The longest river of peninsular India, about 1,465 km long, rising near Trimbakeshwar in Nashik district of Maharashtra and flowing east across the Deccan to enter the Bay of Bengal through a delta in Andhra Pradesh; it is often called the Dakshin Ganga.
The Godavari begins only about 80 km from the Arabian Sea, on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, yet it flows almost the full width of the peninsula to reach the Bay of Bengal. This west-to-east pattern is typical of the Deccan, whose surface tilts gently eastwards after the uplift of its western edge. The river crosses the basalt country of Maharashtra, then older crystalline and sedimentary rocks in Telangana, before cutting a scenic gorge through the Eastern Ghats near Papikonda and spreading into a delta below Rajahmundry.
Pilgrim towns line its banks. Nashik and Trimbakeshwar host the Kumbh Mela once every twelve years, and Bhadrachalam is a major temple town. In the colonial period Sir Arthur Cotton built the Dowleswaram anicut (1852) at the head of the delta, which turned the Godavari districts into one of the richest rice-growing areas of southern India. The river's basin is the largest of any peninsular river and drains roughly a tenth of India's land area.
Create a free account to read 5 full pages a month, or upgrade for unlimited access. The definition above, the A–Z index and the pop-up definitions in lessons stay free.
