River, central India. It rises in the Western Ghats and flows east across the Deccan Plateau, along the Maharashtra-Andhra Pradesh border. It crosses Andhra Pradesh state, and turns southeast for its last 200 mi (320 km) before reaching the Bay of Bengal. Its total length is about 910 mi (1,465 km). The development of an irrigation-canal system, linking its delta with that of the Krishna River to the southwest, has made the land one of the richest rice-growing areas of India. The Godavari, throughout its entire length, is sacred to the Hindus