Cover the right column and recall source, course and tributaries. Indian rivers split into Himalayan (perennial, snow and rain fed) and peninsular (seasonal, rain fed) systems. For the full drainage treatment see indian drainage system and rivers and india physiography.
| River |
Source |
Note |
| Indus |
Near Lake Mansarovar, Tibet |
Flows through Ladakh into Pakistan; Indus Waters Treaty 1960 |
| Ganga |
Gangotri glacier (as Bhagirathi); Devprayag confluence |
Longest river within India; joins the Bay of Bengal |
| Brahmaputra |
Mansarovar region (as Tsangpo in Tibet) |
Enters India in Arunachal as Siang/Dihang; braided in Assam |
| Tributary |
Note |
| Jhelum |
Source near Verinag (Kashmir); through Wular Lake |
| Chenab |
Largest tributary by volume; formed by Chandra and Bhaga |
| Ravi |
Through the Chamba valley |
| Beas |
Rises near Rohtang; lies entirely in India |
| Sutlej |
Antecedent river; rises in Tibet (Rakshastal); feeds Bhakra Nangal |
Under the Indus Waters Treaty (1960), India has unrestricted use of the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej) and limited use of the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab). This treaty recurs in the security and strategic-geography context; see india borders neighbours and strategic geography.
| Tributary |
Bank / note |
| Yamuna |
Right bank; rises at Yamunotri; longest tributary of the Ganga |
| Chambal |
Tributary of the Yamuna; ravines (badlands) |
| Son |
Right bank; rises near Amarkantak |
| Ghaghara |
Left bank; rises in Tibet |
| Gandak |
Left bank; from Nepal |
| Kosi |
Left bank; "Sorrow of Bihar"; shifts course |
| Ramganga, Gomti |
Left bank tributaries |
| Tributary |
Note |
| Subansiri, Manas, Sankosh |
North-bank tributaries |
| Dibang, Lohit |
Join near the head of the valley in Assam |
| Teesta |
Joins in Bangladesh; rises in Sikkim |
| River |
Source |
Tributaries |
| Godavari |
Trimbak (Nashik) |
Penganga, Wardha, Wainganga, Indravati; "Dakshina Ganga", largest peninsular river |
| Krishna |
Mahabaleshwar |
Tungabhadra, Bhima, Koyna |
| Kaveri |
Talakaveri (Brahmagiri hills) |
Kabini, Bhavani, Amaravati; inter-State water dispute |
| Mahanadi |
Near Sihawa (Chhattisgarh) |
Hirakud Dam |
| River |
Source |
Note |
| Narmada |
Amarkantak |
Flows through a rift valley; Marble Rocks at Bhedaghat; Sardar Sarovar |
| Tapi (Tapti) |
Multai (Satpura) |
Parallel rift valley south of the Narmada |
| Mahi |
Madhya Pradesh |
Crosses the Tropic of Cancer twice |
| Sabarmati, Luni |
Gujarat and Rajasthan |
Luni is an inland river ending in the Rann of Kutch |
| Fact |
Answer |
| Longest river in India |
Ganga |
| Largest peninsular river |
Godavari |
| River flowing through a rift valley (west) |
Narmada and Tapi |
| "Sorrow of Bihar" |
Kosi |
| River with the largest basin |
Ganga |