Why Only These Two Rivers in India are Considered to be 'Male'?

In India, all rivers are typically regarded as feminine and are revered as mothers. People worship rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Godavari, and Narmada. However, there are two rivers that are recognised as masculine: the Brahmaputra and the Son rivers, both mentioned in the Vedas.

Unlike other rivers, these two are not considered feminine. The Son river, also known as Sonbhadra Shila, is the largest river among the southern tributaries of the Ganga after the Yamuna. The Son river originates near Amarkantak in Anuppur district of Madhya Pradesh, east of the Narmada River’s source in the Vindhyachal hills.

It flows through the states of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand before joining the Ganga in Patna district of Bihar. The Son is a significant river in Madhya Pradesh. It usually has low water levels and flows gently, but it becomes ferocious during the rainy season.

Talking to News18, Ravi Prakash Chaubey, founder of the Gupta Kashi Seva Trust, said that the river originates from the highest peaks of the Vindhya mountains, flowing from Amarkantak. “The Son is mentioned in the Agneya Purana, and Goswami Tulsidas also references it in the Ram Charit Manas. It is considered the son of Lord Brahma and was said to be destined to marry the Narmada.”

The Son river gets its name from the yellow sand that glimmers like gold. This sand is valuable for construction purposes and is used extensively throughout Bihar, Shahdol, and Rewa. There’s also a story behind its name, as it is believed that its original name was Sohan, which later became Son.

The Son river is mentioned in the Ramayana and various puranas. It originates from the Amarkantak mountain in Madhya Pradesh and, after traveling a distance of 350 miles, meets the Ganga west of Patna. Its water is sweet, pure, and healthy.

Many Persian, Urdu, and Hindi poets have written about this river and its waters in their poetry. A 296-mile-long canal has been constructed by building a dam at Dihri-on-Sone, the water which irrigates approximately seven lakh acres of land in the Shahabad, Gaya, and Patna districts.