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 :-)

"Kindle"ing the passion for reading

“The greatest gift is a passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind. It is a moral illumination.”

-Elizabeth Hardwick

While coining this pithy observation, what probably Elizabeth Hardwick did not have in mind was electronic book readers, the advent of which has made the above statement all the more apt.

Amazon Kindle 3.2.1

Recently, I was fortunate to be gifted an Amazon Kindle. I have never been as exited about a gadget as much as now. Probably, getting my first PC felt the same. I never miss an opportunity to show my Kindle off to people I know (or don't know) and brag about its features and advantages! My friends have now labelled me as "A Kindle evangelist" :-)

A must have for all voracious readers out there. Goodbye to all the rack space occupied by bulky "actual" books. This is one of those disruptive technologies that will redefine the publishing industry. We are already seeing this trend.

Why shouldn't we consider it to be a replacement to actual books when the look-and-feel is quite the same and it comes with significant other benefits ? Its E-ink display can hardly be distinguished from the look of printed paper, the result of which is that, it does not cause any eye strain (unlike regular LCD displays which have faster refresh rates). As a side effect of this, these e-book readers have longer battery life. A Kindle's battery lasts for more than a month after a full recharge, which makes it an excellent travel companion.

It comes with a host of useful features which one uses while reading. An easy-to-use in-built dictionary lookup, effortless page navigation, creating highlights, notes, bookmarks, an experimental music player, Wi-Fi connectivity and a browser and so on. It can also load pdf files, though it might not have the same page navigation ease as the mobi format.

The first book I "purchased" and read was Alice in Wonderland. I also read a couple of stories from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I plan to read many of the English classics available for $0 :-)
You could also look for free books elsewhere.

Each one can find her own set of ways to use a Kindle apart from reading books. I used it during bus journeys to prepare for a presentation (after loading the pdf version of the presentation). I also recently discovered that I could read research papers which are single-column formatted pdfs. You can play around more with your gadget if you consider to Jailbreak it. Though I haven't tried it yet, there are a lot of resources for doing so and to learn other tips and tricks. My friend pointed me to a versatile utility called Calibre that allows one to inter-convert between many different e-book formats. I now download pdf e-books and convert it to mobi format, a nifty little trick.

Finally, I would like to sketch the serendipitous turn of events that led me to having a Kindle. I was planning to buy it and one morning I decide to tell a friend who was going to US to buy me one. Fortunately, I convey this piece of information to another friend of mine who happens to be gadget-savvy and had returned from the US recently. When I say this, he retorts "I have already brought you one!" . If I had not told him, I would have ended up ordering it. My only grouse apart from him insisting that it is was gift is that I would have gone for a Wi-Fi+3G version. But thats only a minor quibble.

Thanks a lot Mahesh for such a thoughtful and useful present!

Saartha

Very few works of fiction have the power to translocate the reader to the alternate universe of the plot. Saartha, by Dr. S. L. Bhyrappa is one of them. For a general introduction to Dr. Bhyrappa's works one could read this.

My exposure to Dr. Bhyrappa's works is only very recent. Thanks to my cousin, an ardent Bhyrappa fan, I am 5 books old now. The experience has been very sublime.

This post is not a review of the profound work. By no means I have the intellectual capacity to do this. This is just my experiences while reading this novel.

Saartha can be classified under the genre of historical fiction. It depicts the political, economical, social and religious conditions of India in 8th Century CE. The period when Buddism in India was at its peak, there was in-fighting among various kingdoms like the Rashtrakutas and the Gurjara-Pratiharas. It also marked the advent of Arab invaders on the Indus plains and their obstruction to trade routes.

The protagonist, Nagabhatta is a well educated Vedic scholar trained under the famous Mimamsaka at that time, Mandana Mishra. Nagabhatta is a very good friend of the King of Taravati (a fictional kingdom sandwiched between the giant kingdoms of the north and south), Amaruka. In the interest of understanding the trade secrets and on the insistence of the king, he sets on an epic voyage along the trade routes of ancient India. He joins a caravan (Saartha) in the guise of a student who intends to travel to Mathura seeking higher education.

Thus begins the protagonist's encounters with various cultures, philosophies and interesting people. It also marks the beginning of his own self-discovery.

Without delving into the details of the plot, I would like to give a sketch of the important events, enough to whet one's appetite. In the course of time, Nagabhatta meets Buddhist Bhikkus, Yogis, left-handed tantriks, Sankara, Kumarila Bhatta and so on. He also becomes a part of a troupe which enacts episodes from the chronicles of the life of Sri Krishna and travels all over north India. Here he befriends Chandrika, a fellow artist who also happens to be a practitioner of Yoga. He happens to visit the famous Naalanda university, the description of which is breathtaking and invokes in us a sense of awe at the universities of yore. He also witnesses the self immolation of Kumarila Bhatta.

Circumstances also lead him to witness the great debate between Mandana Mishra and Sankara presided by Ubhaya Bharati, the wife of Mandana Mishra himself. Outlines of the debate which led to the defeat of Mandana Mishra, how Bharati steps in to protect her husband and the oft-debated event of parakaya-pravesha by Sankara to answer some of the queries posed by her is woven into the plot in an inexplicably elegant fashion. Towards the end of the novel, the troupe is performing in Mulastana, which is now controlled by the Arabs who are disrupting the trade arrangements. The troupe is trying to garner enough support from the local populace for a coup but its plans are foiled and is dealt severely by the Arabs.

The canvas which the author sets for his novel is very panoramic: A transition period where there was a lot of turmoil; Clash of various philosophies - buddhist, purva-mimamsa, tantric, uttara-mimamsa and so on; The protagonist's roller-coaster emotional ride; Advent of monotheistic faiths to India.

The author presents before us a work of historical fiction where little damage has been done to historical accuracy yet leaving enough room for him to build his plot very creatively. The plot-device of using a character as a protagonist who is not famous historically but is somewhat distantly connected to historical figures / events is spectacular. (For lack of any other example, I could find a similar technique used in the movie Forrest Gump).

Finally, the language is so simple but so powerful. I find this in all of Dr. Bhyrappa's works that I have read. It is a treat to read him. You are completely lost in the story and begin associating with the characters in them. The characters are so life-like and the situations are so real. Only the reader can experience the true joy in reading his works and one is hard-pressed for words to describe the whole reading experience!

Saartha is must read for all those who are even remotely interested in philosophy and/or history.