Sacred river · Arunachal Pradesh · Assam · Meghalaya (catchment)
Brahmaputra (ब्रह्मपुत्र)
ब्रह्मपुत्र
Presiding goddess: Goddess Brahmaputra (only male-named river worshipped as son of Brahma)
Origin
Angsi Glacier, Mount Kailash region, Tibet (5,300 m) — known as Yarlung Tsangpo
Mouth
Bay of Bengal (Ganga–Brahmaputra–Meghna Delta)
Length
2,900 km
Best pilgrim season
Makar Sankranti (January) at Parashuram Kund; Ambubachi Mela (June) at Kamakhya
Sacred ghats
Legend & origin story
Son of Brahma and Amogha, wife of Sage Shantanu — hence the only major river in Bharat with a male name (putra = son). When Parashurama killed his mother on his father’s command, he could not wash the matricide blood from his axe in any river. Brahmaputra at Parashuram Kund finally absolved him, splitting his axe into the river — pilgrims to this day come to perform Tarpan that no other water can complete.
Spiritual significance
Bathing at Parashuram Kund on Makar Sankranti is held to wash sins no other tirtha can touch — even patricide and matricide. The river encircles Kamakhya (Shakti Peeth where Sati’s yoni fell) and is considered the husband-river of the Goddess. Brahmaputra Aarti at Sukreswar Ghat each evening rivals Varanasi’s Ganga Aarti in scale.