DebbieLemke at 12:16, 9 March 2026

2026-03-09T12:16:41Z

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2021-04-02T15:32:01Z

Rigvedic rivers: sd

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{{Redirect|Hindu river|the river known as the Sindhū|Indus River}}
{{For|the most sacred river in Hinduism|Ganges}}
{{For|the festival|Kumbh Mela}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{More citations needed section|date= January 2018}}
{{short description|Rivers mentioned in the Rig Veda of Hinduism}}
[[River]]s, such as the '''Sapta Sindhavah''' ("seven rivers" {{lang-sa|सप्तसिन्धवः}}),<ref>e.g. [[Mandala 2|RV 2]].12; [[Mandala 4|RV 4]].28; [[Mandala 8|RV 8]].24</ref> play a prominent part in the hymns of the '''[[Rig Veda]]''', and consequently in early [[Historical Vedic religion|Hindu religion]]. Vedic texts have a wide geographical horizon, speaking of oceans, rivers, mountains and deserts. “Eight summits of the Earth, three shore or desert regions, seven rivers.” (asthau vyakhyat kakubhah prthivyam tri dhanva yojana sapta sindhun RV.I.35.8).

The Vedic land is a land of the seven rivers flowing into the ocean. It encompasses the regions from [[Gandhara]] to [[Kurukshetra]].

==Mythology==
A recurring theme in the [[Yajurveda]] is that of [[Indra]] slaying [[Vritra]] (literally "the obstacle"), liberating the rivers; in a variant of the myth, Indra smashes the [[Vala (Vedic)|Vala]] cave, releasing the cows that were within. Though the two myths are separate,<ref>H.-P. Schmidt, Brhaspathi and Indra, Wiesbaden 1968</ref> rivers and cows are often poetically correlated in the Rigveda, for example in 3.33, a notable hymn describes the crossing of two swollen rivers by the chariots and wagons of the [[Bhāratas|Bharata]] tribe:
:3.33.1cd ''Like two bright mother cows who lick their youngling, [[Vipas]] and [[Sutudri]] speed down their waters.'' (trans. [[Ralph T. H. Griffith|Griffith]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/rigveda/rv03033.htm|title=Rig Veda: Rig-Veda, Book 3: HYMN XXXIII. Indra.|website=www.sacred-texts.com}}</ref>

==Seven Rivers==
The Seven Rivers are a group of seven chief rivers of uncertain or fluctuating identification (the number seven is of greater importance than the exact members of the group)- compare the [[Saptarishi]] of the Avesta (and also the later [[seven seas]] and the seven [[clime]]s) . The [[Avesta]]'s ''{{IAST|hapta həndu}}'' are preemptively equated with the Vedic Sapta Sindhavaḥ or vis-a-vis: in ''[[Vendidad]]'' 1.18 these are described to be the fifteenth of the sixteen lands created by [[Ahura Mazda|Mazda]].<ref>Gnoli 1989 pp.44–46</ref> Note: The term Sapta Sindhava, commonly used in Hindi and other Indian languages, is the nominative plural in Sanskrit (dropping the final visarga in conformity with the convention when expressing Sanskrit words in modern languages). Sapta Sindhu, often seen in English, is in the singular, and is therefore ungrammatical.

===Identity of the Seven Rivers===
It is not entirely clear how the Seven Rivers were intended to be enumerated. They are often located in northern India / eastern Pakistan. If the Sarasvati and the five major rivers of India are included ([[Shutudri]]/Sutlej, [[Parushni]]/Ravi, [[Asikni (river)|Asikni]]/Chenab, [[Vitasta]]/Jhelum, [[Vipasha]]/Beas, the latter all tributaries of [[River Indus|Sindhu / Indus]]), one river is missing, probably the Kubha. Other possibilities include the [[Arjikiya]] or [[Sushoma]]; compare also the list of ten rivers, both east and west of the Indus, in the [[Nadistuti sukta]], RV 10.75. In 6.61.10, Sarasvati is called "she with seven sisters" (''saptasvasā'') indicating a group of eight rivers, the number seven being more important than the individual members (see also ''[[saptarshi]]'', hapta karšuuar /''[[haft keshvar]]'' in Avestan), so that the list of the Sapta Sindhava may not have been fixed or immutable. In RV 10.64.8 and [[RV 10.75]].1, three groups of seven rivers are referred to (''{{IAST|tríḥ saptá sasrâ nadíyaḥ}}'' "thrice seven wandering rivers"), as well as 99 rivers. The Sapta-Sindhava region was bounded by Saraswati in the east, by the Sindhu in the west and the five in between were Satudru, Vipasa, Asikni, Parusni and Vitasta.

==Geography of the Rigveda==
[[File:Map of Vedic India.png|thumb|320x320px|Geography of the Rigveda]]
Identification of Rigvedic rivers is the single most important way of establishing the geography of the early [[Vedic civilization]]. Rivers with certain identifications stretch from eastern [[Afghanistan]] to the western [[Gangetic plain]], clustering in the undivided Punjab (the region's name means "five rivers").

A number of names can be shown to have been re-applied to other rivers as the center of Vedic culture moved eastward from the central Vedic heartland in undivided Punjab. It is possible to establish a clear picture for the latest phase of the Rigveda, thanks to the [[Nadistuti sukta]] (10.75), which contains a geographically ordered list of rivers. The most prominent river of the Rigveda is the unidentified [[Sarasvati River|Sarasvati]] river, next to the 3249 kilometers (2019 miles) long [[Indus River|Indus]]. The Rig Veda mentions Saraswati river as between Yamuna to the East and river Sutlej to the west. The [[Mahabharata]] talks about the [[Sarasvati River|Sarasvati]] drying up.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UTYlDwAAQBAJ&q=mahabharat+balaram+saraswati+pilgrimage&pg=PT130|title=River and Goddess Worship in India: Changing Perceptions and Manifestations of Sarasvati|last=Prasad|first=R. U. S.|date=2017-05-25|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781351806541|language=en}}</ref>

==List==
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2015}}
In the geographical organization of the following list, it has to be kept in mind that some names appearing both in early and in late hymns may have been re-applied to new rivers during the composition of the Rigveda.
[[File:Kabulriverinjaa1.jpg|thumb|Kabul River near Jalalabad]]
[[File:Swat River Pakistan.JPG|thumb|Swat River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]
[[File:Jam Qasr Zarafshan.jpg|thumb|Harī Rūd in Afghanistan]]

Northwestern Rivers (western tributaries of the Indus):

* Trstama
* Susartu
* Anitabha (listed once, in 5.53.9, with the Afghan rivers [[Rasā|Rasa]] (Avestan Rangha/Raŋhā), [[Kubha]], [[Kurram River|Krumu]], [[Sarayu]] (Avest. Harōiiu)
* [[Rasā|Rasa]] (on the upper Indus) (often a mythical river, Avestan Rangha, Scythian Rha)
* Svetya ([[Gilgit River|Gilgit]])<ref>{{Cite book|title=River and goddess worship in India : changing perceptions and manifestations of Sarasvati.|last=S.|first=Prasad, R. U.|date=2017|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781351806558|location=Abingdon, Oxon|oclc=988293338}}</ref>
* Kubha ([[Kabul River|Kabul]]), Greek Kophēn
* Krumu ([[Kurram River|Kurrum]])
* Mehatnu (along with the Gomati and Krumu)
* Srivastu/Suvastu ([[Swat River|Swat]]) in RV 8.19.37)
* Gauri ([[Panjkora River|Panjkora]])
* Kusava ([[Kunar River|Kunar]])

The Indus and its minor eastern tributaries:
* Sindhu ([[Indus River|Indus]]; (''sindhu'' also means "stream/Giant River" generically)
* Sushoma ([[Soan River|Sohan]])
* Arjikiya ([[Haro River|Haro]])

Central Rivers (rivers of the Punjab):
* Vitasta ([[Jhelum River|Jhelum]])
* Asikni ([[Chenab River|Chenab]])
* Parusni ([[Ravi River|Ravi]])
* Vipas ([[Beas River|Beas]])
* Sutudri ([[Sutlej]])
* Marudvrdha

East-central Rivers (rivers of [[Haryana]]):
* [[Sarasvati River|Sarasvati]] (References to the Sarasvati river in the Rigveda are identified with the present-day [[Ghaggar River]], although originally it might have been the name of the [[Arghandab River|Arghandab]] and [[Helmand River|Helmand]] rivers, as a possible locus of early Rigvedic references.)<ref>{{citation |last=Kochhar |first=Rajesh |chapter=On the identity and chronology of the Ṛgvedic river Sarasvatī |title=Archaeology and Language III; Artefacts, languages and texts |editor1=Roger Blench |editor2=Matthew Spriggs |publisher=Routledge |year=1999 |isbn=0-415-10054-2 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h8jfBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA262 |page=262}}</ref>
* [[Drsadvati]], Apaya (RV 3.23.4, Mahabharata Apaga.)

Eastern Rivers:
* Asmanvati ([[Assan River|Assan]])
* [[Yamuna]]
* [[Ganges River|Ganga]]
* [[Sarayu]] in Uttar Pradesh
* Gomati or Adi Ganga in Uttar Pradesh [[Gomti River|(Gomti)]]
* [[Gandaki River|Gandaki]]
* Silamavati
* Urnavati
* [[Yavyavati]] ([[Zhob river]])

==See also==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[Ap (water)]]
*[[Aryan migration]]
*[[Nadistuti sukta]]
*[[Old European hydronymy]]
*[[Out of India theory]]
*[[Rigvedic deities]]
*[[River goddess]]
*[[Samudra]]
*[[Zhetysu]] - 7 rivers of Central Asia
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{citation | last=Bryant | first=Edwin | author-link=Edwin Bryant (author) | title=The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2001 | isbn=0-19-513777-9| title-link=The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture }}
*{{cite book |title=The Homeland of the Aryans. Evidence of Rigvedic Flora and Fauna and Archaeology |author=B. B. Lal |publisher=Aryan Books |year=2005|isbn=8173052832 }}
*{{cite book|author=Braj Basi Lal|title=The Rigvedic People - 'Invaders'?/'Immigrants'? or Indigenous?|year=2015|publisher=Aryan Books International|isbn=978-81-7305-535-5}}
*{{cite book|author=Braj Basi Lal|title=The Sarasvatī flows on: the continuity of Indian culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ultAAAAMAAJ|year=2002|publisher=Aryan Books International|isbn=978-81-7305-202-6}}
* Chakrabarti, D. K., & Saini, S. (2009). The problem of the Sarasvati River and notes on the archaeological geography of Haryana and Indian Panjab. New Delhi: Aryan Books International.
* {{Citation | last =Danino | first =Michel | year =2010 | title =The Lost River - On the trail of the Sarasvati | publisher =Penguin Books India| title-link =The Lost River }}
* {{Citation | last =Eck | first =Diana L. | year =2012 | title=India: A Sacred Geography | publisher=Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony | isbn =978-0-385-53191-7}}
* Gherardo Gnoli, ''De Zoroastre à Mani. Quatre leçons au Collège de France'' (Travaux de l’Institut d’Études Iraniennes de l’Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle 11), Paris (1985)
* Gupta, S.P. (ed.). 1995. The lost Saraswati and the Indus Civilization. Kusumanjali Prakashan, Jodhpur.
*[[K. D. Sethna]] ''[[The Problem of Aryan Origins]]'', 1980, 1992; {{ISBN|81-85179-67-0}}
* S.C. Sharma. 1974. The description of the rivers in the Rig Veda. The Geographical Observer, 10: 79-85.
* [[Shrikant G. Talageri]], ''The Rigveda, a historical analysis'', Aditya Prakashan, New Delhi ([http://www.tri-murti.com/ancientindia/rigHistory/ch4.htm chapter 4])
* [[Michael Witzel]], ''Tracing the Vedic dialects'' in ''Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes'' ed. [[Colette Caillat|Caillat]], Paris, 1989, 97–265.

{{Rigveda}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rigvedic Rivers}}
[[Category:Rigvedic rivers| ]]
[[Category:Rigveda|Rivers]]
[[Category:History of India]]
[[Category:Rivers of Sindh]]
[[Category:Hydronymy]]
[[Category:Rivers of Pakistan]]

Rigvedic rivers - Revision history

DebbieLemke at 12:16, 9 March 2026

imported>PJsg1011: /* Rigvedic rivers */ sd