The rivers of India are the lifeline of India. Rivers are a major resource in any country. History is the witness that the world’s largest civilizations have flourished on the banks of some major rivers. The Indus Valley Civilization is the biggest example of this.
The role of rivers is very important for the development of the economy of any country. By the grace of God, there is no dearth of this valuable asset in our country, India. There is a network of rivers in India. Ganga Yamuna in the North, Godavari and Kaveri in the South, Narmada and its tributaries in the west, and Brahmaputra and its tributaries in the east are boons for India; all these rivers are the basis of India’s economy.
In this article, we will learn the basic details about some of the important rivers of India.
Below, the map of India shows the various important rivers, and below that, the details are given in the table about these different rivers, like where they originate from, through how many states they flow, and finally, where they drain.
You Can Also Practise following Quiz on Rivers of India:
Tributary of Rivers in India-Q1
Tributary of Rivers in India-Q2
Rivers of India, Table 1:
| S.N | River Name | Originated from | Flowing Through States? | Drained Into |
| 1. | Ganga River | Gangotri | 5 States (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal) | Bay of Bengal |
| 2. | Yamuna River | Yamunotri | 3 States ( Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana) | Ganga River |
| 3. | Chambal River | Singer Chauri peak, Janapao Hills ,Mhow, Indore, Madhya Pradesh | 3 States Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh | Yamuna River |
| 4. | Betwa River | Vindhyan Hills, Hoshangabad ,Madhya Pradesh | 2 States (Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh | Yamuna River |
| 5. | Ken River | Ahirgawan , Panna , Madhya Pradesh | 2 States ( Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh | Yamuna River |
| 6. | Gomti River | Fulhar Lake,Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh | 1 States (Uttar Pradesh) | Ganga River |
| 7. | Saryu River | Nanda Kot Mountain, Bageshwar , Uttarakhand | 2 States (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh) | Ghaghara River |
| 8. | Narmada River | Amarkantak | 3 States ( Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat) | Arabian Sea |
| 9. | Shipra River | Kakri Tekdi Hills, Dhar , Madhya Pradesh | 1 States (Madhya Pradesh | Chambal River |
| 10. | Godavari River | Trimbkeshwar, Nasik Maharashtra | 5 States (Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh ,Odisha) | Bay of Bengal |
| 11. | Cauvery River | Talakaveri , Coorg, Karnataka | 2 States (Karnataka And Tamilnadu) | Bay of Bengal |
| 12. | Krishna River | Jor Village, Satara District, Maharastra | 4 States ( Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh) | Bay of Bengal |
| 13. | Son River | Amarkantak Hills, Chhattisgarh | 5 States ( Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar) | Ganga River |
| 14. | Kosi River | Nepal | 1 States (Bihar) | Ganga River |
| 15. | Satluj River | Rakshastal Lake , Manasarovar , Kailas Mountain | 2 States (Himachal Pradesh, Punjab) | Indus River |
| 16. | Beas River | Rohtang Pass | 2 States (Himachal Pradesh and Punjab) | Satluj River |
| 17. | Chenab River | Lahaul Region, Himachal Pradesh | 2 States ( Jammu Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh) | Indus River |
| 18. | Indus River | Tibetan Plateau, Mount Kailash | Ladakh | Arabia Sea |
| 19. | Brahmaputra River | Chemayungdung glaciar, Mansarovar | 2 states Arunachal Pradesh, Assam | Bay of Bengal |
| 20. | Jhelum River | Pir Panjal Range | Jammu and Kashmir | Chenab River |
MCQs on rivers of India:
Q1. Through How many States Ganga river flow?
a) 4
b) 5
c) 6
d) 7
Q2. Which of the following is not a West flowing rivers of India?
a) Narmada
b) Tapti River
c) Mahi
d) Godawari
Q3. Which of the following is a landlocked state of India?
a) Karnataka
b) Goa
c) Maharashtra
d) Chhattisgarh
Q4. Krishna River do not passes through which state?
a) Maharashtra
b) Odisha
c) Telangana
d) Karnataka
Q5. Krishna River passes through how many state?
a) 4
b) 5
c) 6
d) 2
Q6. Origin of Krishna River is…
a) Satpura Range
b) Gangotri
c) Mahabaleshwar
d) None of these
Q7. Which of the following river do not empty into Bay of Bengal?
a) Godavari
b) Luni
c) Krishna
d) Kaveri
Q8. Godavari river originated from…?
a) Trimbakeshwar
b) Mahabaleshwar
c) Satpura Range
d) Himalaya
Q9. Godavari River do not passes through which state?
a) Chhattisgarh
b) Odissa
c) Andhra Pradesh
d) Telangana
Q10. Kaveri River originated from …?
a) Satpura Range
b) Brahmagiri Hills
c) Trimbakeshwar
d) Mahabaleshwar
Q11. Arrange the following rivers of India into descending order of there length
a) Godavari, Krishna, Mahanadi, Kaveri
b) Kaveri , Krishna, Godavari
c) Krishna, Kaveri , Godavari
d) Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna
Q12. Arranged the following Rivers in descending order of there length?
a) Ganga , Godavari , Krishna , Narmada, Kaveri
b) Ganga, Kaveri, Krishna , Narmada, Godavari
c) Ganga, Godavari, Narmada, Kaveri , Krishna
d) Ganga , Krishna, Kaveri , Godavari, Narmada
Q13. Which of the following rivers is not a tributary of Ganga River?
a) Son River
b) Yamuna River
c) Chambal River
d) Kosi River
Q14. Chambal river is the tributary of which river?
a) Yamuna
b) Son
c) Ganga
d) Narmada
Q15 Beas river is the tributary of which River?
a) Indus
b) Satlaj
c) Ravi
d) Chenab
Q16. Which of the following Rivers flowing only in Rajasthan?
a) Chambal
b) Luni
c) Banas
d) Mahi
Q17. Which of the following rivers crossed tropic of cancer twice?
a) Narmada
b) Mahi
c) Luni
d) Banas
Q18 Arun River is the tributary of which rivers of India?
a) Chambal river
b) Narmada River
c) Son River
d) Kosi River
Q19. Shipra River is the tributary of which river?
a) Narmada
b) Ganga
c) Chambal
d) Betawa
Q20. Mahanadi River passes through how many state?
a) 2
b) 3
c) 4
d) 5
Q21. Though which state Mahanadi do not flow?
a) Odisha
b) Chhattisgarh
c) Madhya Pradesh
d) Andhra Pradesh
Q What are the 7 major rivers in India?
Ans : Indus, Brahmaputra, Narmada, Tapi, Godavari, Krishna and Mahanadi.
Q Which is the one largest river in India?
Ans : River Ganga is a longest river of India with a length of 2525 km.