Narmada

 

Narmada, emerging from Amarkantak located in the heart of the country, engirdling two mountain ranges—Vindhya and Satpura—unpolluted, unsmudged and teeming, crisscrossing Rewanchal, Mahakoshal, Bundelkhand, Malwa, Nimar and Gurjar expanse, unceasingly moving to Bharuch for final consummation in the Arabian Sea, is unparalleled in terms of its heritage of beauty, affluence and solitude.

Narmada was considered to be a virgin but its marriage is discussed in ‘Rewa-Khand’ of Skand- Puran. She appears as a rowdy young damsel up to Jabalpur and as a newly-married lady enriched with glow and adorableness on its onward journey towards Bharuch. 

In Sanskrit, ‘Narm’ means ‘bliss’ and ‘da’ means ‘benefactor.’ Thus, Narmada means ‘Bliss Benefactor’ or simply ‘Joy Giver.’ 

Its importance is well-emphasised through the fact that it is a source of water to cities like Jabalpur, Hoshangabad, Bhopal, Ujjain, Dewas and Indore. 

Power generation and irrigation facilities by 28 projects on Narmada and its tributaries have opened new vistas of economic prosperity. Not only can one discover Narmada in a total new perspective by going through this book but it also unfolds the history of the Narmada region (hitherto not so well documented) right from the mythical age to the modern times.