Nayar River

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Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

Nayar (नयार नदी) is a perennial, non-glacial river in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand. The river system is one of the largest non-glacial perennial rivers in the state, second only to Ramganga (West) and flows entirely in the district of Pauri Garhwal.

Origin

As per historical records and ancient Hindu religious texts the river was called Narad-ganga. The present name of the river "Nayar" is presumably derived from its ancient name "Narad-ganga".

Variants

Course

The two main branches of the river, Nayar East and Nayar West along with Ramganga River, rise in the dense forests and high meadows of Dudhatoli and merge to form Nayar roughly one kilometre ahead of Satpuli. Satpuli is a town on the left bank of Nayar East river. In its native range, both the branches of Nayar, i.e., Nayar East and West are referred to as Nayar only. Both the rivers have a combined length of approximately 200 kilometers and are hardly two-feet wide near their respective sources. Although both the rivers are nearly equal in length, the Eastern branch has a higher volume of water as the first half of its course lies in dense forested regions.

Nayar East rises in the meadows of Dudhatoli in a high altitude valley sheltered by towering mountains of over 10,000 feet. Several shepherd’s huts are built along its course from its source to the first major human settlement, Maroda village. Some of the great sages are believed to have did penance near its origin. Rishi Chyavan is said to have invented Chyavanprash from medicinal herbs found in Dudhatoli mountains. The river forms an intricate network of riparian systems supporting wild animals and plants in its valley. These shadowed valleys remain snow-bound for weeks.

Nayar West rises at a relatively lower altitude and has a lesser catchment area which explains its lesser volume. Since these rivers are non-glacial, they totally depend on precipitation. In days of less precipitation such as winter, the volume of these rivers goes down by up to 50 percent. The water-level gets visibly low during winter season and one can see the river-bed through the transparent water which becomes as clear as air.

History

नयार = नवालिका

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[1] ने लेख किया है ...नयार नदी = नवालिका नदी (AS, p.483) गढ़वाल, उत्तराखंड में बहने वाली नदी है। ऋषिकेश में देवप्रयाग जाने वाले मार्ग में यह नदी मिलती है। नवालिका नदी का पुराणों में भी उल्लेख हुआ है। यह नदी 'व्यास घाट' नामक स्थान पर गंगा नदी से मिल जाती है। गंगा नदी और इसके संगम पर इन्द्रप्रयाग बसा हुआ है। पुराणों में कथा है कि वृत्रासुर से परास्त होने पर इन्द्र ने इसी स्थान पर आकर शिव की आराधना की थी और वरदान प्राप्त करके उन्होंने इस दैत्य का संहार किया था।

External links

References