The Shipra, also known as the Kshipra, is a river in

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

state of central

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 rises in the North of Dhar district, and flows north across the

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syn ...

Plateau to join the Chambal River at the MP-Rajasthan boundary in Mandsaur district. It is one of the sacred rivers in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. The holy city of

Ujjain Ujjain (, Hindustani pronunciation: �d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative centre of Ujjain district and Ujjain ...

is situated on its east bank. Every 12 years, the Sinhastha fair ( Kumbh Mela) takes place on the city's elaborate riverside

ghats Ghat, a term used in the Indian subcontinent, depending on the context could refer either to a range of stepped hills with valleys (ghati in Hindi), such as the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats; or the series of steps leading down to a body of ...

, as do yearly celebrations of the river goddess Kshipra. There are hundreds of Hindu shrines along the banks of the river Shipra. Shipra is a perennial river. Earlier there used to be plenty of water in the river. Now the river stops flowing a couple of months after the monsoon. With this reference, the word Shipra is used as a symbol of "purity" (of soul, emotions, body, etc.) or "chastity" or "clarity". The

Purana Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

s, or ancient Hindu texts, also suggest that the Shipra originated from the heart of Varaha, Lord Vishnu's incarnation as a boar. Also on the banks of the Shipra is Sage

Sandipani Sandipani (), sometimes rendered Sāndīpana, is the guru of Krishna and Balarama in Hinduism. He is regarded to have educated them regarding all the Vedas, the art of drawing, astronomy, gandharva veda, medicine, training elephants and horses, a ...

’s ashram or hermitage where

Lord Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...

, Lord Vishnu's eighth incarnation, had studied. Narmada Shipra Sihastha Link Pariyojana, Mundla Dosdar - a project linking Shipra river to River Narmada was commenced in 2012 and completed in 2015 successfully.http://daily.bhaskar.com/news/MP-IND-narmada-kshipra-link-project-starts-4094081-NOR.html The project lifts water from the Narmada river using electricity, and then transports it to the source of Kshipra river through pipes. The link project is the first phase of Rs 8000-crore Narmada-Malwa Link project. Under the project, Narmada would be connected to Kshipra, Gambhir, Kalisindh and Parwati rivers.

References

External links

Holly Bath in Shipra River Ujjain At Somvarti Amavasya
(India News). Published on 5 December 2013. {{Coord, 22.900, N, 75.983, E, display=title, region:IN_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Geography of Malwa Rivers of Madhya Pradesh Geography of Ujjain Rivers of India