The Ganga may be the most celebrated and longest of the seven sacred rivers, but the Narmada at No 5 is the holiest as well as the oldest. There is enough evidence, both scriptural and scientific, to suggest it. The Matysa Purana clearly says the Ganga is sacred at Kankhala (Hardwar), the Saraswati at Kurukshetra, but the Narmada is sacred all along its banks, be it forest or places inhabited