Ganga : It is believed that Lord Shiva rewarded King Bhagirath after his penance, who wanted to bring the Ganga to earth to wash away the ashes of his ancestors. Ganga was reluctant as she feared earth would be devastated by her force. Lord Shiva then caught her in his hair and was then decided that the goddess Parvati, would bathe in the Ganga and only then she descend on the earth.
Yamuna : According to a popular belief Yamuna is the daughter of Surya, the Sun God and sister of Yama, the God of Death. Since, Yamuna is the sister of Yama, it is believed that Yama would not torment any person at the time of his death if he/she had bathed in the waters of the Yamuna.
Brahmaputra : Brahmaputra is regarded as the son of Lord Brahma. Legend has it that Lord Brahama was so impressed by the piety of sage Shantanu and his wife Amogha that he felt Amogha was the right person to bring forth his own son. Amogha bore Brahma's son. Shantanu then placed him in the midst of four mountains, the Kailash, Gandhamadana, Jarudhi, and Sambaka. The son assumed the form of a large mass of water where the Gods could have their bath. Deriving from this legend, the Brahmaputra is considered a male river even today.
Godavari : Once sage Gautama used to live on the Brahmagiri Hills at Triambakeshwar where he kept his stock of rice in a granary. Once, a cow entered his granary and was eating the rice when Gautama tried to ward away the cow by throwing a Durbha grass on her, it fell dead. He worshipped Lord Shiva and urged him to bring Ganga to purify his hermitage and relieve him from the sin of 'Gohatya' (killing a cow). Lord Shiva then appeared as Triambaka and brought along river Ganga. Since Ganga was brought down to Triambakeshwar by Sage Gautama, she is known here as Gautami. It is also known as Godavari, since the river helped Gautama to relieve him off 'Gohatya'.
Mahanadi : Mahanadi has its origin in Chhattisgarh and it flows east through the state of Orissa before entering the Bay of Bengal near Cuttack. The river covers a distance of 851 km from its source. The Mahanadi originates from the hills of the Bastar Plateau in Raipur district. The Tel and Hasdo rivers are its main tributaries. The Mahanadi is one of the most active silt-depositing streams in the Indian-subcontinent.
Cauvery : Mythology has it that the Cauvery River was held in a Kamandalu (a container of sacred water) by Sage Agasthya. Vinayaka (Lord Ganesha) took the form of a crow and perched on the kamandalu when Agasthya was meditating. When Agasthya realised this, he tried to shoo away the crow. But the crow tipped the kamandalu and toppled it. Out poured the Cauvery and it started flowing.
Narmada : Once Lord Shiva meditated so hard that he started perspiring. Shiva’s sweat accumulated in a tank and started flowing in the form of a river – the Narmada. Another legend has it that two teardrops that fell from the eyes of Lord Brahma, yielded two rivers – the Narmada and the Sone.
Krishna : The source of the river is believed to be a spout from the mouth of a cow’s statue in the ancient temple Lord Shiva in Mahabaleshwar. The Krishna is said to be the Lord Vishnu himself as a result of a curse on the triumvirate of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh by Savitri. Its tributaries – Venna and Koyana – are said to be Brahma and Shiva themselves.
Sutlej : There may be many stories attached to the river Sutlej but this one is associated with sage Vashishta. It is believed that the sage Vashishta was not wanted to live, so he tried to drown himself in the waters of the Sutlej. As soon as Vashishta entered the waters of river Sutlej, it bifurcated into a hundred channels, thus preventing the sage from drowning. That is why Sutlej is also called 'Statadru' or with hundred arms.
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