Brahmaputra

The Brahmaputra is one of the major rivers of Asia. In Sanskrit, it means "son of Brahma".

It originates in the Himalayan mountains in western Tibet, in China and flows 2900km into the sea in the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. It is called Tsangpo in Tibet, Siang in Arunachal Pradesh and Jamuna in Bangladesh. Old sanskrit calls it Lauhitya and the people of the Brahmaputra valley calls it Luit.

This river eventually meets the Ganges and Meghna rivers to form the largest river delta in the world, most of which is in Bangladesh. It is one of the few rivers in the world that exhibit a tidal bore. Most Indian rivers bear the name of a female. But this one has a rare name of Male. (Brahmaputra is a male name in India since putra in Indian language means 'son').

It is navigable for most of its length and the lower reaches are sacred to Hindus. The river is prone to catastrophic flooding in spring when the Himalayan snows melt.

See also

• List of rivers in China
• List of rivers in India