The River Of The Rig Veda:
The mythical river Sarasvati is an unsolved mystery. Sarasvati means a river full of ponds or lakes. This indicated its course might have been through many such lakes or swamps. There are many references to this river in the Rig Vedas as the " Seventh River of the Aryavarta" and " The mother of floods", indicating it was an important river in the land, probably large and perennial and caused floods. Many excavated villages and cities along present-day parts of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat indicate the basin of the Sarasvati River. It is described in the Yajur Vedas as the one where the five rivers meet, and in the Brahmanas, there are indications of the disappearance of its lower course and how its large flow decreases.
The Mahabharata describes the ultimate drying up of the river before the ushering in of the Kali Yuga. Many Puranas describe the civilisation lying between the Ganga and the Saraswati. Even Hastinapur is described as situated to the south of Saraswati. Present-day Geologists have tested and revealed the Saraswati River basin to be one of the main rivers of the civilisation, and possibly parts of it are still in the present-day Ghaggar River flowing through Haryana. The Sarasvati-Ghaggar flooded the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation as one mighty river, but Saraswati's drying up has left the Ghaggar as a minor river. Satellite imaging has helped create the river basin and understand the civilisation that stood there. Even today, Hinduism depicts the river flowing underground to meet the Ganga at Allahabad.
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| Imagined map of the Sapta Sindhu region |
It is not wrong to call the Indus Valley Civilisation the Indus Sarasvati Civilisation, as it is often now referred to, and the description of this mighty river that dried up around 1000BC in the Rig Vedas as a mighty one indicates that the Rig Vedas were actually from the first civilisations of the country. The Indic script has not yet been deciphered, but it is evident that the people had acute knowledge of science and technology. Their buildings, roads, sewage systems, planned cities, and tools indicate a highly developed society. Two-storeyed houses with attached baths, manholes, drains, and even baths with inflow and outflow of water, evenly constructed burnt bricks are indicators of such great architectural and mathematical skills.
Scripts and Gods:
Moreover, the Rig Vedas were revived and rewritten by Vyas Dev (now believed to be a collection of writers under the same pseudonym) in a much later era, as mentioned in the written versions and hymns by Vyas Dev. Probably some parts that could give more clues about the civilisation that was in the Harappa Era were lost in translation after so many years. It is mentioned in the Puranas how the Vedic knowledge was lost time and again and revived by great sages. Since the Indus Scripts have not been deciphered, the real names of these magnificent cities of Mohenjo-Daro, Harappa, Lothal, etc. are unknown. I feel these correspond to large, magnificent cities mentioned in Purana tales and epics from the prehistoric eras. Even pre-Indus Valley sites found at Mehrgarh prove that cities and civilisation did not start in India with the Indus Valley, but much before that, so Rama or even Manu's cities and civilisation could be true.
Also, coming to the gods of that time, there is mention of Mother Goddess, who is the later version of Laxmi, Pashupatinath, the later age Shiva and Thunder God King Indra, Water God Varuna, Fire God Agni and worship of Rivers as mother goddesses in both the Harappan era as well as in the Rig Vedas. This can only prove the time estimation of the origin of the Vedas to be similar to that of this civilisation. The Vedic age in India was actually the early Kali Yuga, as Maha Padma Nanda ushered in the first Vedic empire post the Hastinapur era.
Note here, Padma Nanda claims to be a direct descendant of the Pandavas, while many kings, including various Rajputs and even the Southern Indian medieval king Rajaraja Chola, claim to be descendants of Lord Rama, thus legitimising the existence of the otherwise mythical epics.
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| Bull Seal of Mohenjo-Daro |
Science and Developments:
Some eminent scientists claim that fragments of what could have been a nuclear explosion can be found in the lost cities of the Indus Valley. If we read the Puranas or the Mahabharata, we know about Brahmastras that could potentially destroy the world. It is not at all difficult to think that ancient Indians, who discovered many scientific wonders, could create a scientific explosion that way, as described time and again in texts. Also, if we see the epics, the Mahabharata had many such advanced weapons, including iron-made ones, but the Ramayana has only basic weapons with a few wondrous scientific discoveries like flying machines (Pushpak Rath). The First landing grounds are claimed to be found among the ruins of what was Ravana's palace in Sri Lanka and Cambodia.
Lothal and Dwarka were ancient port cities of the Sarasvati Civilisation. Dwarka contains many such relics still under the water from the Later Harappan era, and even Indic Scripts similar to those found in many other sites. This proves it was, in fact, a city built around 1500BC or later and helps us determine the period of the civilisation. Dwarka sites contain many relics like Stages, Lions used as signs of royalty as described in the Mahabharata, Pillars of what could have been royal houses, etc. Even the present temple at Dwarka is believed to be atop the city that was built by Lord Krishna. Anchors found in ruins suggest shipping and trading with other contemporary civilisations in Egypt or Mesopotamia.
| The area of Rama's Bridge |
Actual Facts:
Geologists suggest that the climate of the Thar started changing from tropical to Desert mainly after the drying up of the Sarasvati basins. The lack of water made people move further south and establish civilisation to the east, where Ayodhya and Rama lived for many eras before the Mahabharata, as per our epics. There are satellite images imagined of Srilanka's movement away from the main Indian Lands that can establish the construction of the bridge across the Palk Strait by Rama's army. The Island was not far from the mainland then, but the technology of creating bridges was well known by the people of the (Vanara) native tribes. States like Anga, Magadha and Videha are mentioned in both epics as well as many other texts, suggesting their existence, while historically these states and places played major roles in the politics of ancient India.
Invasion Theories:
The coming of the Aryans from Central Asia to India during various phases of the Indus Saraswati Civilisations suggests that no conflict existed between them and the advanced Natives. They adopted each other's cultures and blended together to form Hinduism (which was initially called Sindhuism or simply the way of life of the Sindh, a term used by Greeks for native Indians). The Natives of these cities adopted horses, bulls, donkeys and other wild animals, taming them as a mode of transport and chariots, learning the trick from the nomadic Aryans. Together, they adopted their exchanged beliefs and started cremating their dead like the Indus people instead of burying them as found in the early Harappan burials. The later Harappan eras witnessed the Aryan population outnumbering the natives, as well as Interracial mixing, and then came the strictness of the Varna (Caste), Jati (Religion) and birth (Creed). However, one should remember that the Indus script is yet to be deciphered, and it somehow prevents us from knowing basic knowledge of the civilisation, including the facts of whether these caste or creed systems prevailed in their society, how the society functioned, or who was the chief of their cities and settlements. Most IVC is still assumed theories. The natives of India became what the British refer to as "Dravidians", while in reality, no purebreds exist now in the subcontinent after years of intermixing. For over 3000 years, groups of nomadic tribes came and settled in India and blended into its culture. India, or rather appropriately, the subcontinent of India, was also a global centre during ancient India, inviting many foreigners who settled here to form other mixed races like the Indo-Greeks, who played an active part in the politics of the time. The " Invasion " theory is a flaw in many cases, as no signs of war or calamity are found in most sites. Dwarka and a few other sites have artefacts in the shapes of various weapons, probably meant to protect themselves, but bones and bodies found dumped in the sites suggest no diseases or war injuries. The Invasion theory also does not apply because the Aryans came in different phases of the Civilisation, not all at once, as often imagined. Thus, it proves they had no fear of making enemies in this land. And logically, a nomadic tribe in search of ground to settle would not dare to attack a more advanced civilisation. Having said that, we should also understand that the Indus Valley Civilisation was not an isolated civilisation of people in the subcontinent. The rest of the subcontinent also may have had civilisations or nomadic tribes who were not in communication with the IVC and were thus in a different stage of development. Bone fragments found in the Soan Valley and later in parts of Southern India proved human ancestors lived in various parts of the subcontinent even before the IVC.
The Rig Vedas, the River Sarasvati, and the Indus Valley Civilisation are, in fact, part of the same puzzle. What made them so superior and intelligent, and what caused such a vast civilisation to end and usher in the Vedic eras, is still a mystery. However, I strongly oppose the Alien Invasion theories that are made to prove that the people were not advanced. It was a society more advanced than ours and a civilisation that was the best among its contemporaries. Ancient Mesopotamians and Egyptians adopted many technologies from the Indus Civilisation itself and vice versa. The alien theories are not only baseless but also not scientifically approved.
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| The famous bust of Priest King, Mohenjo-Daro |
Affecting the epics:
The two major epics believed to be coinciding with this time are the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, both texts describing Aryavarta as the land of the Aryans and the South of the River Narmada as Dravidian or native land. However, there was no such distinction or invasion that occurred because it has been proved that the nomadic Aryans were in fact less advanced in weaponry than the Natives who built the first cities. The two coexisted, and inter-race marriages were a norm, as was found in the DNA of natives. No Indian, as previously believed, is a pure-bred Aryan or Dravidian. It has to be noted that the two epics were Shruti Rachna, or told from person to person for many hundreds of years, until the Gupta age, when they were officially written down. A lot of aspects of the era including the caste system, rigidity of creed, and superiority of the Brahmins and Kshatriyas, otherwise absent in the era of the epics, were incorporated in the two stories thus giving rise to many theories of war between the Aryans and Dravidian or Ram or Krishna being blue-skinned signifying they were from a different land (some theories suggest they were from the more advanced lands of Egypt or Greece). Such incorporations increased the number of local versions that made sure the epics were followed religiously and added bits and pieces of more moral lessons in stories. In fact, in the earliest scripts of Jaya or Ramayana, there was no mention of godly men or godly powers. Those are simple stories of kings who struggle to make a difference. Rama is witnessed saying, "Man becomes God through his deeds, " which is perhaps how the epics became religious texts. The aspects of the Vishnu avatar were incorporated much later in the Vaishnavism sects when they were in constant conflict with the Shaivites. With the change of stories through eras, and the British influencing most of the history written, we still read Aryan invasion theories, which have long been discarded by historians.
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| Depiction of the Mahabharata in Cave 16 of Ellora |
Conclusion:
The tales of the Puranas and Vedas, and Epics are, in fact, the tales of the Indus Valley Civilisation lost in translation over the years. Reviving those is next to impossible, but if revived, they will give the details of the most magnificent of ancient civilisations in the world. The tales of the epics have changed dramatically and conveniently through eras, as the saying goes, "History is what you believe it to be."
Further Reads:
- Land of the Seven Rivers: History of India's Geography by Sanjeev Sanyal
- The Lost River: On the Trail of Saraswati by Michel Danino
- Vedic People by Rakesh Menon