List of rivers of India by discharge


There are more than 400 rivers in the Indian subcontinent. 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: Himalayan, Deccan, Coastal, and Inland drainage, based on their origin and drainage.
Most of the rivers in India originate from the four major watersheds 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. These three river systems are fed by more than 5000 glaciers.
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 and Tapti rivers originate from the Vindhya and Satpura. In the 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. The major peninsular rivers include the Godavari, the Krishna, the Mahanadi and the Kaveri.
RiverRegionOriginDraining intoLength
Drainage area
Discharge
Measured at
BrahmaputraIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasBay of Bengal2,880630670Bahadurabad
BrahmaputraIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasBay of Bengal2,880630323Dibrugarh
GangesIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasBay of Bengal2,525935380Farakka
IndusIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasArabian Sea3,1801,165197Thatta
GodavariDeccanWestern GhatsBay of Bengal1,465313105Rajahmundry
GhagaraIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasGanges1,08012894Revelganj
YamunaIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasGanges1,37636693Prayagraj
KrishnaDeccanWestern GhatsBay of Bengal1,40025968Vijayawada
MahanadiEastern Coastal PlainsEastern GhatsBay of Bengal90014267False Point
DibangIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasBrahmaputra3241363Sadiya
KosiIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasGanges7297562Kursela
LohitIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasBrahmaputra5602460Sadiya
Teesta Indo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasBrahmaputra4141460Dalia
SubansiriIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasBrahmaputra5183354Jamurighat
GandakIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasGanges8144652Sonpur
NarmadaCentral IndiaVindhya and SatpuraArabian Sea1,3129941Bharuch
SoneCentral IndiaVindhya and SatpuraGanges7847132Maner
ManasIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasBrahmaputra4003832Jogighopa
ChambalCentral IndiaVindhya and SatpuraYamuna1,0242530Bhareh
ChenabIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasIndus8902629Marala
JhelumIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasChenab7293528Mangla
KopiliIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasBrahmaputra2901628Hatiamukh
Jia BhareliIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasBrahmaputra2641226Tezpur
KaveriDeccanWestern GhatsBay of Bengal8008821Lower Anicut
DhansiriIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasBrahmaputra3521220Dhansirimukh
SutlejIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasIndus1,450-17Marala
BeasIndo-Gangetic PlainHimalayasSutlej4701816Harike