View source for List of rivers of India by discharge

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[[File:Indiarivers.png|thumb|upright=0.7|Major rivers of India.]]

There are more than 400 rivers in the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livemint.com/Politics/xb05tga2lJHln7oot8lhXN/Indias-misunderstood-rivers.html|title= India's misunderstood rivers|last1= Banerjee|first1= Ananda|date=25 May 2015|work=[[Live Mint]]|access-date=22 August 2015}}</ref> As per the classification of [[Food and Agriculture Organization]], the Indian rivers are combined into 20 river units, which includes 14 major river systems and 99 smaller river basins grouped into six river units. They are grouped into four groups: [[Himalayas|Himalayan]], [[Deccan]], [[Coastal India|Coastal]], and Inland drainage, based on their origin and drainage.<ref name="FAO">{{cite report|url=http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/countries_regions/IND/IND-CP_eng.pdf|title=India – Rivers Catchment|work=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140411065015/http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/countries_regions/IND/IND-CP_eng.pdf|archive-date=11 April 2014|date=2011|access-date=1 June 2013}}</ref><ref name="River">{{cite web|url=https://knowindia.india.gov.in/profile/rivers.php|title=Rivers of India|work=[[Know India]]|publisher=[[Government of India]]|access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref>

Most of the rivers in India originate from the four major [[water divide|watershed]]s in India. The Himalayan watershed is the source of the majority of the major river systems in India, including the three longest rivers: the [[Ganges]], the [[Brahmaputra]] and the [[Indus River|Indus]].<ref name="River"/><ref name="System">{{cite web|url=https://mssrfcabc.res.in/?page_id=13807|title=Major River basins of India|work=MS Swaminathan Research Foundation|access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref> These three river systems are fed by more than 5000 [[glaciers]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ijsce.org/attachments/File/v3i1/A1288033113.pdf|title=Comparison and Monitoring of Glacier Retreat using Satellite and Ground Methods|access-date=3 September 2015|journal=International Journal of Soft Computing and Engineering |issn=2231-2307|volume=3|issue=1|date=March 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150514095709/http://ijsce.org/attachments/File/v3i1/A1288033113.pdf |archive-date=14 May 2015|page=361}}</ref>

The [[Aravalli range]] running along the north-western part of India is the origin of a few of the smaller rivers. In [[Central India]], rivers including the [[Narmada River|Narmada]] and [[Tapti River|Tapti]] rivers originate from the [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya]] and [[Satpura Range|Satpura]].<ref name="System"/> In the [[South India|peninsular India]], the majority of the rivers originate from the [[Western Ghats]] in the west and flow towards the [[Bay of Bengal]] in the east, while a few rivers flow from east to west from the [[Eastern Ghats]] to the [[Arabian Sea]]. This is because of the difference in elevation of the [[Deccan Plateau]], which slopes gently from the west to the east.<ref name="Geo">{{cite web|title=Formation of Western Ghats|url=https://wgbis.ces.iisc.ac.in/biodiversity/sahyadri/wgbis_info/form.htm|publisher=Indian Institute of Science|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=21 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521124318/https://wgbis.ces.iisc.ac.in/biodiversity/sahyadri/wgbis_info/form.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The major peninsular rivers include the [[Godavari River|Godavari]], the [[Krishna River|Krishna]], the [[Mahanadi River|Mahanadi]] and the [[Kaveri River|Kaveri]].<ref name="River"/><ref name="System"/>

{{Sticky header}}
{{table alignment}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header col5right col6right col7right" style="font-size: 90%"
|+Rivers by discharge<ref name="River"/><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255615862_Chemical_weathering_in_the_river_basins_of_the_Himalaya_India|title=Chemical weathering in the river basins of the Himalaya, India|author1=S. Krishnaswami|author2=Sunil Kumar Singh|journal=Current Science|volume=89|issue=5|date=September 2005|publisher=Current Science Association|page=2}}</ref>
!scope="col"| River
!scope="col"| Region
!scope="col"| Origin
!scope="col"| Draining into
!scope="col" data-sort-type=number| Length<br>(km)
!scope="col" data-sort-type=number| [[Drainage area]]<br>(km<sup>2</sup><br>thousands)
!scope="col" data-sort-type=number| [[Discharge (hydrology)|Discharge]]<br>(km<sup>3</sup>/yr){{efn|name=discharge}}
!scope="col"| Measured at{{efn|name=discharge|For rivers discharging into the sea, the discharge is based on calculations at stations located close to their mouths. For others, discharge is calculated at the confluence with the parent river.}}
|-
| rowspan="2"|[[Brahmaputra]]
| rowspan="2"|[[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| rowspan="2"|[[Himalayas]]
| rowspan="2"|[[Bay of Bengal]]
| rowspan="2"|2,880
| rowspan="2"|630
| 670
| Bahadurabad{{efn|name=Ganga|The [[Ganges]] splits into [[Hooghly River|Hooghly]] and [[Padma River]]s after [[Farakka]] in [[West Bengal]]. The Hooghly flows into the [[Bay of Bengal]] near [[Kolkata]]. The [[Brahmaputra]] splits into two distributaries. In Bangladesh, the western branch merges with the lower Ganges to form the [[Padma River]] and the eastern branch joins with the [[Meghna River]]. The Padma and Meghna rivers converge to form the eastern part of the [[Ganges Delta]] and flow out into the Bay of Bengal.}}
|-
| style="text-align:right;"|323
| [[Dibrugarh]]
|- 
| [[Ganges]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Bay of Bengal]]
| 2,525
| 935
| 380
| [[Farakka]]{{efn|name=Ganga}}
|-
| [[Indus River|Indus]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Arabian Sea]]
| 3,180
| 1,165
| 197
| [[Thatta]]{{efn|The [[Indus River Delta]] is mostly in the [[Sindh province]] of Pakistan and the discharge is as measured close to its mouth.}}
|-
| [[Godavari River|Godavari]]
| [[Deccan]] 
| [[Western Ghats]]
| [[Bay of Bengal]]
| 1,465
| 313
| 105
| [[Rajahmundry]]
|- 
| [[Ghaghara River|Ghagara]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]]
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Ganges]]
| 1,080
| 128
| 94
| [[Revelganj]]
|- 
| [[Yamuna]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]]
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Ganges]]
| 1,376
| 366
| 93
| [[Prayagraj]]
|-
| [[Krishna River|Krishna]]
| [[Deccan]] 
| [[Western Ghats]]
| [[Bay of Bengal]]
| 1,400
| 259
| 68
| [[Vijayawada]]
|-
| [[Mahanadi]]
| [[Eastern Coastal Plains]] 
| [[Eastern Ghats]]
| [[Bay of Bengal]]
| 900
| 142
| 67
| [[False Point]]
|- 
| [[Dibang River|Dibang]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Brahmaputra]]
| 324
| 13
| 63
| [[Sadiya]]
|-
| [[Kosi River|Kosi]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Ganges]]
| 729
| 75
| 62
| [[Kursela]]
|-

| [[Lohit River|Lohit]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Brahmaputra]]
| 560
| 24
| 60
| [[Sadiya]]
|- 
| [[Teesta River|Teesta ]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Brahmaputra]]
| 414
| 14
| 60
| Dalia
|-
| [[Subansiri River|Subansiri]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Brahmaputra]]
| 518
| 33
| 54
| Jamurighat
|-
| [[Gandak River|Gandak]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Ganges]]
| 814
| 46
| 52
| [[Sonpur, Nepal|Sonpur]]
|-
| [[Narmada River|Narmada]]
| [[Central India]] 
| [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya]] and [[Satpura Range|Satpura]]
| [[Arabian Sea]]
| 1,312
| 99
| 41
| [[Bharuch]]

|-
| [[Sone River|Sone]]
| [[Central India]] 
| [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya]] and [[Satpura Range|Satpura]]
| [[Ganges]]
| 784
| 71
| 32
|[[Maner]]
|-
| [[Manas River|Manas]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Brahmaputra]]
| 400
| 38
| 32
| [[Jogighopa]]
|-
| [[Chambal River|Chambal]]
| [[Central India]] 
| [[Vindhya Range|Vindhya]] and [[Satpura Range|Satpura]]
| [[Yamuna]]
| 1,024
| 25
| 30
| [[Bhareh]]
|-
| [[Chenab River|Chenab]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Indus River|Indus]]
| 890
| 26
| 29
| [[Marala]]{{efn|name=Chenab|The [[Chenab River|Chenab]] joins with the [[Sutlej]] near [[Marala]] in Pakistan to form the [[Panjnad River]], which later merges with the [[Indus River|Indus]].}}
|-
| [[Jhelum River|Jhelum]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Chenab River|Chenab]]
| 729
| 35
| 28
| [[Mangla]]{{efn|name=Jhelum|The [[Jhelum River|Jhelum]] joins the [[Chenab River|Chenab]] river near [[Mangla]] in Pakistan.}}
|- 
| [[Kopili River|Kopili]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Brahmaputra]]
| 290
| 16
| 28
| Hatiamukh
|- 
| [[Kameng River|Jia Bhareli]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Brahmaputra]]
| 264
| 12
| 26
| [[Tezpur]]
|-
| [[Kaveri]]
| [[Deccan]] 
| [[Western Ghats]]
| [[Bay of Bengal]]
| 800
| 88
| 21
| [[Lower Anicut]]
|- 
| [[Dhansiri River|Dhansiri]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Brahmaputra]]
| 352
| 12
| 20
| Dhansirimukh
|-
| [[Sutlej]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Indus River|Indus]]
| 1,450
| &ndash;
| 17
| [[Marala]]{{efn|name=Chenab}}
|-
| [[Beas River|Beas]]
| [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] 
| [[Himalayas]]
| [[Sutlej]]
| 470
| 18
| 16
| [[Harike]]
|}

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Dissolved load]]
* [[Indian Rivers Inter-link]]
* [[Interstate River Water Disputes Act]]
* [[Irrigation in India]]
* [[List of dams and reservoirs in India]]
* [[List of drainage basins by area]]
* [[List of major rivers of India]]
* [[List of rivers by discharge]]
* [[National Water Policy]]
* [[Water scarcity in India]]
* [[Water supply and sanitation in India]]
* [[Water pollution in India]]
{{div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Rivers of India}}

[[Category:Lists of rivers of India|Discharge]]