In
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
tradition, Triveni Sangam is the
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
(
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
: ''sangama'') of three rivers that is also a sacred place, with a bath here said to flush away all of one's sins and free one from the
cycle of rebirth
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...
.
Triveni Sangam in Allahabad
Triveni Sangam is the confluence of the
Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
(Ganga), the
Yamuna
The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...
, and the mythical
Saraswati River
The Sarasvati River () is a deified river first mentioned in the Rigveda and later in Vedic and post-Vedic texts. It played an important role in the Vedic religion, appearing in all but the fourth book of the Rigveda.
As a physical river, ...
. Triveni Sangam is located at Prayag – the area of
Allahabad
Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administra ...
neighbouring the confluence; for this reason, the confluence is also sometimes referred to as Prayag.
At Triveni Sangam, the Ganges and the Yamuna can be identified by their different colours – the water of the Ganges is clear while that of the Yamuna is greenish in colour.
The third river, the mythical Saraswati, is called invisible.
The auspiciousness of the confluence of two rivers is referred to in the ''
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only on ...
'', which says, "Those who bathe at the place where the two rivers, white and dark, flow together, rise up to heaven."
A place of religious importance and one of the sites for the historic
Kumbh Mela
Kumbh Mela or Kumbha Mela () is a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism. It is celebrated in a cycle of approximately 12 years, to celebrate every revolution Brihaspati ( Jupiter) completes, at four river-bank pilgrimage sites: Allahabad ...
held every 12 years, over the years it has also been the site of the immersion of ashes of several national leaders, including
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
in 1949.
Triveni Sangam in West Bengal
In the town of
Tribeni in
Hooghly district in
West Bengal, the river Bhagirathi Hooghly, one of the two main distributaries of the
Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
splits into three more distributaries which are called Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati. This place is called Tribeni and is of great religious significance to Hindus. It is believed that the "Yukta Veni" (connected) of Prayag in
Prayagraj becomes "Mukta Veni" (disentangled) in Tribeni Sangam. At present, due to the changing course of the river in this extremely geologically active Bengal delta region, the Jamuna river of Bengal has almost disappeared and the stream of Saraswati is also rather thin, but in the past all three channels used to carry significant portions of the flow.
Triveni Sangam in Gujarat
The Triveni Sangam in Gujarat is located near
Somnath and
Veraval
Veraval also known as Somnath is a municipality and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is also known for the hub of fishing industries in India.
Geography
Veraval is located at . It has an average ele ...
in
Gir-Somnath district. It marks the confluence of rivers Hiran, Kapila and the Saraswati, where they meet the Arabian Sea on the west coast of India.
Triveni Sangam in Kooduthurai
The Triveni Sangam in
Kooduthurai,
Erode
Erode () is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in the state, after Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruppur and Salem. It is also the administrative headquarters of the ...
is a confluence of the
Kaveri
The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu d ...
, Bhavani and Amudha and is known as the South Indian Triveni Sangam, or ''Dakshina Sangam''.
Other Triveni Sangams
Bhagamandala
Bhagamandala is a pilgrimage place in
Kodagu district of
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...
. It is situated on the river
Kaveri
The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu d ...
in its upstream stretches. At this place, the Kaveri is joined by two tributaries, the Kannike and the Sujyoti river. It is considered sacred as a river confluence (''kudala'' or ''triveni sangama'', in
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
and
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
respectively).
Tirumakudalu Narasipura
Tirumakudalu Narasipura, commonly known as T. Narasipura, is a
panchayat town
A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,000 ...
in
Mysore district
Mysore district, officially Mysuru district is an administrative district located in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mysore division.Chamarajanagar District was carved out of the origi ...
in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
n state of
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...
. The first name refers to the land at the confluence (''trimakuta'' in Sanskrit) at the confluence of the
Kaveri
The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu d ...
,
Kabini
The Kabini River is one of the major tributaries of the river Cauvery in southern India. It originates near Kavilumpara in Kozhikode district of Kerala state by the confluence of the Panamaram River and the Mananthavady River. It flows eastw ...
and Spatika Sarovara (a lake or spring, also named
Gupta Gamini). This is the place in
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...
where local Kumbhamela is held every three years.
Moovattupuzha
Kaliyar (Kali river),
Thodupuzhayar (Thodupuzha river) and Kothayar (Kothamangalam river) merge and become Muvattupuzha river in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...
and hence this place is called
Muvattupuzha
Muvattupuzha () is a town in the midlands directly to the east of Kochi in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. It is located about from downtown Kochi, and is a growing urban centre in central Kerala. The town is also the starting po ...
.
Munnar
Munnar
Munnar () is a town and hill station in the Idukki district of the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. Munnar is also called the "Kashmir of South Indi ...
city is where
Mudhirapuzha, Nallathanni and Kundala rivers merge, the name Munnar literally means "three rivers" in
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...
and
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, na ...
.
Kandakurthi
Kandakurthi is a village in Renjal mandal of
Nizamabad district in the Indian state of
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...
. The river
Godavari
The Godavari ( IAST: ''Godāvarī'' �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakesh ...
merges with the rivers
Manjira
The taal, manjira (also spelled manjīrā or manjeera), jalra, karatala, kartal or gini is a pair of clash cymbals, originating in the Indian subcontinent, which make high-pitched percussion sounds. In its simplest form, it consists of a pai ...
and
Haridra.
Bhilwara
Bhilwara is a district in the Indian state of
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...
. The river
Banas merges with the rivers
Berach and
Menali.
References
{{Hydrography of Uttar Pradesh
Hindu holy cities
Shakti Peethas
Erode
Sacred rivers
Tourism in Uttar Pradesh
Tourism in Tamil Nadu
Tourist attractions in Allahabad
Ganges
Allahabad culture