By:

Namisha Goel

IntroductionIntroduction

• 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

1) We did not know the existence of the river until what year?

2) What is one meaning of Saras-wati?3) Where did the Saraswati river originate

from?4) Name one way the Saraswati river might

have dried5) Which two rivers have been identified as

the lost Saraswati?