Mystery of Sarasvati River
In Rig Veda, the name of Sarasvati
appears 72 times. It is described as a mighty river flowing from the mountain
to the sea. In Mandalas I to IV of Rigveda, there are graphic details of
release of huge water volumes from serpantine glaciers, which made the rivers
flow with the blessings of Lord Indra. It is described as the Ambitame,
Naditame and Devitame that is best of mother, best of river and best of
goddess. It was the life stream of the people of ancient India, mostly in the
Vedic and Puranic ages. Satellite imagery combined with geological studies and discovery
of sites of Harappan civilization on the banks of Saraswati also indicate that
it was flowing as a mighty river around 8000 years ago.
However till the middle of 19th
century the river was lost. From mid 19th century onwards several geologists
and archaeologists traced the palaeochannels of different phases of ancient
Sarasvati River System. During last more than 150 years geological,
archaeological, hydrological, ecological research reports and remote sensing
images taken by LANDSAT (USA), IRS-1C (India), French SPOT Satellites (France)
and ERSS (Europe), have provided scientific and credible evidence about the
flow, migration and decay of Sarasvati River during its different phases.
These evidences remarkably corroborate
the references to the origin, changing courses and disappearance of Sarasvati
river system in Rigveda, Yajurveda, Ramayana and Mahabharata. Astonishingly
these also match the astronomical dating of events in Vedas and Epics done by
us, which relate to the period 7000 BC to 2000 BC.
Let us look at some very interesting instances -
In Rigveda, the Vedic Saraswati, is described as
the mightiest river – “Seven sistered, sprung from three-fold sources”
[6:61:12]. Again it is described as
“Saptathi Sindhumata” i.e., mother of seven rivers strongly flowing and
swelling in volumes (7:36:6).
Prayers are again offered to ten
rivers including Sarasvati in Nadi Stuti sukta as under -“Ganga, Yamuna,
Sarasvati, Shutudri (Sutlej), Purushni (Ravi), Asikni (Chenab), Marudvridha, Vitasta
(Jhelam), Arijikya and Sushoma (10:75:5)”. (Imagine the knowledge of the
geograghy of the scholars composing the hymns!
Mahabharata gives a clear geographical account of
Sarasvati becoming a non-perennial river vanishing and re-appearing in the
deserts [3:80:118 & 9:36:1], surviving in the form of a number of lakes
e.g. Brahmasar, jyotisar, Kaleswar (in Haryana), Katasar, Pandusar & Ravisar
(in Rajasthan). Kurukshetra is described
as located in the south of Sarasvati and north of Drishadvati [Mbh. 3:81:115]
Now let us compare these descriptions
of Sarasvati River System in Vedas and Epics with the data collected from satellite
pictures, geological studies and archaeological reports -
Three fold sources have been
identified as -
1. Lake Mansrovar in Mount kailash
from where Sutlej originates.
2. Sirmaur region of Siwalik from
where Sarasvati originated and Bandarpunch glaciers from where Drishadvati
originated and entered the plains at Adi Badri (Yamunanagar) in Haryana.
3. Yamnotri Glacier of Garhwal
Himalayas from where Yamuna originated.
More than 8000 years back Sarasvati
was the mightiest river, having Yamuna & Sutlej as its tributaries and was
flowing along the Aravalli Hills. Due to
northward movement of the plate of Indian subcontinent, tectonic upheaval of
the Aravallis, a major earthquake around 3000 BC and climatic changes, Yamuna
and Sutlej, migrated in opposite directions – Yamuna moved eastward to join the
Ganges later-on. Sutlej moved westward and was flowing as an independent river
upto the sea for hundreds of years and thereafter joined Beas, a tributary of
Sind (Indus) River. Presently, Sutlej and Yamuna are the two perennial rivers whereas
Sarasvati is ephemeral, visible in the form of paleochannels, trapped
underground waters and ponds/lakes. Modern day Ghaggar rises in Morni Hills of
Shivalik and meets Sarasvati at Rasula in Patiala Distt. Combined river now
known as Ghaggar flows through Sirsa, hanumangarh, Ganganagar and Bhawalpur
state of Pakistan.
Rejuvenation of Sub-surface Drainage after Bhuj and
Haryana Earthquakes -
As discussed in the
previous section, Saraswati drainages in Thar Desert area have disappeared due
to climatic changes in 3000 BC. It has been observed that the sub-surface
drainages (palaeochannels) in the Rann area rejuvenated after the Bhuj earthquake of 26th
January, 2001, which might have been caused due to increase in hydrostatic
pressure at the sub-surface aquifer condition.
Similar
phenomena like sudden spurt of sub-surface water oozing at Kalayat village in
Jind district of Haryana had been observed in December, 2005 (Bhadra et al.,
2006) after earthquakes in the area.
The
satellite picture shown also clarifies that as described in Vedas, Sarasvati
river system was surrounded on one side by Ganga and its tributaries and on the
other side by Indus River System (Courtesy: J R Sharma and B k Bhadra).
(courtesy:
Bhadra B K and J R Sharma)
Discovery
of large number of Vedic Harappan
archaeological sites-
Out of more than 2800 sites excavated along Indus and
Sarasvati river systems, more than 55% are in Sarasvati basin, but we still
continue to call our ancient civilization as Indus civilization instead of
calling it as Indus-Sarasvati Civilization! These sites include world famous
excavations of Banawali (famous for world's first Acropolis), Kalibangan (known
for its layout and designed floor tiles, Lothal (having world's oldest
dockyard) and Dholavira (world's oldest huge Rock cut Reservoir and largest
inscription etc. From these sites has been found evidence of cultivation of
wheat and rice 7000 years back, copper arrow heads, terracotta, items of
jewellery made of beeds, stones & gold, boats and anchors, drainage systems
and warehouses, inscriptions and seals etc.
In fact Indus Saravati Civilisation
flourished in more than 1 lac sq. km. area, covering Uttrakhand, UP, Haryana,
Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Pakistan. It extended from Makrana in the West
to Alamgirpur (UP) in the east, from Afghanistan in northwest and Manda
(J & K) in North to Bhagatrao in Gujarat.
It is thus more than clear that
world's greatest and oldest civilisation flourished around Sarasvati and Vedas,
Epics, Smritis, Shrutis were composed long its
banks. Therefore even after its wane, the people kept on worshipping as
Goddess of Learning and Ganga emerged as the new holy river.
Sarasvati
in a sense is like modern India, having forgotten its heritage of Himalayan
proportions, it has lost itself in a featureless desert! Nevertheless, it is
still hidden and is capable of restoring the past glory.
Reverence
for this glorious past is a necessary element of patriotism. Allowing propagation of a false view of one’s
own cultural heritage is not tolerance but self-betrayal!
Suggested Reading for more details-
1. Saroj Bala and Kulbhushan Mishra. 2012. Historicity of Vedic and Ramayan Eras: Scientific Evidences from the Depths of Oceans to the Heights of Skies. Institute of Scientific Research on Vedas. Abridged editions also available in English and Hindi.
2. Bhadra, B.K., A.K. Gupta, and J.R. Sharma. 2009. Saraswati Nadi in Haryana and its linkage with
the Vedic Saraswati
River–Integrated study
based on
satellite images and ground based information.
Journal of Geological Society of India,
Bangalore,
Vol.73: 273-288.
3. Michael Denino. 2010. The
Lost River - On the Trail of the Sarasvati. Penguine Books
4. Kalyanraman, S.,Vedic
River Sarasvati and Hindu Civilization,
Aryan Books International,2008.
5. Valdiya, K.S. 2002. Saraswati –The River That Disappeared. Hyderabad: University Press (India):116.
