The Seven Sacred Rivers of India

Before any puja begins, water is poured into the kalash and an ancient shloka is recited: "Gange cha Yamune chaiva Godavari Saraswati, Narmade Sindhu Kaveri jale asmin sannidhim kuru". O Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri, be present in this water.

These are the seven sacred rivers of India. Ganga descends from the Himalayas and is worshipped with evening aartis at Haridwar and Kashi. Yamuna flows through Shree Krishna's Vrindavan. Godavari rises near the Trimbakeshwar jyotirlinga. Saraswati is the unseen river, believed to join the Ganga and Yamuna at the sangam in Prayagraj. Sindhu gave India its very name. Kaveri nourishes the south.

And Narmada is our own, rising at Amarkantak and meeting the sea in Gujarat. Devotees walk the parikrama around the entire river, a journey of thousands of kilometres on foot.

The shloka carries a beautiful promise: invoked with faith, any water holds all seven rivers. In India, rivers are not just geography. They are family, and they are addressed as mothers.