GANDAK  , a

river of northern India . It rises in the Nepal . Himalayas, flows south-west until it reaches British territory, where it forms the boundary between the United Provinces and Bengal for a considerable portion of its course, and falls into the Ganges opposite Patna . It is a snow-fed stream, and the surrounding country in the plains, lying at a lower level than its banks, is endangered by its floods . The river is accordingly enclosed by protective embankments . The LITTLE GANDAK rises in the Nepal hills, enters Gorakhpur district about 8 m. west of the Gandak, and joins the Gogra just within the Saran district of Bengal . The Bums' (or old) GANDAK also rises in the Nepal hills, and follows a course roughly parallel to and east of that of the Gandak, of which it represents an old channel, passing Muzaffarpur, and joining the Ganges nearly opposite to Moughjr . Its principal tributary is the Baghmati, which rises in the hills N. of Kathmandu, flows in a southerly direction through Tirhut, and joins the Burhi Gandak close to Rusera .