River
Narmada is one of the most sacred of the five holy rivers of India. This
river forms an important connection between the Arabian Sea and the Ganges river. It flows through central India as the
fifth largest river on the Indian subcontinent. It is the Life line of Madhya
Pradesh, flowing westwards over a length of 1,312kms. The Ramayana, Mahabharata
and Puranas refer to it often. The Rewa Khand of Vayu Puran and the Rewa Khand
of Skand Puran are completely devoted to the story of the birth and the
significance of the River and hence Narmada is
also called Rewa. Narmada is also known as Narbada
(Nerbudda).
The
Narmada basin, hemmed between Vindya and
Satpura ranges, extends over an area of 98,796 km2
(38,145.3 sq mi) and lies between east longitudes 72 degrees 32' to
81 degrees 45' and north latitudes 21 degrees 20' to 23 degrees 45' lying on
the northern extremity of the Deccan Plateau. The basin covers large areas in
the states of Madhya Pradesh (86%), Gujarat (14%) and a comparatively smaller
area (2%) in Maharashtra. In the river course
of 1,312 km (815.2 mi) explained above, there are 41 tributaries, out
of which 22 are from the Satpuda range and the rest on the right bank are from
the Vindhya range. Dhupgarh (1,350m), near Pachmarhi is the highest point of
the Narmada basin.
The
basin has five well defined physiographic regions. They are:(1) The upper hilly
areas covering the districts of Shahdol, Mandla, Durg, Balaghat and Seoni, (2)
The upper plains covering the districts of Jabalpur, Narsinghpur, Sagar, Damoh,
Chhindwara, Hosangabad, Betul, Raisen and Sehore, (3) The middle plains
covering the districts of Khandwa, part of Khargone, Dewas, Indore and Dhar,
(4) The lower hilly areas covering part of the west Nimar, Jhabua, Dhulia, Narmada
and parts of Vadodara, and (5) the lower plains covering mainly the districts of
Narmada, Bharuch, and parts of Vadodara.
The
Narmada River is also known by a few other names
such as: Daksinaganga mentioned in Skanda Purana, Indija, Purvaganga,
Mekaladrija, Mekalasutra or Mekalakanyaka (Amarakosa) and Somabhava. There are
many legends regarding the origin of the Narmada.
According to a myth, once, Lord Shiva, meditated so hard that he started
perspiring. Shiva`s sweat gathered 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, the Creator of the Universe, yielded two rivers - the Narmada and the Son.
Legends
also say that for Lord Shiva, the Hindu God, the river is particularly sacred
on account of its origin, and it is often called Shankari or the daughter of
Shankar. All the pebbles rolling on its bed are said to take the shape of his
emblem with the saying - Narmada Ke Kanker utte Sankar that is a popular saying
in the Hindi belt of India.
This saying means that `pebble stones of Narmada
gets a personified form of Shiva`. These lingam shaped stones are called
Banalinga or Banashivalingas. These pebbles are much sought after for daily
worship by the Hindus. The Brihadeeswara
Temple in Thanjavur,
Tamil Nadu is constructed by Rajaraja Chola and possesses one of the biggest
Banalingas. Adi Shankara met his guru Govinda Bhagavatpada on the banks of
river Narmada. Important places of pilgrimage
along this river are Amarkantak, Omkareshwar, Maheshwar, Mahadeo temples,
Nemawar Siddeshwar Mandir, Chausath Yogini, Chaubis Avatar
Temple and others.
According
to a Puranic story, the 60 million Gandharvas, defeated the Nagas and took over
their kingdom and treasures. The Nagas went to Vishnu for help. He asked them
to get Purukutsa’s help. They sent Narmada
their sister, to ask for Purukutsa’s help. He agreed and she led him into the
nether world of the Nagas. Empowered by Vishnu, Purukutsa fought against the
Gandharvas, ultimately defeating them.
The Nagas then declared
that whoever remembers this story of Narmada
leading Purukutsa, would not be affected by the venom of snakes. Narmada went on to marry Purukutsa.