The Bagmati River flows through the Kathmandu valley of Nepal, separating the cities of Kathmandu from Patan, before flowing through Madesh Province of southern Nepal and joining the Kamla River in the Indian state of Bihar. It is considered holy by both Hindus and Buddhists. A number of Hindu temples are located on its banks.
The importance of the Bagmati River also lies in the fact that Hindus are cremated on the banks of this holy river, and Kirants are buried in the hills by its side. According to the Nepalese Hindu tradition, the dead body must be dipped three times into the Bagmati river before cremation, so that the reincarnation cycle may be ended. The chief mourner (usually the first son) who lights the funeral pyre must take a holy river-water bath immediately after cremation. Many relatives who join the funeral procession also take a bath in the river or sprinkle holy water on their bodies at the end of the cremation. It is believed that the Bagmati River purifies people spiritually.
History
The Bagmati River is considered the source of Nepalese civilization and urbanization. The river has been mentioned as Vaggumuda () in Vinaya Pitaka and Nandabagga. It has also been mentioned as Bahumati () in Battha Suttanta of Majjhima Nikaya. An inscription dated AD 477 describes the river as Bagvati parpradeshe () and subsequently also in the Gopalraj Vanshavali.
Geography
The basin of the Bagmati river, including the Kathmandu valley, lies between the much larger Gandaki basin to the west and the Koshi basin to the east. These adjacent basins extend north of the main Himalayan range and cross it in tremendous gorges, in fact, the Arun tributary of the Koshi extends far into Tibet. The smaller Bagmati rises some distance south of the Himalayas. Without glacial sources, its flow is more dependent on rainfall, becoming very low during the hot season (April to early June), then peaking during the monsoon season (mid-June to mid-August). In these respects, the Bagmati system resembles the (West) Rapti system lying between the Gandaki basin and the Karnali basin in the far west of Nepal.
The Bagmati originates where three headwater streams converge at Bāghdwār Falls (), where the water flows out through a gargoyle shaped like a tiger's mouth, situated in Shivpuri Nagarjun National Park near Sundarijal in Nepal . This lies above the southern edge of the Shivapuri Hills, about northeast of Kathmandu. Here the Bagmati is wide and swift with a high load of suspended solids, giving it a grey appearance. The river flows southwest about through terraced rice fields in the Kathmandu Valley.
Resistant rock strata interrupt the flow in places, including at Pashupatinath Temple. Beyond the temple, the river flows south until joined by the larger west-flowing Monahara River, then turns west itself. After entering Kathmandu's urban area more tributaries enter: relatively unpolluted Dhobī Kholā and sewage-laden Tukucha Khola. Then the river bends south and the Bishnumati enters from the right at Teku Dovan. The Bishnumati also rises in the Shivapuri Hills, some west of the Bagmati's source. It flows south past the Nagarjun Hill, Swayambhu Stupa and Durbar Square in Kathmandu. As it passes the centre of Kathmandu, this tributary becomes heavily polluted and choked with trash.
Flowing generally south although with many curves, the Bagmati reaches the edge of the Kathmandu valley and enters Chobhar gorge near the Dakshinkali temple complex. The Chobhar gorge cuts through the Mahabharat range, also called the Lesser Himalaya. This range is the southern limit of the "middle hills" across Nepal, an important cultural boundary between distinctive Nepali and more Indian cultures and languages, as well as a major geological feature. The Bagmati also crosses the lower Sivalik Hills before reaching the Terai, then crosses into India at Bairgania. It flows across the districts Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur and Khagaria in Bihar. It meets River Kamala at Jagmohra Village of Samastipur. However, in past the river had a different course and used to drain directly into the Ganges. In Swasthani Bratakatha of the Skanda Purana, Bagmati's present northern tributary was regarded as main channel called Sāli river which was a tributary of Gandaki and it is obvious since Manohara river, the present day Sali river, is larger than Bagmati at their confluence.