Shipra River
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Shipra (शिप्रा), also known as the Kshipra (क्षिप्रा), is a river in Madhya Pradesh. The holy city of Ujjain is situated on its east bank.
Variants
- Shipra शिप्रा = Sipra सिप्रा (AS, p.898)
- Kshipra/Kshipra River (क्षिप्रा नदी) (AS, p.898)
- Sipra River सिप्रा = Shipra शिप्रा (AS, p.966)
Jat clans
- Sipra (सिप्रा) The Sipra are a clan of Gill Jats. They are found in Jhang, Chiniot, Sargodha and Faisalabad districts. According to 1911 census, the Sipra Muslim Jat clan in Districts:[1]
Course
The river rises in the North of Dhar district, and flows north across the Malwa Plateau to join the Chambal River at the MP-Rajasthan boundary in Mandsaur district.
The Shipra starts her journey in the Vindhya Range from a hill called Kokri Tekdi situated at a distance of 11km from Ujjain. This river is 195 km long, out of which 93 km flow through Ujjain. It then touches Ratlam and Mandsaur, before joining the river Chambal. The main tributaries of Shipra are Khan River and Gambhir.
Shipra is a perennial river. Earlier there used to be plenty of water in the river. Now the river stops flowing a couple of months after the monsoon.
Legend
Legend has it that once Shiva went begging for alms, using the skull of Lord Brahma as the begging bowl. Nowhere in the three worlds did he manage to get any alms. Ultimately, he went to Vaikunth, or the abode of Lord Vishnu, and asked Lord Vishnu for alms. In return, Lord Vishnu showed Lord Shiva his index finger, which enraged the latter. Lord Shiva took out his trishul, or trident, and cut Lord Vishnu's fingers. The Preserver's fingers began to bleed profusely, and the blood accumulated in Brahma's skull and soon overflowed from it. The flow became a stream and finally a river – the Shipra.
Importance
It is one of the sacred rivers in Hinduism. The holy city of Ujjain is situated on its east bank. Every 12 years, the Sinhastha fair (Kumbh Mela) takes place on the city's elaborate riverside ghats, as do yearly celebrations of the river goddess Kshipra. There are hundreds of Hindu shrines along the banks of the river Shipra.
The Puranas, or ancient Hindu texts, also suggest that the Shipra originated from the heart of Varaha, Lord Vishnu's incarnation as a boar.
Also on the banks of the Shipra is Sage Sandipani’s ashram or hermitage where the blue god, Krishna, Lord Vishnu's eighth incarnation, had studied.
Narmada Shipra Sihastha Link Project
Narmada Shipra Sihastha Link Pariyojana, Mundla Dosdar - a project linking Shipra river to River Narmada was commenced in 2012 and completed in 2015.[2] The project lifts water from the Narmada river using electricity, and then transports it to the source of Kshipra river through pipes. The link project is the first phase of Rs 8000-crore Narmada-Malwa Link project. Under the project, Narmada would be connected to Kshipra, Gambhir, Kalisindh and Parwati rivers.
शिप्रा = सिप्रा नदी
शिप्रा या 'सिप्रा' (AS, p.898): यह नदी उज्जयिनी के निकट बहने वाली नदी है। वर्तमान में यह क्षिप्रा नदी के नाम से अधिक प्रसिद्ध है। यह चम्बल नदी की सहायक नदी है।
मेघदूत (पूर्वमेघ 33) में इस नदी का उज्जयिनी के सम्बन्ध में उल्लेख है- 'दीर्घीकुर्वनपटुमदकलंकूजितं सारसानां, प्रत्यूपेषु स्फुटित कमलामोदमैत्री। कषाय:, यत्र स्त्रीणां हरति सुरतग्लानिमंगानुकूल: शिप्रावात: प्रियतम इवं प्रार्थनाचाटुकार:'
[p.899]: अर्थात् "अवंती में शिप्रा-पवन सारसों की मदभरी कूक को बढ़ाता है, उषा:काल में खिले कमलों की सुगन्ध के स्पर्श से कसैला जान पड़ता है। स्त्रियों की सूरतग्लानि को हरने के कारण शरीर को आनन्ददायक प्रतीत होता है और प्रियतम के समान विनती करने में बड़ा कुशल है।
रघुवंश 6,35 में भी महाकवि कालीदास ने इन्दुमती स्वयंवर के प्रसंग में शिप्रा की वायु का मनोहर वर्णन किया है- 'अनेन यूना सह पार्थिवेन रम्भोरु कच्चिन्मनसो-रुचिस्ते, शिप्रातरंगानिलकम्पितासुविहर्तुमुद्यानपरम्परासु।'
इन्दुमती की सखी सुनंदा अवंतिराज का परिचय कराने के पश्चात् उससे कहती है- "क्या तेरी रुचि इस अवंतिनाथ के साथ (उज्जयिनी के) उन उद्यानों में विहरण करने की है, जो शिप्रातरंगों से स्पृष्ट पवन द्वारा कम्पित होते रहते हैं।"
External Links
References
- ↑ Census Of India 1911 Volume xiv Punjab Part 2 by Pandit Narikishan Kaul
- ↑ http://daily.bhaskar.com/news/MP-IND-narmada-kshipra-link-project-starts-4094081-NOR.html