Rudraprayag is situated at the confluence of rivers Alaknanda and
- (a)Bhagirathi
- (b)Mandakini
- (c)Nandakini
- (d)Dhauliganga
Correct — B, Mandakini. Rudraprayag, in the Uttarakhand district of the same name, is the fourth of the Panch Prayag, the five confluences on the course of the Alaknanda. The Mandakini comes down from the Chorabari glacier past Kedarnath and joins the Alaknanda here. All four options are genuine Alaknanda tributaries, and each has its own prayag — which is the point of the question. Working from the source downstream the order is Vishnuprayag, Nandprayag, Karnaprayag, Rudraprayag and finally Devprayag, where the Alaknanda meets the Bhagirathi and the united river is called the Ganga.
- (a)Bhagirathi — The Bhagirathi meets the Alaknanda at Devprayag, the last and most famous of the five, and that meeting is where the river takes the name Ganga. It is a real confluence, but not this one.
- (c)Nandakini — The Nandakini joins the Alaknanda at Nandprayag in Chamoli district, upstream of Rudraprayag. The similar names Nandakini and Mandakini are what the item is testing.
- (d)Dhauliganga — The Dhauliganga meets the Alaknanda at Vishnuprayag, the highest of the five confluences, near Joshimath. It is the first prayag on the way down, not the fourth.
The Alaknanda rises at the snout of the Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak glaciers and gathers the drainage of the Garhwal Himalaya through five successive confluences, each called a prayag and each a pilgrimage site. The Bhagirathi, rising at Gaumukh below the Gangotri glacier, is the other headstream. Hindu tradition treats the Bhagirathi as the Ganga's spiritual source, while in volume the Alaknanda is the larger of the two.
Learn the Panch Prayag as an ordered list from the top down rather than as five isolated facts, because the examiner can ask for any one of them. Vishnuprayag takes the Dhauliganga, Nandprayag the Nandakini, Karnaprayag the Pindar, Rudraprayag the Mandakini and Devprayag the Bhagirathi. Two of the names are almost the same, Nandakini and Mandakini, and they sit at different prayags, so keep Mandakini with Kedarnath and Rudraprayag. Rudraprayag was badly hit in the Kedarnath disaster of June 2013, when the Mandakini flooded catastrophically.
- Rudraprayag is the confluence of the Alaknanda and the Mandakini, in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand.
- The Mandakini rises at the Chorabari glacier above Kedarnath.
- The Panch Prayag from upstream to downstream are Vishnuprayag, Nandprayag, Karnaprayag, Rudraprayag and Devprayag.
- At Devprayag the Alaknanda meets the Bhagirathi and the combined river is called the Ganga.
- Vishnuprayag takes the Dhauliganga, Nandprayag the Nandakini and Karnaprayag the Pindar.
- Swapping Nandakini and Mandakini, which differ by one letter and sit at different confluences.
- Putting the Bhagirathi at Rudraprayag; it joins at Devprayag, where the Ganga begins.
- Assuming the Bhagirathi is the larger headstream — the Alaknanda carries more water.
NDA asks for one link in the Panch Prayag chain, so learn all five in downstream order and each one becomes a single recall.
Consider the following pairs : Wetlands — Confluence of rivers 1. Harike Wetlands — Confluence of Beas and Satluj/Sutlej 2. Keoladeo Ghana National Park — Confluence of Banas and Chambal 3. Kolleru Lake — Confluence of Musi and Krishna Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(a) 1 only — only Harike sits at the Beas-Sutlej confluence; the other two pairings are wrong.
The same river-confluence recall in match-the-pairs form, and a reminder that confluence questions are decided by remembering both rivers, not just the place.
Consider the following statements: 1. The Sharavati river creates Jog Falls. 2. The Brahmani river is formed by the confluence of the Kosi and Sankh rivers. 3. The Tamraparni is a river of Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. How many of the above statements is/are correct?
- (a) 1
- (b) 2
- (c) 3
- (d) None
Answer(b) 2
Another NDA item that turns entirely on getting the names of two joining rivers right, which is the same skill Rudraprayag needs.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Alaknanda and the Bhagirathi meet at
- (a)Devprayag
- (b)Karnaprayag
- (c)Vishnuprayag
- (d)Rudraprayag
Answer(a) Devprayag — the last of the Panch Prayag, below which the river is called the Ganga.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Pindar river joins the Alaknanda at
- (a)Nandprayag
- (b)Karnaprayag
- (c)Rudraprayag
- (d)Devprayag
Answer(b) Karnaprayag — the third of the five confluences, in Chamoli district.