The major rivers of the peninsular the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna etc. are flowing eastward and merges into the Bay of Bengal. Only the river Narmada and Tapti are flowing towards west and merge into the Arabian Sea. The essential differences between the two rivers are as follows
| East-flowing Rivers |
West-flowing Rivers |
| 1. The east-flowing rivers have deltas at their mouth. |
1. The west-flowing rivers do not have deltas at their mouth. They form estuaries. |
| 2. All rivers east-flowing drain into the Bay of Bengal. |
2. All west-flowing rivers merge into the Arabian Sea. |
| 3. All three rivers passed through a varied topography, i.e. hills, plains, plateaus etc. |
3. These rivers flow through the rift valley. |
| 4. Most rivers are fed by many east-west-flowing long tributaries. |
4. A few small tributaries joining at right angles are only found. |
