Chambal is a major river of central India, originating from Janapav in Mhow in the Vindhya Range in Madhya Pradesh and flowing through the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The length of this tributary of Yamuna is 960 kilometers, which joins Yamuna river at Muradganj (Pachnada near Bhareh) in Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh.
This river also has 11 tributaries which are known by the names Kali, Parvati, Banas, Kurai, Bamni, Shipra etc. Kota Barrage, Rana Pratap Sagar Dam and Gandhi Sagar Dam have been built on this river, which fulfill the needs of irrigation etc. in the area.
According to legend and religious tales, Chambal river originated from the blood of animals. It is mentioned as Charmanyavati in the epic Mahabharata. According to this, in ancient times there was a king Rantidev who sacrificed thousands of animals for the Yagya and shed their blood. The skin and blood of animals took the form of a river. Therefore it is considered impure and is not worshiped like rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Krishna Kaveri.
According to another story, Draupadi had cursed the river. It is said that during the Mahabharata period, a game of gambling took place between the Kauravas and the Pandavas on the banks of Chambal. In this, Pandavas lost Draupadi to Duryodhana. Hurt by this incident, Draupadi had given a curse to abstain from worshiping Chambal. Due to which people did not use it.
There is also a legend that drinking the water of this river makes people aggressive. According to the legend, once when Shravan Kumar, who was taking his parents on a pilgrimage from Kanwar, drank the water of Chambal, he became aggressive and got angry at his parents and left them there. However, after going a little further, he realized that he apologized and took him along.
