The Rohni (also known as Rohini or Rohin) is a river rise in the Chure or

Sivalik Hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas. The literal translation of "Sivalik" is 'tresses of Shiva'. The hills are known for their numerous fossils, and are also home to the Soanian Middle Pale ...

in Kapilvastu and

Rupandehi District Rupandehi District (; ), a part of Lumbini Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal and covers an area of . The district headquarter is Bhairahawa. As per the national census 2011, the population of Rupandehi was 880,196. Etymo ...

s of

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Lumbini Zone Lumbini () was one of the fourteen zones of Nepal until the restructure of zones to provinces. Within the zone is the city of Lumbini, widely believed to be the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism and renowned as a major ...

and flows south into

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

state,

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. At

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the West Rapti River, Rapti river in the Purvanchal , Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometres east of ...

it becomes a left bank tributary of

West Rapti River The West Rapti, also known as the Kuwano, is a river which drains Rapti Zone in Mid-Western Region, Nepal, then Awadh and Bhojpur- Purvanchal regions of Uttar Pradesh state, India before joining the Ghaghara. It is a major left bank tributa ...

, which in turn joins the

Ghaghara The Ghaghara River, also known as the Karnali River in Nepal, Mapcha Tsangpo in Tibet, and as the Sarayu River in the lower Ghaghara of India's Awadh, is a perennial trans-boundary river that originates in the northern slopes of the Himalaya ...

above Gaura Barhaj, then Ghaghara in turn joins 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 which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

. According to an account in several Buddhist texts, Kapilavatthu (the town of the Sakyans) and Koli (the town of the

Koliya Koliya (Pāli: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan clan of north-eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Koliyas were organised into a (an aristocratic republic), presently referred to as the Koliya Republic. Locat ...

ns) were situated on either side of the Rohini river. The cultivators of both towns worked the fields watered by the Rohini river. One year, they did not have enough rain and finding that the paddy and other crops were beginning to shrivel up, cultivators on both sides wanted to divert the water from the Rohini river to their own fields. Those living in Koli said that there was not enough water in the river for both sides, and that if only they could channel the water just once more to their fields that would be enough for the paddy to mature and ripen. On the other hand, people from Kapilavatthu argued that, in that case, they would be denied the use of the water and their crops would surely fail, and they would be compelled to buy from other people. They said that they were not prepared to go carrying their money and valuables to the opposite bank of the river in exchange for food. Both sides wanted the water for their own use only and there was much ill will between them due to abusive language and accusations on both sides. The quarrel that started between the cultivators came to the ears of the ministers concerned, and they reported the matter to their respective rulers, and both sides prepared to go to war Buddhist tradition holds that

Siddhārtha Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

crossed this river in his return to Kapilavastu. During the 2007–2008 floods, after the nearby dam broke an estimated 28–35 people died when an overloaded rescue boat capsized on the flooded Rohni River at Harakhpura village of Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh. There were an estimated 85–90 passengers aboard the boat, which was only rated for 30 occupants. Most were women and children.

Notes

{{Hydrography of Uttar Pradesh Rivers of Lumbini Province International rivers of Asia Rivers of Uttar Pradesh