Saraswati River By: Namisha Goel

Introduction Flows through the plains of Punjab and Pakistan Major river of India Rig Veda, describes Saraswati as a mighty river with many individually recognized tributaries In the Vedic times it was considered as one of the holiest rivers.

What Is The Saraswati River? Sacred river in India Holy river Small river in Haryana in India River that flows in the Ghagger river Seventh river in the sindhu saraswati system

The Meaning Of The River In Sanskrit 'saras' means a lake or water body, and 'vati', means a female associated with it. It also means the heavenly 'river' milky way and it is personified as a goddess.

The Mother Of All Rivers Believed to have drained the north and northwest region of India Supporting over 16,000 settlements Greenland in Rajasthan Sutlej and Yamuna were major sources The rivers Hakra and the Ghaggar have been identified as the lost Saraswati. Vedas describe it being the life-stream of the people

The Origin Of The River Saraswati originated from the Har-ki-Dun glacier It flowed parallel to the river Yamuna and proceeded south as the Vedic Saraswati. The Har-ki-dun glacier produced the Saraswati's tributaries which were Sutlej and Yamuna By the late vedic period the saraswati river didn’t have any tributaries

Drying of the river Some of the reasons for the drying of the Saraswati river could be: By adjoining rivers, Sutlej and the Yamuna The river bed could have been choked with modern moving sand. Tectonic movement caused separation The river eventually dried. intense erosion is a cause from the drying of the river

The Existence Of The River We did not know the existence of the river until 1874. The dry river bed belonging to the original Saraswati river is in doubt. No certain reasons for its disappearance. River did exist about 6000 years back!! Since no one could find it, Saraswati passed into the realm of folklore. Now most people in India think of it as a mythical river. Some believe that it is an invisible river Some also believe that it still flows underground. Today a part of the river exists as Ghaggar The rest has disappeared in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Sindh. The river does not have a physical existence today

History and Mythology It nurtured the people living on its banks like a loving mother Ancient Vedic literature was itself written on the banks of this river. Mahabharata describes Balarama's pilgrimage along the bed of this river. The dry saraswati bed caused the armies of Islam to take a longer route.

Quiz Time We did not know the existence of the river until what year? What is one meaning of Saras-wati? Where did the Saraswati river originate from? Name one way the Saraswati river might have dried Which two rivers have been identified as the lost Saraswati?