Which river rises from the Western Ghats and flows towards the Bay of Bengal?

Correct answer: Krishna

The direct answer is A: Krishna. Krishna rises near Mahabaleshwar in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra and generally flows eastward across the Deccan Plateau before entering the Bay of Bengal. The reasoning is based on both source and direction. First locate the Western Ghats along the western edge of Peninsular India. Next remember that many major east-flowing rivers begin there and cross the plateau toward the eastern coast. Krishna is one of these rivers. Option A is correct because it satisfies both clues: Western Ghats origin and Bay of Bengal drainage. Option B, the Indus, is associated mainly with the northwestern part of the subcontinent and flows toward the Arabian Sea; it is not the river asked for. Option C, the Ganga, rises in the Himalayan region, not in the Western Ghats. Option D, the Brahmaputra, also belongs to the Himalayan and northeastern drainage system and does not rise in the Western Ghats. A useful exam cue is to remember the east-flowing Peninsular group Krishna, Godavari, Mahanadi and Kaveri. Do not confuse their source region with the west-flowing Narmada and Tapi.