Saraswati River

The curtain of Indian history rises upon two distinct regions, occupying opposite banks of the river Saraswati, namely, Brahma varta, or the land of Devatas, and Brahmarshi-desa, or the land of Brahmans. But Manu describes two other regions, namely, Madhya-desa, or the Middle region, and Aryavarta, or the Aryan pale. The geographical data in connection with this mapping out of Hindustan are of considerable importance, inasmuch as they furnish a further illustration of the chronological interval between the hymns of the Rig-Veda and the laws of Manu; between the flowing of the Saraswati into the Indus and the disappearance of the Saraswati in the sand.

The Hindus identify the river with Saraswati, the Sanskrit goddess of speech. Saraswati, by the standard mythological authorities, is the wife of Brahma, and the goddess presiding over letters and arts. The Vaishnavas of Bengal have a popular legend, that she was the wife of Vishnu, as were also Lakshmi and Ganga. The ladies disagreed, Saraswati, like the other prototype of learned ladies, Minerva, being something of a termagant, and Vishnu, finding that one wife was as much as even a god could manage, transferred Saraswati to Brahma, and Ganga to Siva, and contented himself with Lakshmi alone. It is worthy of remark, that Saraswati is represented as of a white colour, without any superfluity of limbs, and not unfrequently of a graceful figure wearing a slender crescent on her brow, and sitting on a lotus.

In the Rig-Veda, the Sarasvati / Saraswati is a mighty river that runs from the mountains all the way to the sea (RV 7.95.2). It is also a major protogonist in the confrontations between aryans and non-aryans, always on the side of aryans. It is praised in several hymns as a powerful deity and a secure refuge for her devotees. For many years, the Saraswati River existed only in myth. Recently, however, scientists have traced its historic path and begun to unlock the secrets of its decline. The Saraswati River is the invisible third river which joins the Ganga and the Yamuna at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. The Saraswati River is a sacred entity to some, a possible historical fact to others, a real river which either dried up or moved underground in ancient times.

After the disappearence of the Saraswati River of the Vedic Period, other rivers were later renamed after her. River Argandab (now in Afghanistan) was named Saraswati. The lower channels of the river Luni in Gujrat were also renamed as Saraswati. Another river born in the Himalayas, (one of the sources of Vedic Saraswati) but flowing down in Assam is also called Saraswati. Different parts of northern India have different versions of the Saraswati, remodelled according to local geography.

The Saraswati, as modern land studies now reveal, was one of the largest, if not the largest river in India. In early ancient and pre-historic times, it once drained the Sutlej, Yamuna and the Ganges, whose courses were much different than they are today. However, the Saraswati river went dry at the end of the Indus Valley culture and before the so-called Aryan invasion or before 1500 BC. In fact this may have caused the ending of the Indus culture.

River Sarasvati, the mightiest river of the Vedic Period, is vividly described in the Rigveda (oldest ancient Indian literature) as the 'Arnbitame - Naditame - Devitame' that is the best of mothers, best of rivers and the best of goddess, indicating magnanimity of the river during that period. The mention of the river is also found in subsequent ancient Indian literature viz. Brahmana and Srautasutra literature, Bhagvat Purana, Vamana Purana, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Upanishads etc. The river was holy and religiously adored, with seats of learning and Ashramas (Hermitages) of many Rishis (Saints) like Yagyavalka, Dadhichi, Parasurama etc., located along the banks of the river.

The river became extinct during 4000-3500 BP due to tectonic and palaeo-climatic changes in the region. The Harappan civilization thrived mainly along the course of Sarasvati as confmed from the occurrence of a large number of archaeological sites discovered alongSarasvati course and near absence of the Harappan sites along the present day major rivers like Ganges and Indus located in this region.

A number of studies have been carried out by researchers using remote sensing data to trace the course of palaeo river Sarasvati and map palaeo drainage courses. Most of these mapped courses have been linked to the different courses of the extinct river Sarasvati and its tributaries. Varying number of courses of river Sarasvati have been suggested by different workers. There have been significant improvements in the fields of satellite and sensor technologies as well as in digital processing of satellite data. A need is therefore felt to re-establish the courses of river Saraswati, through the use of latest available digital remote sensing data and solve the controversy about the actual course(s) of the river.

One investigation by A.K. Gupta and J.R. Sharma [RRSSC Department of Space, Jodhpur] concluded in 2002 that the river Sarasvati flowed paraIlel to the river Indus as an independent river system and did not flow through present day course of river Nara. These findings raised doubts that a tectonic uplift along the Delhi-Hardwar ridge, as suggested by BaMiwaland Grover (in 1988) and supported by Valdiya (in 1996, 2002) was the main cause for the westward shift of the Sarasvati river and ultimate drainage desiccation in the NW Indian and adjoining Pakistan region. This analysis indicated a tectonic uplift in the Himalyas Siwaliks and consequent displacements in the Siwaliks and its foothills region in the form of Yamuna and Satlej tear faults as the main cause for drainage desiccation and disappearance of river Sarasvati.