The fourteen rivers
Seven pairs, one pair for each region. In every pair, the first runs east and the second runs west.
Gaṅgā and Sindhu in Bharat. Rohitā and Rohitāsyā in Haimavat. Harit and Harikāntā in Hari. Sītā and Sītodā in Mahāvideha. Narakāntā and Narīkāntā in Ramyak. Suvarṇakūlā and Rūpyakūlā in Hairaṇyavat. Raktā and Raktodā in Airāvat.
Tributaries are counted, and the count doubles pair by pair as you move inward. Gaṅgā and Sindhu take 14,000 each; the next pair twice that, and so on. Sītā and Sītodā, gathering the drainage of sixteen vijayas apiece, are given 532,000 each in the commentaries.
Every one of them ends in the salt ocean. None of them evaporates, none of them is fed by rain in the account — they run from the summit lakes to the sea and that is the whole hydrology.
Measurements and counts
| Count | 14 |
|---|---|
| Pairs | 7 |
| First of each pair | flows east |
| Second of each pair | flows west |
| Gaṅgā / Sindhu tributaries | 14,000 each |
| Sītā / Sītodā tributaries | 532,000 each |
Connected
Rūpyakūlā
The silver-banked river, falling north from Mahāpuṇḍarīka into Hairaṇyavat.
It rises from Mahāpuṇḍarīka Draha, crosses Hairaṇyavat Kṣetra and empties into the salt ocean. Its twin on the other side of the region is Suvarṇakūlā.
| Rises from | Mahāpuṇḍarīka Draha |
|---|---|
| Crosses | Hairaṇyavat Kṣetra |
| Flows | west |
| Twin | Suvarṇakūlā |
| Ends in | Lavaṇa Samudra |
Suvarṇakūlā
The gold-banked river, falling south from Puṇḍarīka into Hairaṇyavat.
It rises from Puṇḍarīka Draha, crosses Hairaṇyavat Kṣetra and empties into the salt ocean. Its twin on the other side of the region is Rūpyakūlā.
| Rises from | Puṇḍarīka Draha |
|---|---|
| Crosses | Hairaṇyavat Kṣetra |
| Flows | east |
| Twin | Rūpyakūlā |
| Ends in | Lavaṇa Samudra |