The Tamsa River or the Tons River is a major tributary 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 which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

flowing through the

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 ...

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

and

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 ...

Course

The Tamsa rises in a tank at Tamakund in the Kaimur Range at an elevation of in the Maihar district. Then it flows through the fertile districts of Maihar and Rewa. At the edge of the Purwa plateau, the Tamsa and its tributaries form many waterfalls. The river receives the Belan in UP and joins the Ganges at the town of Sirsa, just under downstream of the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna. The total length of the river is . It has a total drainage area of . While descending through the

Rewa Plateau The Rewa Plateau covers a portion of Rewa district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Madhya Pradesh. The Rewa Plateau lies between the Kaimur Range in the south and Vindhya Range or Binj Pahar in the north. To the north of ...

and draining northwards, the Tamsa makes a vertical fall of 70m known as Purwa Falls. Some of the more notable waterfalls on the tributaries of the ''Tamsa River, as they come down from the Rewa Plateau, are Chachai Falls (127m) on the Beehar River, a tributary of the Tamsa; the Keoti Falls (98m) on the Mahana River, a tributary of the Tamsa; and Odda Falls (145m) on the Odda River, a tributary of the Belan River, which is itself a tributary of the Tamsa.

Significance

This river bears significance to Hindus due to its identification with the river where

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

spent his first night during his fourteen years of forest exile, according to the ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

''. When Rama left

Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...

, people followed him, and were not ready to return to their homes. In the evening, Rama, Lakshmana, and

Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

and all the people reached the banks of the Tamsa. Rama and everyone agreed to spend the night at the banks of the Tamsa river and continue the journey the next morning. However, Rama left behind the people as they slept and continued his journey further. The

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Valmiki Valmiki (; , ) was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic ''Ramayana'', based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poe ...

is regarded to have been located at the banks of the Tamsa river. When Sita was left behind by Rama after her departure from Ayodhya, she is said to have come to the banks of the Tamsa river some 15 km away from the city, where she met

Valmiki Valmiki (; , ) was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic ''Ramayana'', based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poe ...

, who requested Sita to live in his ashrama. Sita is believed to have spent most of her remaining life here, and her twin sons

Lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

and Kusha received education and trained in

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

skills under Valmiki's tutelage. Also on the banks of the Tamsa was the ashrama of Bharadvaja, mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayana; it is here that on seeing the plight of a bird couple, Valmiki composed his first ''

shloka Shloka or śloka ( , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927).) in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is "any verse or stan ...

''.

Towns And villages situated on Tamsa River

* Maihar * Pathrahta * Cheruia * Pipraon * Malpar * Chakghat * Meja * Teonthar * Mau * Ballia * AzamgarhAzamgarh District Website
/ref> * Ambedkar Nagar district

References

External links

*
Tamas River wikimapia
{{Hydrography of Uttar Pradesh Rivers of Madhya Pradesh Rivers of Uttar Pradesh Tributaries of the Ganges Ancient Indian rivers Ganges basin