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About
Bagmati River |
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The
Bagmati River is a river of Nepal. It flows through the
Kathmandu valley and separates Kathmandu from Lalitpur. It is
believed to be a holy river by Hindus and Buddhists. A number
of Hindu temples are located on its banks.
The importance of Bagmati also lies behind the fact that
Hindus are cremated on the banks of this holy river, and
Kirants are buried in the hills by its side. According to the
Nepalese Hindu tradition, the dead body must be dipped three
times into the Bagmati River before burial. The chief mourner
(usually the first son) who lights the funeral pyre must take
a holy river-water bath immediately after cremation. Many
relatives who join the funeral procession also take a bath in
the Bagmati River or sprinkle the holy water on their bodies
at the end of cremation. The Bagmati River purifies the people
spiritually.
Flood
There is no effect of flood in most of the areas that it
touches, but it has caused extensive sufferings to the people
in Teraiand northern districts of Bihar. In 1993, people have
seen the most horrible destruction by this river. The main
cause of mass destruction are Poor water management, lack of
proper weather forecasting and awareness.
Pollution
The Bagmati River is destination of much untreated sewage in
Kathmandu, and large levels of pollution of the river exist
due primarily to the region's large population. Many residents
in Kathmandu empty personal garbage and waste into the river.
In particular the Hanumante khola, Tukucha khola, Bishnumati
khola and Dhobi khola are the most polluted. Attempts are
being made to monitor the Bagmati River system and restore its
cleanliness. These include "pollution loads modification, flow
augmentation and placement of barriers at critical
locations".The "Friends of the Bagmati" is an organisation set
up in November 2000. According to its website, its aim is "to
reverse the degradation of the Bagmati river." |
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Bagmati River Course |
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The
Bagmati river begins where three headwater streams converge at
Bāghdwār above the southern edge of the Shivapuri Hills about 15
km northeast of Kathmandu. Here the Bagmati is wide and swift
with a high load of suspended solids, giving it a grey
appearance. The river flows southwest about 10 km through
terraced rice fields in the Kathmandu Valley.
Resistant rock strata interrupt the flow in places, including at
Pashupatinath Temple. Beyond the temple, the river flows south
until joined by the larger west-flowing Monahara River, then
turns west itself. After entering Kathmandu's urban area more
tributaries enter: relatively unpolluted Dhobī Kholā and
sewage-laden Tukucha Khola.
Then the river bends south and the Vishnumati enters from the
right at Teku Dovan. The Vishnumati also rises in the Shivapuri
Hills, about six km west of the Bagmati's source. It flows south
past Nagarjun Hill and Forest Reserve, Durbar Square and
Swayambhu Stupa in Kathmandu. As it passes the center of
Kathmandu, this tributary becomes heavily polluted and choked
with trash.
Generally Bagmatai river flows south although with many curves,
the Bagmatai reaches the edge of the Kathmandu Valley and enters
Chobar Gorge near the Dakshinkali temple complex. The gorge cuts
through the Mahabharat Range or Lesser Himalaya. The Bagmati
also crosses the lower Sivalik Hills before reaching the Terai,
then crosses into India at Dheng. Bagmatai river also flows
across Bihar districts Sitamarhi,Sheohar and finally Muzaffarpur
where the Lakhandei joins above the Bagmati's convergence with
the Koshi. |
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Bagmati River Geography |
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The
Chobar gorge cuts through the Mahabharat Range, also called the
Lesser Himalaya. This 2,000 to 3,000 meter range is the southern
limit of the "middle hills" across Nepal, a vital cultural
boundary between distinctive Nepali and more Indian cultures and
languages, as well as a major geological feature.
The basin of the Bagmati River, including the Kathmandu Valley,
lies between the much larger Gandaki basin to the West and the
Kosi Basin to the east. These adjoining basins extend north of
the main Himalayan range and cross it in marvelous gorges, in
fact the Arun tributary of the Kosi extends far into Tibet. The
smaller Bagmati rises some distance south of the Himalaya.
Without glacial sources, its flow is more dependent on rainfall,
becoming very low during the hot season (April to early June),
then at peak during the monsoon season (mid-June to mid-August).
In these respects the Bagmati system look likes the (West) Rapti
system which lies between the Gandaki basin and the Karnali
basin in the far west of Nepal. |
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History of Bagmati River |
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The Bagmati River is considered to be the source of
Nepalese civilization and urbanization. The river has been
mentioned as Vaggumuda in Vinaya Pitaka and Nandabagga. It
has also been mentioned as Bahumati in Battha Suttanta of
Majjhima Nikaya. An inscription dated 477 AD describes the
river as Bagvati parpradeshe and then in Gopalraj
Vanshavali. |
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Ancient shrines |
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The
Temple of Pashupatinath, dedicated to Shiva, stands on an
outcrop above the river to the north of Kathmandu. It is
believed to be one of the holy places of Hinduism. Before the
Pashupatinath the river flows Gokarneswor Temple at Gokarna
which is located at the north of the Kathmandu Valley. This is,
too, a holy temple where the people of Kathmandu valley go for
worshiping for the everlasting peace of Father viz at "Kushi
Aausi".
Public baths have been built supplied by a small hot spring.
Nearby are two small structures that over the last many
centuries were shrines, first to Buddha and then to Hinduism.
There a many sculptures along the walls. One sculpture fragment
shows the remnant of a Buddha triptych, a Buddha flanked by two
bodhisattvas. |
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