The Tunga River (alternatively spelled Thunga) is a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

state, southern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The river is born in the Western Ghats on a hill known as ''Varaha Parvata'' at a place called ''

Gangamoola Gangamoola is a hill in the Chikkamagaluru district of the state of Karnataka, India. Also known as Varaha Parvata, it is one of the hills in the Western Ghats range and is known for being the source of three rivers, Tunga, Bhadra and Netravat ...

''. From here, the river flows through two districts in

- Chikmagalur District and

Shimoga District Shimoga district, officially known as Shivamogga district, is a district in the Karnataka state of India. A major part of Shimoga district lies in the Malnad region or the Sahyadri. Shimoga city is its administrative centre. Jog Falls view po ...

. It is 147 km long and merges with the Bhadra River at

Koodli Koodli, also spelled Kudli or Kudali, is a small historic village in Shimoga District, in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is at the ''sangam'' (confluence) of two rivers, the Tunga River and Bhadra River at nearly . They meet here to give ri ...

, a small town near

Shimoga City Shimoga, officially known as Shivamogga, is a city and the district headquarters of Shimoga district in the central part of the state of Karnataka, India. The city lies on the banks of the Tunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region of ...

, Karnataka. The river is given the compound name Tungabhadra from this point on. The Tungabhadra flows eastwards and merges with the Krishna River in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. It has a dam built across it at Gajanur, and a larger dam has been built across the compound Tungabhadra river at Hospet.

Religious centres

Sringeri Sringeri (IAST: Śṛngēri) also called Shringeri is a hill town and Taluk headquarters located in Chikkamagaluru district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the site of the first maṭha ( Dakshinamnaya Sringeri Sharada Peetham) establi ...

, on the banks of the Tunga, has several temples, the most important being the Śhāradā temple and the Vidyāśhankara temple. Hariharapura is another religious centre on the bank of Tunga river in the Chikkamagalurur district.

Religious centres

See also