Narmada River: Sacred Water Culture of the District

The Narmada river, from which Narmada district takes its name, is one of India's seven sacred rivers and a cultural axis of the district. The Narmada Parikrama, a 2,600 km circumambulation of the entire river that devotees walk over 3 years, passes through the district, with pilgrims bathing at every ghat on both banks. The river's water is considered self-purifying (svayambhu) and a small quantity of Narmada water is carried home by pilgrims in sealed containers as a blessing. Tribal communities of Narmada district have a different relationship to the river: it provides fish, water for cultivation, and materials for boat-building. The Sardar Sarovar dam in Narmada district controls the river's flow downstream, and the reservoir created by the dam has submerged hundreds of villages in Madhya Pradesh. Community organisations led by Medha Patkar's Narmada Bachao Andolan have made Narmada district internationally known for displacement rights movements.