Match List – I with List – II and select the correct answer using the codes given below : List – I (Tributary) – List – II (River) A. Rapti – i. Brahmaputra B. Tista – ii. Narmada C. Hiran – iii. Godavari D. Purna – iv. Ghaghra Codes :

Correct — option (4), A-iv, B-i, C-ii, D-iii.

A-iv, Rapti – Ghaghra. The Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908) says the Rapti rises in the lower ranges of Nepal and 'joins the Gogra in Gorakhpur District'. Gogra is the gazetteer's spelling of Ghaghra.

B-i, Tista – Brahmaputra. NCERT's Class XI India: Physical Environment says that in Bangladesh 'the Tista joins it on its right bank from where the river is known as the Jamuna'.

C-ii, Hiran – Narmada. The Central Provinces District Gazetteer for Narsinghpur (1906) describes the Hiran as a small, rapid river that rises at Kundam in Jubbulpore and 'joins the Nerbudda at Sankal'. Nerbudda is the gazetteer's spelling of Narmada.

D-iii, Purna – Godavari. NCERT's Class IX Contemporary India names the Purna among the Godavari's tributaries, with the Wardha, Pranhita, Manjra, Wainganga and Penganga.

Two pairs settle it. A-iv appears only in options (1) and (4), and of those only option (4) has B-i. Option (4), A-iv, B-i, C-ii, D-iii, is the only code with all four right.

The idea to remember: Rapti–Ghaghra (Uttar Pradesh), Tista–Brahmaputra (Bangladesh), Hiran–Narmada (Jabalpur–Narsinghpur), Purna–Godavari (Maharashtra).

Why the others are wrong

• (1)
  A-iv, B-ii, C-iii, D-i — Only the Rapti pair is right. The code sends the Tista to the Narmada, the Hiran to the Godavari and the Purna to the Brahmaputra.

  The Tista is a Himalayan river that joins the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh (NCERT), and the Hiran is a Narmada tributary on the Jabalpur–Narsinghpur border.

• (2)
  A-i, B-ii, C-iii, D-iv — Every pair is wrong: Rapti – Brahmaputra, Tista – Narmada, Hiran – Godavari and Purna – Ghaghra.

  The Imperial Gazetteer (1908) traces the Rapti from Nepal through the Bahraich, Gonda, Basti and Gorakhpur districts of its day to the Ghaghra, and the Purna belongs to the Godavari system in the peninsula, far from the Ghaghra's Himalayan basin.

• (3)
  A-iii, B-i, C-iv, D-ii — Only the Tista pair is right. The code sends the Rapti to the Godavari, the Hiran to the Ghaghra and the Purna to the Narmada.

  The Hiran joins the Narmada at Sankal (Narsinghpur Gazetteer). The Purna of Maharashtra that NCERT lists flows to the Godavari; a different Purna, Wikipedia notes, is a tributary of the Tapi, not the Narmada.

A tributary is a river that feeds a larger one. Sorting by region helps: a tributary joins a main river within the same basin, so northern streams go to northern rivers and peninsular streams to peninsular ones.

Here the Rapti rises in Nepal and the Tista in the eastern Himalayas, while the Hiran and Purna are peninsular. That alone narrows each pairing to two choices.

Names repeat across India. Wikipedia lists a Purna that joins the Godavari, another that joins the Tapi, and a Hiran River in Gujarat's Gir forest besides the Narmada's Hiran, so the basin matters.

Key facts

• Imperial Gazetteer of India (1908): the Rapti rises in Nepal's lower ranges and joins the Gogra (Ghaghra) in Gorakhpur District.
• NCERT (Class XI): in Bangladesh the Tista joins the Brahmaputra on its right bank, after which the river is called the Jamuna.
• Narsinghpur District Gazetteer (1906): the Hiran rises at Kundam in Jubbulpore and joins the Nerbudda (Narmada) at Sankal.
• NCERT (Class IX): the Godavari's tributaries include the Purna, Wardha, Pranhita, Manjra, Wainganga and Penganga.
• Wikipedia lists two Purna rivers in Maharashtra: one a tributary of the Godavari, the other of the Tapi.

Common traps

• Assuming one river name means one river: Wikipedia lists a Purna of the Godavari and a Purna of the Tapi.
• Crossing basins: the Rapti belongs to the Ghaghra system in the north, so it cannot be a tributary of a peninsular river such as the Godavari.
• Reading the Tista as a Ganga tributary because it flows through West Bengal: NCERT has it join the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh.

UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2021 here once that paper is published on this site.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  In Bangladesh, which river joins the Brahmaputra on its right bank, after which the Brahmaputra is known as the Jamuna?

  • (a)Subansiri
  • (b)Tista
  • (c)Manas
  • (d)Dhansari
  Answer(2) — NCERT (Class XI) names the Tista. Options (1) and (3) are right-bank tributaries in the Assam valley, and option (4) is a left-bank tributary there, per NCERT.
• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Rapti river joins which river?

  • (a)Gandak
  • (b)Ghaghra
  • (c)Gomati
  • (d)Kosi
  Answer(2) — The Imperial Gazetteer of India says the Rapti joins the Gogra, the Ghaghra, in Gorakhpur District. NCERT lists options (1), (3) and (4), like the Ghaghra, as left-bank tributaries of the Ganga; none of them is the river the Rapti joins.