RIVER SARASVATI

RIVER SARASVATI

Subject : Geography / History

Context :The Centre has reconstituted an advisory committee to chalk out a plan for studying the mythical Sarasvati river for the next two years, after the earlier panel’s term ended in 2019.

Concept :

• The Sarasvati River is one of the main Rigvedic rivers mentioned in the scripture Rig Veda and later Vedic and post-Vedic texts.
• The ‘Sapta Sindhu’ in Rig Veda refers to the rivers Saraswati, Satadru (Sutlej), Vipasa (Beas), Asikni (Chenab), Purushni (Ravi), Vitasta (Jhelum) and Sindhu (Indus).
• Among these, the Saraswati and the Sindhu were major rivers that flowed from the mountains right up to the sea.
• For 2000 years, between 6000 and 4000 B.C., the Saraswati flowed as a great river.
• The river, which had originated from Kapal tirith in the Himalayas in the west of Kailash, was flowing southward to Mansarovar and then taking a turn towards west.