India is called the country of rivers. But do you know that in India rivers are also male and female? Where all the rivers of India are female, there is only one male river.
The Brahmaputra is the only male river in India. The river is named after the son of Lord Brahma. This river passes through three countries. This river starts from Tibet and flows through India, all the way to Bangladesh.
Different names of the Brahmaputra
Brahmaputra river has different names in every country. From its originating country Tibet, the river has different names. It is known as Matsung Tsangpo, then Mogung Tsangpo, and Tsangpo.
Whereas in China, it is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo. Some researchers have also mentioned local Tibetan names for this river. Such as Nrichu, Sangpu, Tanjukhampa or Arechumba.
Brahmaputra names In India
As soon as it enters India, the name of this river changes. In Arunachal Pradesh, it is known as Tsangpo Siang and further, it is known as Dihang, as it flows down through the hilly terrain of Arunachal Pradesh. This river is also called Shyama, Sema or Senglai. After meeting the two rivers Dibang and Lohitya, this river becomes the Brahmaputra and gushes through the narrow valley.
Local people of Assam call it Lohit, Luit and Brahmaputra as well.
Brahmaputra names In Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, the mainstream of the Brahmaputra is known as ‘Jamuna‘, which joins the Ganges at Golconda and then it is called the Padma which, before falling into the Bay of Bengal, confluences with the Meghna river.
Mythology of Brahmaputra
The first recorded name of the river is Lohitya, the mention of which is found in Markandeya Purana, canto 58 whereas the name of Brahmaputra appears after this Purana.
In the 10th century, authored by an unknown Assam poet, the Kalika Purana, or Kali Purana, mentions the rivers and mountains in Kamrup Tirth. In this Purana, there is also a mention of The Brahmaputra and Kamakhya Temple.
What do the Tibetan and Indian Puranas say About the Brahmaputra river?
Tibetans believe that when humans used to live in the caves, the Changtan Plateau was covered by a huge lake’s water. Then one Bodhisatva decided that for people to survive in this area this water should flow. That’s why he cut an outlet for Tsangpo or Mahanadi through the middle of the Himalayas, which is known as the Matsung Tsangpo river in Tibet.
There is an anecdote in the Indian Purana that Amogha, wife of sage Shantanu had a child by the grace of Brahma, the creator of the universe. The child took the form of water. He grew up in a great lake, the Brahmakund.
It is believed that when Vishnu’s avatar, Parashuram accidentally killed his mother, then to repent for his sin, the sages advised Parashuram to visit holy places. When he went to Brahmakund, then to help the local people, he hit one side of the mountain with his axe.
Due to this, a fountain erupted and this was named the Brahmaputra river. The blood from the axe
mixed with the river, because of which red colour was visible. In Assamese, it is called Luit, where Luit means blood.