The Geography of the Puranas c10.33

c10.33

but natural pattern. These ranges are nothing but the watersheds which bound wholly or partly the catchment areas of important rivers of Bhāratavarṣa. For instance, the catchment areas of the Gaṅgā, the Sindhu and the Lohitā (Brahmaputrā) are associated with the Himavat; those of the Godāvarī, the Kṛṣṇā and the Kāverī with the Sahya; those of the Tāptī, Narmadā (Viṣṇu Purāṇa) and the Baitaranī with the Vindhyas, etc. The only important river whose catchment area is not covered by the Himavat, the Sahya, the Mahendra, the Malaya, the Rikṣavat and the Vindhya is the Mahānadī, a considerable river system which is not accounted for in the general pattern of Purāṇic topographical description. Therefore the Sūktimat, the remaining range from the Purāṇic list is very likely the one which is associated with the basin of the Mahānadī.