For children: How infertile lands in the Chambal basin helped biodiversity flourish

Once upon a time, there lived a generous king who was praised for slaughtering cows daily. He was King Rantideva. He slayed two thousand cows every day and fed the meat to Brahmins. For feeding the Brahmins, he was considered a noble king.

Legend says that it was this blood of thousands of slaughtered animals that flowed as the Chambal River, whose ancient name is Charmawati. They thought it was cursed – what river has blood flowing instead of water?

In another myth, it is said that the famous, or rather infamous, game of dice played between the Pandavas and the Kauravas happened along the banks of the Chambal River. It is here that Draupadi suffered gross humiliation. In a fit of rage, she cursed the river – anyone who drank water from the river would be filled with a deep thirst to avenge something in their life.

The Chambal River is a perennial river that flows for 1,024 kilometres. It is one of the chief tributaries of the Yamuna River. It originates at Janapav, southern Vindhya Range, in western Madhya Pradesh, from where it flows into Rajasthan, acting like a border between the two states. It is Rajasthan’s longest river (249 kilometres)....

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