The
Godavari River (
Marathi:गोदावरी नदी) is the second longest river in India after the river
Ganges having its source at Tryambakeshwar, Maharashtra. It starts in
Maharashtra and flows east for emptying into
Bay of Bengal draining the
Indian states
Maharashtra (48.6%),
Telangana( 18.8%),
Andhra Pradesh (4.5%),
Chhattisgarh (10.9%),
Madhya Pradesh (10.0%),
Odisha (5.7%) and
Karnataka (1.4%) through its extensive network of tributaries. Measuring up to a staggering 3,12,812 km
2, it forms one of the largest
river basins in
India, only the
Ganges and
Indus (within Indian borders) rivers have a drainage basin larger than it. In terms of length, catchment area and discharge, the Godavari river is the largest in peninsular
India and had been dubbed as the
'Dakshina Ganga' - the South Ganges river