Although the river is just briefly introduced in the first chapters of the novel, the significance of the river only becomes relevant twenty years after its first appearance in the story. This essay intends to explain and describe the importance of the river in terms of its significance to the development of the novel as well as the symbolism that characterizes its presence in the journey to enlightenment.

In the second part of the novel, Siddhartha's "miserable" life is nearly ended as he contemplates suicide by drowning himself in the river. Amid his despair and depression, the sound of the sacred OM reaches his ears, and shattered with fatigue he collapses on the riverside, falling into a long and peaceful sleep. After what is defined as an "infinite" lapse of time, Siddhartha awakens and, attracted to the beauty of...