Bay of Bengal. Mahanadi is the largest river in Chhattisgarh, with a total length of 890 km.
The river flows 53% in Madhya Pradesh and 47% in Chhattisgarh and Odisha. The Mahanadi forms a significant delta near Cuttack before falling into the ocean. On the Mahanadi, there are multipurpose projects like Hirakud, Naraj, Gangrel, and Rudri. Mahanadi is also called the ‘Ganga of Chhattisgarh State.’ The basin of Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh is called the ‘rice bowl.’
It originates from the Amarkantak plateau and ends in the Bay of Bengal. The Mahanadi River is the 8th longest river in India by length.
The Mahanadi was infamous for its written history due to floods. Hence it was called ‘Odisha’s Crisis.’ Anyway, the development of the Hirakud Dam has changed the situation to a great extent. It is one of the longest dams in the world.
Today a system of waterways, explosions, and check dams maintains the stream well. Its principal tributaries are Senath, Mand, Ib, Hasdev, Ong, Pari River, and Jonk.
Mahanadi receives a lot of water flow after entering Mahanadi’s primary tributary Odisha. The place where Mahanadi reaches first is called “Naraja.” The place where the main branch of Mahanadi meets the sea is called the “fall-point.”
Mahanadi enters Orissa after Sambalpur and enters Sonpur. While entering Odisha, one reads the Mahanadi passing through deep ridges, crossing the very mountain peak. The view of this lake is charming. The tribals are residing on the banks of the Mahanadi, and their main occupation is fishing.
The Mahanadi basin has assessed groundwater potential of 16.5 km2. It has about 80,000 km2 of cultivable areas, which is about 57% of the basin area and 4 % of the total cultivable area of the country.
9. Kaveri River – (805 km)
The river Kaveri is a river of South India, just as the Ganga water is considered holy. Similarly, the water of the river Kaveri is sacred. The river Kaveri originates at the height of 1320 meters on the “Bramhagiri” mountain in Karnataka. At the point of origin, the river Kaveri looks like a small spring.
It falls in the Bay of Bengal, south of Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. The river flows 3% in Kerala, 41% in Karnataka, and 50% in Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri River also forms the Kaveri Delta near Tiruchirappalli.
Before entering Tamil Nadu, its flow is minimal, and it is like a small stream of “Adoothundam Kaveri,” which we can easily cross. In the state of Karnataka, Vrindavan flows like a blistering sound. In Sivasamundram, the Kaveri Indradhanushya looks like a Saptarangi with the stone below.
The river has more importance for its second-largest waterfall in India called the ‘Shivasamudram Falls.’ The Kaveri River is also called the ‘Ganga of the South as it has water throughout the year. The reason for this remains because of the water from the southwest monsoon in Karnataka and the northeast monsoon in Tamil Nadu.
The valley of the river Kaveri is famous for paddy production; hence it is also called the ‘rice bowl of South India.’ The Kaveri River is celebrated in Tamil literature for its scenery and sanctity, and its entire course is considered a holy land.
The region from where the river originates is known by the name of “Coorg.” The people of this region are very courageous, fearless, and mighty, and Tipu Sultan ruled this region. There is a rock of Tipusultan on the mountain.
10. Tapti River – (724 km)
Another added to the longest river in India is the Tapi River. The river flows about 724 km. The Tapti River originates in the ‘Range of Multai to Satpura’ in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh. The river flows 79% in Maharashtra, 15% in Madhya Pradesh, and 6% in Gujarat. It merges into the Arabian Sea, passing through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat.
The Tapti River is one of only three rivers that originate in peninsular India and flows from east to west. It rises in Betul district (Satpura range) and flows into the Gulf of Khambhat (Arabian Sea).
It passes through Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat and has six tributaries. The tributaries of the Tapti River are Poorna River, Girna River, Gomai, Panjara, Pedhi and Arana. Projects like Kakrapara and Ukai (Gujarat) are built on the Tapti river. Poorna river is the largest tributary of the Tapti river.
The river flows in a rift valley between Satpura and Ajanta. It is the second-longest river of peninsular India in the Arabian Sea. The Tapti river falls in the Gulf of Khambhat. Surat city is situated at its mouth before falling in the Gulf of Khambhat. The river is famous for nurturing the wildlife of Melghat.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you will have come to know the 10 longest rivers of India. Our country has fallen from the rivers. Thousands of people visit the rivers and Sangamo here every year. But these rivers are slowly getting polluted. We should protect them from getting polluted.
Longest River in India: FAQs
Q 1. Which is the longest river in India?
Ans. The Ganges River is the longest river in India.
Q 2. Which is the inland longest river of India?
Ans. Ganges is the longest inland river of India.
Q 3. Which is the longest tributary river of India?
Ans. Yamuna is the longest tributary river of India.
Q 4. Which is the longest river of South India?
Ans. Godavari is the longest river of South India.
Q 5. Which is the largest river island of India?
Ans. Majuli is the largest river island of India.