A river is a Mystery; of distance and source,
Touch its flowing body and you touch far off places..
You touch a story that can't stop telling itself,
A story that's always just beginning..
A story that's always just beginning..
The song of a river ends not at her banks,
But in the hearts of those, Who have truly loved her.
Saraswati is the most sung about river in the Vedas and is called the Ambitame, Naditame, Devitame - the Best of mothers, Best of rivers and Best of goddesses in the Rig Veda. Sanskrit texts abound with references to the river:
- Kartikey was anointed the Commander of Deva forces on its banks.
- Pururava, the scion of Lunar Dynasty, met his wife-to-be Urvashi while galloping along the Saraswati.
- Parshuram took bath in the purifying waters of the river after cleansing Earth of the scourge of tyranny
- Mahabharat War, the War that ended an Era, was also fought along the banks of Saraswati.
Saraswati, the Goddess of Art and Learning
By nurturing the pursuit of knowledge, Saraswati appropriately assumes the status of the goddess of language, learning, arts and science. Yet, ironically, the existence of this same river has been under debate for a large part of our History!
Saraswati is currently not identifiable in the Indian sub-continent and numerous theories were suggested to trace its route and origin. All these efforts singly taken, could not have shed much light on the origins and disappearance of the river, but one man took the onus of compiling all this information on himself and set about 'Finding' the Lost river.
This man is the French proto-historian, Michel Danino and in this post, we will see what science has to say about Saraswati according to the research Mr. Danino has painstakingly conducted.
Finding the Lost River
According to the 7th Mandala of the Rigveda, Saraswati was a mighty river that flowed from the mountain to the sea sustaining the lives of Vedic people. This very reference gives a valuable pointer to Saraswati's geography and the search for the river invariably begins from the Himalayas.
Origin of Saraswati near Indo-Tibet border
Michel Danino has researched extensively about Indian history and is the author of numerous works of great scholarship. Based on recent research in a wide range of scientific disciplines, Mr. Danino puts two and two together remarkably well and brings to life the VITAL role this river played in sowing the seeds of Indian civilization. The result of his stupendous efforts is the hugely popular and widely acclaimed book - The Lost River.
Michel Danino's Classic
Danino begins his journey of discovery from a tiny seasonal river called Ghaggar. As soon as I came across the name, I realized this is the river that passes through my hometown!! At most places, the river is just a stream expanding to its banks only if the monsoon is really heavy. However, the ancient riverbed is 3 to 10 kilometers wide at places proving that it had indeed been a mighty river once!
Current arrangement of Northern Rivers
Ghaggar flowing near my Home
Michel Danino has painstakingly gathered data from a wide variety of sources - Study of Ancient literature; Recorded Historical accounts; Official reports from archives of the British Raj; Data from Archaeological Survey of India records; Pollen analysis from the lakes of Rajasthan; Studies of Oxygen-Isotope ratios; Remote sensing satellite etc.
These and other such techniques have helped present a pretty conclusive picture of the ORIGINAL course of the river and the factors leading to its disappearance. The verse [10.75.5] of Rig Veda, enumerates all important rivers from east to west in a strict geographical order, placing Saraswati between Yamuna and Sutlej, which is consistent with the Ghaggar identification.
Original course of River Saraswati
Another French scientist, Henri-Paul Francfort, had discovered the dry river bed of Saraswati utilizing advanced imagery from the Satellite SPOT. His studies led to the conclusion that the river bed was pre-Harappan and had already started drying up by the middle of 4000 BCE.
We know the Indian subcontinent is a hotbed of tectonic upheavals. Just a month ago, we had major Earth-quakes shaking up the North and East of the country. Similar changes, albeit on a much larger scale, are believed to have taken place couple of millenia ago, playing havoc with the river courses in the North-Western region of the country. Due to these, one of the rivers disappeared - this was the Saraswati.
According to Danino's research, about 5000 years ago, the flow of Saraswati was supplemented by the waters of Yamuna and Satluj both of which are perennial rivers from Himalayan glaciers. When we envision the combined volume of these three, we can actually visualize the magnificence of Saraswati as extolled in the Vedas!
According to the course discovered, it seems river Saraswati originated from the Har-ki-Dun glacier in West Garhwal, Bandarpunch massif in the Himalayas, along with the river Yamuna. The two rivers flowed parallel for some distance and later joined, proceeding south as the Vedic Saraswati.
The seasonal rivers and rivulets, including Ghaggar, joined Saraswati as it followed the course of the present river through Punjab and Haryana. River Sutlej (Shatadru in Sanskrit), joined Saraswati as a tributary at Shatrana, approximately 25 km south of the modern city of Patiala.
Saraswati then followed the course of Ghaggar through Rajasthan and Hakra in Bhawalpur before emptying into the Rann of Kutch via Nara in Sindh province, running parallel to the Indus River. ISRO scientist A.K. Gupta, found fresh-water in the Thar Desert at places, where no sources of water exist.
We know the Indian subcontinent is a hotbed of tectonic upheavals. Just a month ago, we had major Earth-quakes shaking up the North and East of the country. Similar changes, albeit on a much larger scale, are believed to have taken place couple of millenia ago, playing havoc with the river courses in the North-Western region of the country. Due to these, one of the rivers disappeared - this was the Saraswati.
According to Danino's research, about 5000 years ago, the flow of Saraswati was supplemented by the waters of Yamuna and Satluj both of which are perennial rivers from Himalayan glaciers. When we envision the combined volume of these three, we can actually visualize the magnificence of Saraswati as extolled in the Vedas!
The Saraswati Basin
The seasonal rivers and rivulets, including Ghaggar, joined Saraswati as it followed the course of the present river through Punjab and Haryana. River Sutlej (Shatadru in Sanskrit), joined Saraswati as a tributary at Shatrana, approximately 25 km south of the modern city of Patiala.
Saraswati then followed the course of Ghaggar through Rajasthan and Hakra in Bhawalpur before emptying into the Rann of Kutch via Nara in Sindh province, running parallel to the Indus River. ISRO scientist A.K. Gupta, found fresh-water in the Thar Desert at places, where no sources of water exist.
Saraswati flowing through the Thar Desert
In the Jaisalmer district, even with very little rainfall (less that 150 mm) and extreme weather conditions, groundwater is available at a depth of 50-60 m (!!!) and wells in the vicinity do not dry up throughout the year. Groundwater samples exhibit negligible Tritium content indicating ABSENCE of modern recharge.
Independent Isotope analyses have also corroborated this fresh water stored UNDER the sand dunes and Radiocarbon data suggests the groundwater is at least a few thousand years old! Not surprisingly, these stores of fresh water are located on the DRY river-bed of Saraswati :o)
Independent Isotope analyses have also corroborated this fresh water stored UNDER the sand dunes and Radiocarbon data suggests the groundwater is at least a few thousand years old! Not surprisingly, these stores of fresh water are located on the DRY river-bed of Saraswati :o)
So what went wrong?
Imagine the might of Saraswati when you combine it with the waters of Yamuna and Satluj. Such a river would be the perfect water-way for trade and commerce and its fertile deltas and basins would support settlements all along its banks.
However, some major earthquake in ancient time altered the topography of Northern India sufficiently enough to DIVERT the old courses of Saraswati's tributaries and while the Satluj changed direction to join Indus in the West, river Yamuna turned East to align with theGanga.
It seems the Tectonic shifts pushed Saraswati underground which BTW tallies quite well with the popular belief about the flow of the river. Satellite images have confirmed the existence of a large number of Ground-Faults in the Saraswati-Sindhu and have caused the seepage of Saraswati water to underground channels, contributing to the legend of the Vedic Saraswati disappearing underground.
From a practical point of view, if we can somehow revive this ancient source of water, it could become a LIFELINE for the parched desert areas of Western and Northern Rajasthan!
Around the same time, a global drought has been proven to have affected civilizations across an immense belt right from southern Europe to India. The Sumerian civilization of Mesopotamia was practically wiped out around 2200 BCE, while in Egypt, the so-called Old-Empire collapsed because of this change in climate! Incidentally, the Shrimad Bhagavatam holds Balrama, the brother of Shri Krishna, responsible for the alteration of the course of river Yamuna which was originally a major tributary of Saraswati!
However, some major earthquake in ancient time altered the topography of Northern India sufficiently enough to DIVERT the old courses of Saraswati's tributaries and while the Satluj changed direction to join Indus in the West, river Yamuna turned East to align with the
It seems the Tectonic shifts pushed Saraswati underground which BTW tallies quite well with the popular belief about the flow of the river. Satellite images have confirmed the existence of a large number of Ground-Faults in the Saraswati-Sindhu and have caused the seepage of Saraswati water to underground channels, contributing to the legend of the Vedic Saraswati disappearing underground.
From a practical point of view, if we can somehow revive this ancient source of water, it could become a LIFELINE for the parched desert areas of Western and Northern Rajasthan!
Around the same time, a global drought has been proven to have affected civilizations across an immense belt right from southern Europe to India. The Sumerian civilization of Mesopotamia was practically wiped out around 2200 BCE, while in Egypt, the so-called Old-Empire collapsed because of this change in climate! Incidentally, the Shrimad Bhagavatam holds Balrama, the brother of Shri Krishna, responsible for the alteration of the course of river Yamuna which was originally a major tributary of Saraswati!
Balrama altering the course of Yamuna!
In such a scenario, with BOTH its major tributaries gone, and a GLOBAL drought drying up the rivers, the results were catastrophic for our Saraswati, leading to the desertification of Rajasthan!
The Indus Valley Connection
If you carefully look at the course of the river plotted on the map of Indian sub-continent, you can not fail to grasp the proximity it shared with the course of the Indus. Interestingly, the time-frame of its existence ALSO coincides with what was till now known as the Indus Valley Civilization!
Now, some historians ask, could there be a possibility that this archaeologically OLDEST civilization of the Indian sub-continent was sustained NOT by Indus alone, but by Indus and Saraswati BOTH???
Location of Saraswati vis'a'vis the Indus Valley Civilization
With the work of researchers like Danino, this conjecture has indeed been proven to be true! In the early part of the century, Aurel Stein, a Hungarian archaeologist, had identified scores of Harappan sites in what is NOW recognized as the dry basin of the Saraswati right from Haryana in India to Punjab in Pakistan!!!
In fact, there are MORE archaeological sites along the bed of Saraswati (around 360!!!) than those along the Indus (just about 3 dozen)!! This could well turn out to be the turning point for re-defining our Actual History.
More than 300 sites have been discovered along the ancient course of the Saraswati
Because of the above discovery, it becomes so easy to understand the reason for the decline of the Harappan Civilization!
It was NOT because of an invading force from the North composed of white-skinned, chariot-riding, horse-taming, iron-using Aryans as the older archaeologists are fond of claiming. The most ancient civilization of the Indian sub-continent declined because of the MASSIVE change in topography of the region!
Another study titled {Fluvial Landscapes of the Harappan Civilization} has come out after the writing of this article, which also supports this view and declares that waning of monsoons spurred both the rise and fall of the Harappans! The study was conducted by a team of scientists from US, UK, India, Pakistan and Romania between 2003 and 2008. Using state-of-the-art Geoscience technology, the researchers concluded that Harappans lived in a favorable climatic window which saw few floods and sufficient rains but things started changing around 4000 years ago.
The new findings serve to strengthen the premise that what we refer to as the Indus Valley Civilization was largely located on the banks of and in the proximity of the Saraswati river which withered away due to climatic conditions.
The sudden change in the course of a river as wide as the Saraswati, would invariably lead to flooding in certain areas as its tributaries change their course, and a drought in the long run as the waters of the mighty river start dwindling and are unable to sustain the vast cities built on its banks.
s monsoon drying subdued devastating floods, the land nearby the rivers - still fed with water and rich silt - was just right for agriculture. This lasted for almost 2,000 years, but continued aridification closed this favorable window in the end
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-05-climate-collapse-ancient-indus-civilization.html#jCp
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-05-climate-collapse-ancient-indus-civilization.html#jCp
s monsoon drying subdued devastating floods, the land nearby the rivers - still fed with water and rich silt - was just right for agriculture. This lasted for almost 2,000 years, but continued aridification closed this favorable window in the end
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-05-climate-collapse-ancient-indus-civilization.html#jCp
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-05-climate-collapse-ancient-indus-civilization.html#jCp
s monsoon drying subdued devastating floods, the land nearby the rivers - still fed with water and rich silt - was just right for agriculture. This lasted for almost 2,000 years, but continued aridification closed this favorable window in the end
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-05-climate-collapse-ancient-indus-civilization.html#jCp
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-05-climate-collapse-ancient-indus-civilization.html#jCp
s monsoon drying subdued devastating floods, the land nearby the rivers - still fed with water and rich silt - was just right for agriculture. This lasted for almost 2,000 years, but continued aridification closed this favorable window in the end
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-05-climate-collapse-ancient-indus-civilization.html#jCp
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-05-climate-collapse-ancient-indus-civilization.html#jCp
The new findings serve to strengthen the premise that what we refer to as the Indus Valley Civilization was largely located on the banks of and in the proximity of the Saraswati river which withered away due to climatic conditions.
The sudden change in the course of a river as wide as the Saraswati, would invariably lead to flooding in certain areas as its tributaries change their course, and a drought in the long run as the waters of the mighty river start dwindling and are unable to sustain the vast cities built on its banks.
From Saraswati to Ganga
Because of this dramatic turn of events, the denizens of the Indus-Saraswati had to relocate Northwards, Westwards and Eastwards. The eastward movement formed the major chunk of migration and the sacred attributes of Saraswati were gradually transferred to the other major river of the sub-continent, the Ganga .
Goddess Ganga takes over Saraswati's role
Most Early Harappan sites are located in the middle Ghaggar-Hakra river valley, and some on the Indus and the Saurashtra area of Gujarat. However, in the LATER period, the number of sites in the Ghaggar-Hakra and Indus diminish, while increasing in the Ganges plain and Saurashtra.
Indeed, the community of Saraswat Brahmins still trace their origin from the banks of Saraswati and are today spread all over the country right from Kashmir in the north to Kutch in the West to the Konkan region in the South of the country!
As the senior Indian Archaeologist, S.R. Rao observes -
In circa 1900 BCE most of the mature Harappa sites were wiped out forcing the inhabitants to seek new lands for settlement. They seem to have left in great hurry and in small groups, seeking shelter initially on the eastern flank of the Sutlej and the Ghaggar and gradually moving towards the Yamuna. The refugees from Mohenjo-Daro and southern sites in Sind fled to Saurashtra and later occupied interior of the Peninsula.
Indeed, the community of Saraswat Brahmins still trace their origin from the banks of Saraswati and are today spread all over the country right from Kashmir in the north to Kutch in the West to the Konkan region in the South of the country!
As the senior Indian Archaeologist, S.R. Rao observes -
In circa 1900 BCE most of the mature Harappa sites were wiped out forcing the inhabitants to seek new lands for settlement. They seem to have left in great hurry and in small groups, seeking shelter initially on the eastern flank of the Sutlej and the Ghaggar and gradually moving towards the Yamuna. The refugees from Mohenjo-Daro and southern sites in Sind fled to Saurashtra and later occupied interior of the Peninsula.
Supporting data is present in the literary evidence where the earliest texts like the Rig-Veda mention Ganga only twice, but later literature like the Upanishads, mention the river repeatedly!
Indus-Saraswati Civilization and Vedic India
Interestingly, archaeological sites discovered on the banks of Saraswati, mirror the descriptions from ancient Vedic texts as well.
According to Mahabharat 1.90.25-26, many great kings used to perform Yagnya on Saraswati's banks, which co-relates well with the abundance of fire-altars discovered at places like Kalibangan, a major Harrapan town located on the southern banks of the Ghaggar.
Fire-altars discovered at Kalibangan
Traditional historians had refused to put faith in the abundant descriptions of Saraswati and had declared the date of arrival of the Aryans in India around 1500 BCE (Before Common Era). Also, they envisioned the Aryans as marauding forces who wiped out the resident Harrapans and branded them as Dasyus!!
However, the findings mentioned above throw up some very important questions viz.-
However, the findings mentioned above throw up some very important questions viz.-
- Saraswati is related to the Rig Veda and is worshiped by the Aryans, so how is it that more than 400 Harrapan sites co-relate so perfectly with its course???
- If the river had dwindled to a stream around 3000 BCE, how does it fit in with the traditional dating of Aryans entering India around 1500 BCE???
The artificial dating of Aryans in India is questioned in what is known as the Frawley's Paradox given by Professor David Frawley, the Founder-Director of American Institute of Vedic Studies at Santa Fe, New Mexico. The paradox brings to fore an extremely pertinent point viz.-
On one hand we have the vast Vedic literature without any Archaeological evidence to support it, while on the other hand we have almost 2500 Archaeological sites associated with the Indus-Saraswati civilization without any literature associated with it.
For any sane person, the logical conclusion would be pretty obvious - The Rig Veda was composed while the Saraswati was in full flow much before 3000 BCE and the Vedic AND Harrapan cultures belonged to the SAME civilization!
Vedic kingdoms around Saraswati
There is NO need to assume that Indus-Saraswati people were DIFFERENT from the Vedic Aryans. This assumption was created out of thin air by early British historians who found it difficult to believe the existence of an Asian civilization pre-dating the Hellenistic civilizations of Europe.
Indeed Harrapan Seals show a preponderance of Hindu motifs such as the Swastika, the Bull, and the Peepal leaf. Numerous figurines display Yogic postures and various seals have been identified with Shiva and the Goddess.
Harrapan seal identified with Shiva
Seals with Trident, Bull and Peepal motifs
This implies, the river was still navigable at the time of the Mahabharat War and the Epic was written BEFORE it had dried up i.e. at least before 3000 BCE (instead of 300 BCE given by older historians). Quite fittingly, this corresponds with the astrological dating of the War in 3rd Millenium BCE.
Krishna and Arjun on Battlefield Mahabharat
The discovery of vast number of sites on the banks of Saraswati, the co-relation with excerpts from Vedic scriptures, the revision of dates of these scriptures based on latest findings about the river, all these are tied to each other and lead to a common conclusion-The till now considered MYTHICAL Saraswati was HISTORICALLY present in the Indian sub-continent, sowing the seeds of Hindu religion and giving birth to the OLDEST Civilization in the World, that of Indus-Saraswati..
Saraswati Flows On
I consider myself lucky enough to have seen the river and touched its HOLY waters even before I knew of its real significance, and I was lucky enough to have also met the MAN who achieved the Himalayan task of tracing its origins :o)
My fortunate meeting with Mr. Danino
I hope I was able to kindle a spark of excitement in my readers about this brilliant phase of our Cvilizational history and for those interested in knowing more, I highly recommend the book by Mr. Danino. For all who believe in the divinity of the river, I'm sharing this image by the brilliant artist Swapnil Singh, depicting Goddess Saraswati in all her sublime glory.
Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning
I pay obeisance to Saraswati, the Fountainhead of Knowledge, for awakening my mind to this reality and helping me believe in what, at some level, I instinctively knew was the truth. May the river Saraswati re-attain her lost glory and find its True place in the History of our ancient land..
The Goddess who is fair as the Jasmine flower,
Whose hands are adorned by the Celestial Veena,
Whose seat is the pure White Lotus;
O Mother Goddess, remove our Ignorance!
Whose hands are adorned by the Celestial Veena,
Whose seat is the pure White Lotus;
O Mother Goddess, remove our Ignorance!
The purifying Saraswati in All her forms of Plenty,
Enriching all substance, the Creatrix of Word,
May she desire the offered sacrifice;
O Mother Goddess, remove our Ignorance!
Enriching all substance, the Creatrix of Word,
May she desire the offered sacrifice;
O Mother Goddess, remove our Ignorance!
She, the Impeller of all Auspicious Truths,
The Inspirer of All the right Musings,
May Saraswati, uphold the Sacrifice;
May Saraswati, uphold the Sacrifice;
O Mother Goddess, remove our Ignorance!
She who Awakens the Consciousness,
The awakener of the movement of Reet,
And the Illuminator of our Thoughts;
The awakener of the movement of Reet,
And the Illuminator of our Thoughts;
O Mother Goddess, remove All our Ignorance!
.
Aum Shanti: Shanti: Shanti:
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