HISTORY OF VEDIC SARASVATI RIVER AND PROJECTS TO DEVELOP THE SARASVATI RIVER BASIN Ancient Courses of Sarsvati River in NW India and through Nal Sarovar, Gujarat (after Valdiya, 1996 and Kalyanaraman, 1998) Vedic Sarasvati: Evolutionary History of a Lost River of Northwestern India, 1999, eds. BP Radhakrishna and S.S. Merh, Memoir 42, Geological Society of India, PB 1922, Gavipuram PO, Bangalore 560019 (Rs. 500) This is a scientific memoir primarily based on the proceedings of the Seminar on Drainage Evolution of Northwestern India with particular reference to the Lost River Sarasvati, held in MS University, Baroda, in December 1977. The memoir also includes a number of ancient texts and classical writings to the Sarasvati River which convincingly establish a chronology of events related to the history of Bharat during the past ten thousand years from a perspective of earth sciences. The remarkable feature of the memoir is that the findings of geologists is corroborated by scientific studies from a number of other disciplines including: archaeology, literature, civilization studies, land surveys, seismic studies, geomorphology, palynology, hydrogeology, geoarchaeology, palaeoclimatology, satellite imagery, luminescence chronology methods, oceanography, tritium isotope studies by atomic scientists and groundwater dating methods. The introduction provides a succinct summary of the memoir: "Rivers of Punjab, western and southern Rajasthan and of north and central Gujarat, present an interesting and complex evolutionary history of drainage development dating back to Middle Pleistocene. Most of these have a chequered evolutionary history, wherein factors of late Quaternary climatic changes and tectonism have played a significant role in modifying the drainage. Tracing of this evolutionary history is important from the point of view of Quaternary Geology, Prehistory and Archaeology. A number of workers belonging to various disciplines have attempted to reconstrct the stages of evolution of the drainage of western India and a consideratble voluime of data has accumulated. A time has come for synthesizing this data and focussing attention on certain crucial aspects which have a bearing on the dawn of Indian Civilization. It is now reasonably clear that the present arid tract of western Rajasthan, only a few thousand years ago, had supported luxuriant vegetation, with a number of mighty rivers flowing through it and irrigating vast stretches of land. More than 100 years ago Oldham first drew attention to the legendary river Sarasvati mentioned in the Rigveda and tried to trace its course... Besides Indus and Sarasvati there are many other rivers flowing in Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat which, originating in the high Himalaya, flowed westward initially and southwestward subsequently, ultimately joining the Arabian Sea at the Rann of Kachch." The memoir is organized in three sections: 1. Vedic antecedents; 2. Drainage evolution and 3. New approaches. The papers included in each section provide a cross-section of current views and include excellent bibliographies for further research. As a first attempt at exploring the holocene palaeoenvironmental record, the memoir makes a very significant contribution not only to geology but also to civilization studies and to the formulation of developmental projects in the Sarasvati River Basin which stretches over a distance of 1600 kms. from the Himalayas to the Gulf of Khambat with an extraordinary accumulation of alluvium across 300 kms. on the left and right banks of the river and palaeochannels. The memoir is a scientific testimony to the remarkable geophysical records contained in the ancient texts of India: the Vedas, the great epic the Mahabharata and Puranas. In a bold reconstruction of holocene chronology, Dr. BP Radhakrishna indicates that circa 7000 BC was a wet spell with the break up of the Himalayan glaciers, the release of Sapta-Sindhu, the mighty Himalayan rivers and the emergence of Sarasvati as a major river of NW India; that circa 6000 BC saw the Sarasvati and its tributaries flowing full majestic splendour with village communities settling on banks of rivers; that circa 5000 BC was a wet climate with abundant water highlighting the flowering of the Vedic civilization (6000-4000 BC) along lakes with high water levels; that circa 3000 BC saw the drying up of river Sarasvati (Ghaggar-Hakra-Nara-Wahind) while the Indus Valley Civilization emerged (3100-1900 B C) with expansion of agriculture and urbanisation, tectonic disturbance resulting in the capture of upper waters of Sarasvati by Yamuna and westward migration of Sutlej; that circa 2000 BC saw increasing aridity, the spread of settlements to U.P, Bihar (Kuru, Pancala, Magadha) and South (Konkan). Vedic antecedents A classic paper by OP Bharadwaj titled ‘Vedic Sarasvati’ provides a well-documented account of the references to the river in the Vedas, Upanishads, Mahabharata and Puranas. Harakhaiti in Afghanistan is seen to be the memory of the river Sarasvati carried by migrating people westward. (A contrary view if presented by Rajesh Kochar who opines that the river Helmund of South Afghanistan might be the earliest Sarasvati). Bharadwaj argues that the Sarasvati refers to the river rising in Sirmur and joining Ghaggar, also called Hakra and identifies Kalibangan as Vinasana, the place of its disappearance. The account of Vadavanala episode points to violent eruption and upheaval, perhaps tectonic, volcanic upheaval in the Siwalik mountains, in Kurudesa impacting the flow of the river and diversion of waters into Yamuna circa 2000 BC. Dr. D.S. Chauhan, in his ‘Mythological Observations and Scientific Evaluation of the Lost Sarasvati River’ presents a succinct review of the literary references with particular reference to their scientific significance, and the possible chronology of events leading to the drying up of the river. The classic article by an eminent archaeologist, V.S. Wakankar (1987), ‘Where is the Sarasvati river? Fourteen Historical Findings of the Archaeological Survey’, refutes the opinions of Max Mueller and Mortimer Wheeler who referred to Aryan migrations/invasions stating that there is no archaeological basis for these opinions. Wakankar also notes the credence added by geological and archaeological evidence to the antiquity of the Veda. He also cites the break-up of the glaciers mentioned in the Veda as related to the dawn of the holocene and the close association of Vedic civilization and the river Sarasvati. This is supplemented by articles by David Frawley and Navaratna Rajaram, respectively refuting the myth of aryan invasion of India and reading references to the Veda in the Harappan seals. Dr. S. Kalyanaraman’s paper, ‘Sarasvati: River, Goddess and Civilization’, is by a former senior executive of the Asian Development Bank and an active indologist who has launched an international effort for developing the Sarasvati River Basin. The project envisages the creation of a vast groundwater reservoir and the utilisation of the stored water for developing the entire watershed. He was the first to project the problem of the river on the internet (http://sarasvati.simplenet.com) and has prepared extensive research material based on ancient texts, interpretation of landsat and other satellite imagery, soma in the Rigveda, reference to minerals in the Rigveda, glimpses of life in the Vedic period, script of the civilization and related aspects of the evolution of the bronze age from the earlier chalcolithic stage. Kalyanaraman is keen on constituting a Sarasvati River Basin Authority to coordinate the efforts in three ecological zones from the Himalaya through the Thar desert of Rajasthan and marshes of Kachch and Saurashtra in Gujarat. The extracts of his massive work included in the memoir relate to references with a bearing on the old course of the river Sarasvati and its connection with the civilization settlements with bibliographic references to earlier literature on the subject. Drainage Evolution The section of the memoir is a very impressive collection of scientific findings which authenticate the literary and archaeological findings described in the earlier section titled, ‘Vedic antecents’. Starting with the classic 1886 article by RD Oldham (JASB, 1886, v. 55, pp. 322-343), ‘On probable changes in the geography of the Punjab and its rivers, an historico-geographical study’, it is remarkable to note that Oldham, who was the first geologist to observe the changes in the drainage pattern of rivers in NW India converting once fertile country into a desert, has noted the connection of the Sarasvati river with the diversion of other rivers such as Sutlej and Yamuna. The editors note: ‘What appears more probable is that Jamuna was an older tributary of Ganga which eroding headward captured the head-waters of Sarasvati as it left the hills, thus reducing its catchment area’. Another classic article is by CF Oldham (1893), ‘The Sarasvati and the Lost River of the Indian Desert’, who was a Surgeon Major in the service of the East India Company. CF Oldham places Vinasana of the great epic near the present day Sirsa and argues that the bulk of the waters of the ancient Sarasvati was contributed by Sutlej which later changed its course and became a tributary of Indus. Herbert Wilhemy (1969), ‘The Ancient River Valley on the Eastern Border of the Indus Plain and the Sarasvati Problem’, is a fine account of the different stages of evolution of the river with excellent sketch maps. Wilhelmy argues that a mighty river like Sarasvati with its course extending for over 1300 km. and having a breadth of 3 to 6 kms. must have been fed by Himalayan glaciers; that the name Jamuna itself points to its being a twin river of Sarasvati. PC Bakliwal and AK Grover (1988), ‘Signatures and Migration of Sarasvati River in Thar Desert, Western India’, describe several stages of the migration of river Sarasvati based on remote sensing study. They see the original course to be close to the Aravalli ranges, shifting by stages to the present day dry bed of Ghaggar and explain that tectonic disturbances in Haradwar-Delhi ridge zone were the cause of the migration. They point to the possibility of locating potential groundwater-rich zones along the palaeochannels of the river. If further archaeological work establishes many microlithic and neolithic settlements closer to the palaeochannels near the Aravalli ranges, the antecedents of the Sarasvati civilization could perhaps be traced close to these ranges. This is clearly an area for further exploratory work, considering that there is a river named Sarasvati joining the Rann of Kach and there is a Sarasvati temple in Siddhapur near Bhuj. Baldev Sahai, ‘Unravelling of the Lost Vedic Sarasvati’, is a very comprehensive analytical presentation of matching palaeochannels found in satellite imagery with the archaeological evidence of hundreds of sites close to these channels. Sahai rightly emphasizes the importance of the findings for tapping groundwater, identifying zones amenable for rainwater harvesting and locating paleoplacers. SM Ramasamy, ‘Neotectonic Controls on the Migration of Sarasvati River of the Great Indian Desert’, is based on ground study and analyses of satellite imagery. He endorses the findings of shifting courses detailed by PC Bakliwal and AK Grover, while arguing that the causes could be neotectonism—cymatogenic arching, block faulting and land subsidence. JN Malik, SS Merh and V Sridhar, ‘Palaeo-Delta Complex of Vedic Sarasvati and other Ancient Rivers of Northwestern India’, bring the Sarasvati River to the great Rann of Gujarat and find and describe, with illustrations, the morphology of three deltas caused by three major rivers—the proto-Shatadru or Sutlej (Hakra),Sarasvati and Drishadvati rivers.The same authors evaluate ‘Late Quaternary Drainage Disruption in Northwestern India: A geoarchaeological Enigma’ and synthesise the previous work on drainage evolution. They argue that the three rivers, Sutlej, Sarasvati and Drishadvati, had parallel courses and emptied themselves into the Arabian Sea at the Great Rann of Kach, building a unique delta complex. RJ Wasson, SN Rajaguru, VN Misra, DP Agarwal, RP Dhir, AK Singhvi and K Kameswara Rao (1983), ‘Geomorphology, Late Quaternary Stratigraphy and Palaeoclimatology of the Thar Dune Field’ originally published in the Journal of Geomorphology, Berlin, is a lacustrine history based on pollen analyses from the lakes Lunkransar, Sambhar and Didwana in the That desert. Light is thrown on the climatic changes during the last 10,000 years with oxygen isotopic, faunal and floral evidence. Vedic Sarasvati is seen to have attained its greatest development between 4000-2000 BC. New Approaches This is a technical section dealing with remote sensing, satellite imagery interpretation, radio carbon dating, luminiscence chronology, palynological studies, climatological studies, and isotope dating of groundwater. Of general interest will be DP Rao, ‘Role of remote sensing in understanding of Palaeodrainage Evolution’ explaining the rejuvenation of Yamuna due to uparching of the Aravalli, drying up of Drishadvati with colour photos of the Indus River system and thetrace of the Sarasvati River. AS Rajawat, A Narain, RR Navalgund, S Pathak, JR Sharma, V Soni, MK Babel, KS Srivastava and DC Sharma, ‘Potentials of Radar (ERS-1/2 SAR) and High Resolution IRS 1-C Data in reconstructing Palaeodrainage network of Western Rajasthan’ demonstrate the practical application of space science to locate underground water resources, to demarcate areas suitable for recharging aquifers artificially and to help identify archaeological sites for further exploration. AR Nair, SV Navada and SM Rao, ‘Isotope Study to investigate the origin and age of groundwater along palaeochannels in Jaisalmer and Ganganagar Districts of Rajasthan’ echoes an earlier monograph in Current Science demonstrating the use of nuclear physics in groundwater dating and tracing palaeodrainage systems. The Sarasvati River palaeochannels were dated to between 2000 to 8400 years BP based on tritium isotope studies applied to water samples taken from deep wells and shown to be qualitatively comparable to the Himalayan glacier waters. In summary, the Vedic Sarasvati, is a remarkable initiative of the scientific community to participate in the developmental efforts of the Sarasvati River Basin and to work in collaboration with indologists and historians to trace the heritage of the ancient civilization that is Bharat. This is a clear example that the history of the country, the history of an ancient civilization has to be reconstructed through a multi-disciplinary effort. We make an earnest appeal to the authors and publishers of text books of history at all levels of the educational system, to incorporate the findings from the multi-disciplinary studies while describing the ancient history of Bharat. Dr. S. Kalyanaraman, Sarasvati Research Centre, 5 Temple Avenue, Chennai 600015; Tel. (044) 2354640 http://sarasvati.simplenet.com kalyan97@yahoo.com 2 March 1999 http://sarasvati.simplenet.com/VedicSarasvati1.html