Narbada River
Narbada River, 1908
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
(Narmadd ; the Xamados of Ptolemy ; Namnadios
of the Periplus). — One of the most important rivers of India, which rises
on the summit of the plateau of Amarkantak (22° 41' N. and 81 degree 48'
E.), at the north-eastern apex of the Satpura range, in Rewah (Central
India), and enters the sea below Broach in the Bombay Presidency
after a total course of 801 miles.
The river issues from a small tank 3.000 feet above the sea, sur- rounded by a group of temples and guarded by an isolated colony of priests, and falls over a basaltic cliff in a descent of 80 feet. After a course of about 40 miles through the State of Kewah, it enters the Central Provinces and winds circuitously through the rugged hills of Mandla, pursuing a westerly course until it flows under the walls of the ruined palace of Ranmagar, From Ramnagar to Mandla town it forms, for some 15 miles, a deep reach of blue water, unbroken by rocks and clothed on either bank by forest. The river then turns north in a narrow loop towards Jubbulpore, close to which city, after a fall of 30 feet called the Dhudndhdra or ' fall of mist," it flows for two miles in a narrow channel which it has carved for itself through rocks of marble and basalt, its width here being only about 20 vards. Emerging from this channel, which is well-known as the ' Marble Rocks,' and flowing west, it enters the fertile basin of alluvial land forming the Narbada valley, which lies between the Vindhyan and Satpura Hills, and extends for 200 miles from Jubbulpore to Handia. with a width of about 20 miles to the south of the river. The vin- dhyan Hills rise almost sheer from the northern bank along most of the valley, the bed of the river at this part of its course being the boundary between the Central Provinces and Central India (principallv the States of Bhopal and Indore). Here the Narbada passes Hoshang- abcid and the old Muhammadan towns of Handia and Nimawar. The banks in this part of its valley are about 40 feet high, and the fall in its course between Jubbulpore and Hoshangabad is 340 feet. Below Handia the hills again approach the river on both sides and are clothed with dense forests, the favourite haunts of the Pindaris and other robbers of former days. At Mandhar, 25 miles below Handia, there is a fall of 40 feet, and another of the same height occurs at Punasa. The bed of the river in its whole length within the Central
Provinces is une sheet of basalt, seldom exceeding 150 yards in absolute width, and, at intervals of every few miles, upheaved into ridges which cross it diagonally, and behind which deep pools are formed. Emerging from the hills beyond Mandhata on the borders of the Central Provinces, the Narbada now enters a second open alluvial basin, flowing through Central India (principally the State of Indore) for nearly 100 miles. The hills are here well away from the river, the Satpuras being 40 miles to the south and the Vindhyas about 16 miles to the north. In this part of its course the river passes the town of Maheshwar, the old capital of the Holkar family, where its northern bank is studded with temples, palaces, and bathing ghats, many of them built by the famous Ahalya Bai whose mausoleum is here. The last 170 miles of the river's course are in the Bombay Presidency, where it first separates the States of Baroda and Rajpipla and then meanders through the fertile District of Broach. Below Broach City it gradually widens into an estuary, whose shores are 1 7 miles apart as it joins the Gulf of Cambay.
The drainage area of the Narbada, estimated at about 36,000 square miles, is principally to the south and comprises the northern portion of the Satpura plateau and the valley Districts. The chief tributaries are the Banjar in Mandla, the Sher and Shakkar in Narsinghpur, and the Tawa, Ganjal, and Chhota Tawa in Hoshangabad District. The only important tributary to the north is the Hiran, which flows in beneath the Vindhyan Hills, in Jubbulpore District. Most of these rivers have a short and precipitous course from the hills, and fill with extraordinary rapidity in the rains, producing similarly rapid floods in the Narbada itself. Owing to this and to its rocky course, the Narbada is useless for navigation except by country boats between August and February, save in the last part of its course, where it is na\igable by vessels of 70 tons burden up to the city of Broach, 30 miles from its mouth. It is crossed by railway bridges below Jubbulpore, at Hoshangabad, and at Mortakka. The influence of the tides reaches to a point 55 miles from the sea. The height of the banks throughout the greater part of its course makes the river useless for irrigation.
The Narbada, which is referred to as the Rewa (probably from the Sanskrit root rev, ' to hop,' owing to the leaping of the stream down its rocky bed) in the Mahabharata and Ramayana, is said to have sprung from the body of Siva and is one of the most sacred rivers of India, local devotees placing it above the Ganges, on the ground that, whereas it is necessary to bathe in the Ganges for forgiveness of sins, this object is attained by mere contemplation of the Narbaaa. ' As wood is cut by a saw (says a Hindu proverb), so at the sight of the holy Narbada do a man's sins fall away.' Ganga herself, so local legend avers, must dip 111 the Narbada uace a year. She couicii in ihc tuna ul a coal- black cow, but returns home quite white, free from all sin. The Ganges, moreover, was (according to the Reiva Purdna) to have lost its purifying virtues in the year 1895, though this fact has not yet impaired its reputation for sanctity. At numerous places on the course of the Narbada, and esi)eciall)' at spots where it is joined by another river, are groups of temples, tended by Narmdco Brahmans, the special priests of the river, where annual gatherings of pilgrims take place. The most celebrated of these are Bheraghat, Earmhan, and Onkar Mandhata in the Central Provinces, and Barwani in Central India, where the Narbada is joined by the Kapila. All of these are connected by legends with saints and heroes of Hindu mythology ; and the description of the whole course of the Narbada, and of all these places and their history, is contained in a sacred poem of 14,000 verses (the Narmadd Khaiida), which, however, has been adjudged to be of somewhat recent origin. Every year 300 or more pilgrims start to perform the pnidakshina of the Narbada, that is, to walk from its mouth at Broach to its source at Amarkantak on one side, and back on the other, a performance of the highest religious efficacy. The most sacred spots on the lower course of the river are Suklatirtha, where stands an old banyan-tree that bears the name of the saint Kablr, and the site of Raja Bali's horse-sacrifice near Broach.
The Narbada is commonly considered to form the boundary between Hindustan and the ]J)eccan, the reckoning of the Hindu year differing on either side of it. The Marathas spoke of it as ' the river,' and considered that when they had crossed it they were in a foreign country. During the Mutiny the Narbada practically marked the southern limit of the insurrection. North of it the British temporarily lost control of the country, while to the south, in spite of isolated disturbances, their authority was maintained. Hence, when, in 1858, Tantia Topi executed his daring raid across the river, the utmost apprehension was excited, as it was feared that, on the appearance of the representative of the Peshwa, the recently annexed Nagpur terri- tories would rise in revolt. These fears, however, proved to be unfounded and the country remained tranquil.
