Godavari is the second
longest river in India after the river Ganges. It has its source at Trimbakeshwar,
Maharashtra. It starts in Maharashtra and flows east for 1,465 kilometres (910
mi) emptying into Bay of Bengal draining the Indian states Maharashtra (48.6%),
Telangana (18.8%), Andhra Pradesh (4.5%), Chhattisgarh (10.9%), Madhya Pradesh
(10.0%), Odisha (5.7%) and Karnataka (1.4%) through its extensive network of
tributaries. Measuring up to 312,812 km2 (120,777 sq mi), it forms one of the
largest river basins in the Indian subcontinent. In terms of length,
catchment area and discharge, the Godavari River is the largest in peninsular
India and had been dubbed as the 'Dakshina Ganga'.