Surasā (River)

Surasā · su-rasā, “the one of good waters”

Surasā has other meanings too: see all meanings of Surasā.

Surasā is a river of Bhārata-varsha. In the Brahma Purāṇa’s account of Bhārata, given to the munis in Chapter 19, the Narmadā, the Surasā and other rivers go forth from the Vindhya mountain, one of the seven chief mountains of the land.

Bhārata-varsha and its rivers

North of the ocean and south of the Himālaya lies Bhārata-varsha, nine thousand yojanas wide, whose people are called Bhāratī. It is the karma-bhūmi, the land of action: from here alone beings attain svarga and moksha, and here alone the performance of karma is enjoined. Its seven kula-parvatas (chief mountains) are Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya, Śuktimat, Ṛksha, Vindhya and Pāriyātra.

Each mountain is the source of rivers. From the outlying hills of the Himavān flow the Śatadru, the Candrabhāgā, the Veda, the Smṛti and others. The Narmadā, the Surasā and others go forth from the Vindhya. The Tāpī, Payoshṇī, Nirvindhyā and Kāverī are born at the foot of the Ṛksha; the Godāvarī, Bhīmarathī and Kṛshṇaveṇī at the foot of the Sahya; the Kṛtamālā and Tāmraparṇī from the Malaya; the Trisāndhyā and Ṛshikulyā from the Mahendra; and the Ṛshikulyā and Kumārī at the foot of the Śuktimat. Their tributaries are in thousands.

Along these rivers live the peoples of the Kuru and Pāñcāla lands, of Kāmarūpa, Kaliṅga and Magadha in the east, the people of the south, and in the west the Saurāshṭras, Ābhīras, Arbudas, Mārukas, Mālavas and the dwellers of Pāriyātra, with the Madras, Ambashṭhas, Pārasīkas and others. All of them drink the waters of these rivers, and their lands are full of joy and filled with well-nourished people.

Source: Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 19

Sources

• Brahma Purāṇa, Chapter 19