Sarasvati: The lost river - Part I

प्रणो देवी सरस्वती वाजेभिर्वाजिनीवती  

धीनामवत्रियवत्  ॐ वाग्देव्यै नमः  ||

"Salutations to Goddess Sarasvati who is the originator of all vibrations and who removes the ignorance of the intellects. Salutations to the Goddess of speech."

- Rigveda

Ever since I first heard about the Harappan Civilization from my history teacher in high school, I have always been fascinated about it and have wished to know more. This might have been due to my visceral feeling that it is somehow intertwined with my roots. However, what I learnt in the syllabus was partly influenced by Aryan invasion theory (AIT). From what I know, this (or its lesser-evil twin, Aryan Migration theory) is still taught in the curriculum for current high school students. My current post (and a few to follow) is not about the debate between the AIT camp and the Indigenous Aryan camp, one that is going on even to this day in academic circles. It is about a book I read recently, "The Lost River, On the trail of the Sarasvati" by Michel Danino, which summarizes research that has been undertaken for over four centuries on this ancient river and its relation to the Harappan civilization and tries to synthesize this in the form of a narrative.

I read a review of this book in the history blog varnam. The book is a compelling read. It very beautifully narrates the story of the quest for Sarasvati river. However, it is also very rigorous, replete with many footnotes and references at the right places for further reading. It is also filled with maps and other illustrations to explain the complex saga of the river's history and its search. Apart from getting to know the full story, I also picked up a few interesting set of facts while the reading the book. I will try to summarize the book and also share a few interesting observations in a couple of posts starting from this one.

The book is divided into three parts:

1. History of the Sarasvati river
2. Harappan civilization
3. Links between Sarasvati river and Harappan civilization

Part 1: Sarasvati river

River-systems in ancient India

This part talks about the river's complex history, its myths and legends and references in various sources like Vedas, Mahabharata and the Puranas. It also narrates the efforts to trace its path starting from the meticulous surveys done by the British Raj to the most recent research done in areas as diverse as archeology, climatology, literature, geology and even nuclear physics! (used in dating ancient waters)

What amazed me was not just the fact that such seemingly disparate areas of knowledge contributing to our understanding of this lost river but also that this research study is so vast and numerous and is being carried out even to the present day!  

An interesting set of stories is regarding the river and its disappearance is recounted in this part as gleamed from various sources. I will list a few of the interesting ones below:

On Sarasvati going to the desert (Mahabharata): Uthatya's (a rishi mentioned in the epic) wife is abducted by demigod Varuna while she is bathing in Yamuna. The sage enraged by this, makes 600,000 lakes in the region where Saraswati flowed, disappear in order to teach Varuna (lord of water element) a lesson. He also commands the Sarasvati  to "leave this region and go to the desert". An interesting consequence of this is the fact that a lot of towns in North-West India (which is an arid desert) are named after lakes (their names ending in 'sar', like Lunkanasar ). Curious though it seems to name places in a desert that makes it look like a lake country this is one the indications of more water being present here in the past.

Balarama's pilgrimage along Sarasvati during the Kuruksketra war: This is well-known tale where he traverses the river's path and takes a dip in many of the tirthas. He also describes at great length its disappearance at many places.

Padma Purana legend: Brahma persuades Sarasvati to carry an all-consuming fire, that was threatening the whole world, to the ocean. Here, we can read fire to be an allegorical reference to a severe drought that affected the region a long time back. She carries it with her, makes a brief stop at Pushkar (one of the few places where Saraswati's consort Brahma is worshiped) and takes this 'fire' to the ocean. Curious isn't it ?

Research has shed some light into the evolution of river-systems of Northern India. A river (like a living being) evolves over time, changes its course and even might die and be lost. Now we have evidence to believe with confidence that a long time back, Sarasvati was fed by two major rivers of the present day, Sutlej and Yamuna. The main reason for Sarasvati's disappearance was that it was deserted by its two main sister rivers.  There is a lot of speculation as to what caused this event (perhaps a major tectonic event) and when this happened. The account of the two rivers separating from Sarasvati (Sutlej joined Indus, Yamuna joined Ganga) is also hinted at many places in literature. A couple of interesting tales follow, one about Yamuna and another about Sutlej:

Balarama's inebriation: Once after consuming some 'divine liquor' Balarama in his intoxicated state, wanted to take a dip in Yamuna. In his drunken stupor he wanted to summon Yamuna to himself so that he can bathe in her. So Balarama using his weapon, the plough dragged her! If you trace the course of Yamuna on a map, it takes a sharp turn to the east and then proceeds to join Ganga downstream. This sharp turn is termed as the 'Yamuna tear' by geologists. A nice legend to record a sharp turn in Yamuna's course.

Sutlej and sage Vasishtha: In Rig-Veda Sutlej was called Shutudri meaning swift-flowing. Post-Vedic literature termed this river as Shatadru which means having hundred channels. Geologists now confirm the quirkiness of Sutlej and its constant course changing nature which corroborates the ancient name Shatadru. Vasishtha upon the knowledge of his sons being killed by his arch-rival Visvamitra, wants to give-up his life. All his efforts to commit suicide is foiled by the elements of nature. Finally, he plunges himself into Shutudri. The river thinks he is a ball of fire and it flows in hundred different directions thereby becoming Shatadru!

Let me end my post here. In the next part, I will try to summarize part two of the book, the one dealing with the discovery of Indus Civilization. Stay tuned :-)