Legacy of Sarasvati-Sindhu Civilisation

Objective:
The disappearance of the river Sarasvati has scientific reasoning based on archeological findings and geological causes, however the scope & attention of this paper shall remain on the impact this once mighty river has had on mankind.

This paper focuses on
1. Sarasvati , the Holy River
2. Sarasvati Indus civilization
3. Sarasvati Indus civilization and Kashmir
4. The Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana & Mahabharata
5. The Vanishing act and its impact on the legacy

The Holy River:

“Ambitame Naditame, Devitame Sarasvati. Aparasta Smasi Prashastim Amba Naskridhi”

Sarasvati you are the best of mothers, best of rivers, best of the divine goddesses and though we are insignificant grant us distinction .May the divine waters that flow down the slopes of hills on grounds high or low, nourish us, keep us healthy free from disease and cause us no harm.
Rig VII-36-6

These are the Vedic prayers invoking Sarasvati by the sages who lived on her banks thanking her for blessing them and all of mankind.

The Nadi Sukta i.e. 10.75 refers to rivers Ganga in the east to Sindhu (Indus) along with its right bank tributaries Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab, Vitasta, Arjikiya, Sohan etc.

Sarasvati is mentioned here to be between Yamuna and Sutlej (B.B Lal – Sarasvati flows on Pg.4). Rigveda also tells us where the Sarasvati originated and its end (verses 7.95.1 & 7.95.2). Sarasvati mentioned here is a mighty river (Michel Danino) that provided to King Nahusa milk, honey and ghee i.e. brought immense prosperity as she flowed from Himalayas to the Arabian Sea.

Sarasvati thus is regarded as a river deity.

The Sarasvati-Indus civilization:

The Rig Veda has references that infer a hugely flourished civilization on its banks. The references of King Nahusa and the land of milk and ghee indicate to the prosperity of the way of life here. (B.B. Lal. Page. 1 & Page 4).

This way of living here spread across the Indian sub-continent over a span of 4000 years Organizer – Geological dating – V.M.K. Puri. B.C. Verma ). The spread and reach of this civilization that had its roots on the banks of Sarasvati is common to the Indus Valley (Dr. R.S. Bist) civilization unearthed. The river Sarasvati is believed to be older than any other major river in the Indian sub-continent. Thus the civilization that originated on its banks spread across the Indian sub-continent find traces in the archeological findings of Mohenjo Daro & Harappa, revealing a hugely prosperous & culturally rich multivariate civilization.

Civilizations on the banks of Sindhu Sarasvati ( Mohenjo Daro & Harappa ) and other sites. Lothal, Kalibangan, Banavali, Dholavira, Rupar, Rakhigari, Sothi or the Ganga had a common culture as is seen in the similarity in the design of cities. The roads as planned, the common baths, the dwellings and from whom the social life can be inferred. The submerged cities discovered in the 1980’s on the coasts of Western India show a similar social pattern ( Balakot- Lothal- Dwaraka ).

Over a period of 7000 years till the river disappeared in 1900 BC. The spread of this common civilization in modern day geographical boundaries is a territory of nearly 4000 kms span stretching from Afghanistan in the West to Bengal in the east, from the Godavari plains in the south Maharashtra to Jammu and Kashmir in the North
It was the worship of similar gods or goddesses.

The Sarasvati-Indus civilization & Kashmir:
(Sanjay Godbole – Kashmir Sentinel Dec-2007.)

“Namstey Sharade devi, Kashmir pura vasini”

Sarasvati being revered as a goddess is seen earlier. Another name for her is Sharada, meaning the goddess of learning whose abode is the region of Kashmir. Though in any other province prosperity and learning are talked about separately where the goddess Laxmi governs absolute wealth while Sarasvati stands for learning. This demarcation is not so distinct in the area of Kashmir where Vak-Vani i.e. learning and Laxmi are synonyms. Wealth and prosperity is denoted by the word SRI and where it resides is the capital of Kashmir and hence the place was called SRINAGAR.

There is one theory that believes that Aryans were the natives of this land (Kashmir-Gandhar, Sindhu Sarasvati) staying in this country for over 5000 years and more having a similar culture to the one we practice even now after all these years.

Rajatarangini of Kalhana which is regarded as the first written record of history mentions Gonand 1st who ruled Kashmir and was a contemporary of Pandavas. Many kings of the Pandava dynasty are listed by Kalhan’s Raja Tarangini such as Luv, Kush, Khagendra, Surendra, Godhar, Suvarna, Janak, Sachindra. (Appendix - A Rajatarangini Pg 708. 9-17). Raja Ramdeo of the Pandava dynasty built the Martanda Temple in 2900 BC. Nilamata Purana still earlier refers to many verses on Sarasvati River.

This river is referred to by many names in Kashmir region namely Bhavani, Sudha, Gunadayini and Sharada (Sanjay Godbole Kashmi Sentinel Dec. 2007). The Sharada Mandir is built near a confluence of two rivers Suddha and Sarasvati. The Sharada peeth which is also here is believed to be one of the earliest known universities or centres of learning has derived its name from this river. Sharada peeth or Suddha peeth as it is known brings out a strange relevance that of Suddha which is the other name for Sindhu. This by transference does convey that the river Sindhu (Indus) and Sarasvati (Dr. R.S. Bist Pg. 24 & 25) are the same or have common origins. Kashmir also derives its name from the land of the Rishi Kashyap and Shardi is a place in Nila Valley where the Nilamata Purana was composed Nilamata Purana carries references of Shandilya Rishi, Parvati and Balaram. These names known through out India are still in vogue in Kashmir and have their roots there.

The Vedas, Puranas, the Ramayana & the Mahabharata:

The Rigveda often refers to a mighty river Sarasvati and it is in Vedic literature that we read about its disappearance. This when taken in conjunction with scientific proofs, indicates that the Rigveda itself dates back to much earlier times.

The Indus is one of the most dramatic rivers in the world in both historical and geographical terms. It rises in the forbidden land of Tibet, from a spring called ‘mouth of a lion’ in the first part of its course; it rushes down between the greatest mountain ranges in the world, the Himalayas and the Karakoram. For hundred of years monks and missionaries and merchants have travelled along its gorges. The man who determined to find the source of both the Brahmaputra and the Indus was Sven Hedin the great Swedish explorer. He had already discovered the headwaters of the Brahmaputra some sixty miles to the east, when looking now for the Singi Kabab, the mouth of the lion, he reached Lake Manasarovar in the summer of 1907. It is also traditionally the source of the other three rivers of northern India. The four rivers are pictured as running out of it to the four points of the compass through the mouths of sacred animals: the Brahmaputra flows eastward from the mouth of the Horse, the Karnali a major tributaries of the Ganges) south from the Peacock’s mouth, the Sutlej west from the elephant’s mouth, and the Indus north from the Lion’s mouth.

Although the Singi Kabab is some thirty miles from the Lake Manasarovar, the ancient tradition has proved to be not so very far wrong after all. The lake is sacred and symbolic, and it would be fitting that the great river should start from it, so in a symbolic way it does. If none of the four rivers flow out of Lake Manasarovar itself, all of them rise within a short distance and run at first roughly speaking, to the four points of the compass.

It is noted in the Srimad Bhagvata that the Mahabharata was composed on the banks of this holy river by Maharshi Vyas. Krishna’s route from the Dwaraka to Indraprastha for the Rajasuya Yagna ( 10, 71- 21- 2 ) Balaram’s pilgrimage from Dwaraka through Somnath and Mathura along the banks of river Sarasvati offering homage to his ancestors refers to Pritudakam, Bindusara, Tritakupa, Sudarshana, Bramhatirtha, Chakratirtha and Prachi Sarasvati are the places touched in the route.

The recent satellite pictures clearly show the path of flow of the ancient river Sarasvati. Archeological and Geological research points out that the Sarasvati flowed almost parallel to the Indus and dried up during 1900 BC.

The river Sarasvati should be of special interest to us because Vedic records quote legends and anecdotes. Those that are intertwined in the river’s brief existence from its journey down the Himalayas and over the plains to the Sindhu Sagar ( Arabian sea ), anecdotes and references in Rigveda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda, Brahman Literature, Manusmriti, Mahabharata and the Puranas.

The Vanishing act and its impact on the legacy

The Tectonic movement that caused the Aravali to rise and shift the course of this river finally resulting in its demise had a huge impact on the civilizations existing and the ones to come.

To list out the contribution of the River Sarasvati in brief to the Indian civilization

• The civilization that existed developed on its banks as is seen from the findings of the pottery at Kalibangan. Art and Craft developed on its banks and the first instances of Jewellery in its various patterns was discovered (B. B. Lal - Sarasvati Flows On)

• A drainage system that interconnected houses and fields so also seen in the common baths was found in the excavations.
(Sankaran A. V. Current Sci Vol 77 No. 80 Oct.1999)

• Pottery (Rakhigadhi) and Farming as a trade and craft developed on its banks as is seen from the wheat fields of Kalibangan. The use of bullock carts in farming and material movement is also noted.

• The form of holy worship through the use of Altars found at Banavali.

• The system of writing on Mudrankas that started about 3500 BC

• Nadi Stuti defines the use of milk, honey and water in its use in daily life if taken in its literary sense.

• Sanskrit as a language developed on the banks of the River Sarasvati. This language through trade and wars spread to the neighboring Kingdoms of modern day Afghanistan, Bactria Kashmir, Punjab, UP, Bihar and Countries like Turkey, Syria Iran and even in the South. Its influence can be seen in the existing languages that are spoken in the south.

• The spoken language was Sanskrit while the written script Bramhi. The Bramhi script has similarity with the Tamil Munda and nearly 5000 odd words are Sanskrit based. (Dr. S Kalyanraman)

• In a nutshell on its banks the river Sarasvati cradled and lay foundations to the Arts, Crafts, Culture and Trade that are seen in all parts of the country and traces found elsewhere in the world.

These inferences have historical and archeological support. The existence of the River though a cause for debate was never in doubt. Usage of modern science has enabled the mapping of the course of the river through Archeo-Astronomy, remote sensing and satellite pictures.
ISRO has the capability to do this and carry it further like they have in the past.

To conclude the Legacy of the river Srasvati is huge in its scope and would like to end this with a poem by Allama Iqbal

“Yunan-E-Misra-Ruma sub mit gaye jahan se
Ab tak magar hai baaki namo nishan humaara
Kuch baat hai ki hasti mitati nahi humari
Sadiyo raha hai dushman daur-i-zaman humara”

The ancient civilizations of Greece, Egypt and Rome have come to an end, but we (of the Indo Sarasvati) are still around here. There must be something special in us that allow our survival and growth through the various onslaughts of the invaders. Doubtless it comes from the liberal character of Indian civilization which allows cross cultural assimilation and that had its foundations on the banks of the mighty holy River. This is the Legacy that lives on.

References ( Books, Articles, Topics & Observations )
1) R.V. VII 36.6 Ambitame Naditame
2) Nilamata Purana Shloka 1229 Balaram’s visit to Kashmir and Holy dip at Suddah-Saraswati
3) R.V. 2.41.16 Sarasvati as Goddess of Dhi
4) K.S. Srivastav Rajasthan Sate Ground Water Board Carbon dating the water sourse-4000 years old
5) Baldeo Sahai ISRO Ahmedabad Imagery Picture of Location of Sarasvati
6) Y.K. Puri
Mahadev Chitle
Dr. Kalyanraman July28, 2002. Remote Sensing-ISRO-Located buried Course, Sarasvati.
7) Nityanand Singh 6500 to 5000 Years BC Mahabharata Kal- Balarama elder brother of Srikrishna went from Sarasvati river to Mathura via Dwaraka.
8) Page 717 Rajatarangini Gonand 1- Contemporary to Pandavas & Kauravas
9) A. R. Bist Ex-Director General, A.S.I Sarasvati Sindhu Civilization one and the same
10) Dr. Nilima Sontakke Bharatiya ushna doshiya mausam vignyaan sansthaan Pune 11000 varsha til taapmaan vadh
11) Dr. Ravindra Ramdas 5.9 April 2001 Paper read during, World Sanskrit Conference (New Delhi)
12) Sankaran Vol 177 No. 8
25 Oct. 1 ,1999
Pg 1056 Current Science
13) Dr. Frawley Ancient Sanskrit and Tamil Common Origin
14) S.M. Mathew Page 61 Page 67 The lost River Sarasvati
15) Arul Stain Yamuna Changed course thrice
16) L.S.Wakankar Page 9 Pre-Brahmi Script
17) Kashmir Sentinel Sep-07 The lost River Sarasvati
18) Sanjay Godbole Page 14 Sharada Temple Of Kashmir
19) Bharatiya Sanskrit Bharatiya Sanskrit Prachaar Samiti Bhagya Nagar
The Saga of India's Interaction with Word
20) B.B. Lal The Sarasvati Flows on
21) Shivaji Sinha Rugvedik Aarya OR Sarasvati-Sindhu Sabhyata
22) Prof Banke Bihari.
Chakravarti Indus Scrip-The Artistic Version of Brahmi
23) David Frawley Souvenir-Dec II 2005 National seminars – Hyderabad, Indian without
Sarasvati Dharma
24) Dr. Bhagwan Singh Suryavanshi Geography of Mahabharata
25) Dr. Ved Kumari The Nilamata Purana Geography of Mahabharata
26) Michel Danino Vol - July Aug 2005 The Mighty Sarasvati History now
27) L.S. Wakankar & Dr C.N. Parchure Lupt Sarasvati Nadi Shodh ( Marathi)
28) Mohammad Israil
Khan Sarasvati in Sanskrit Literature
29) Dr.C.N. Parchure Lost River Sarasvati ( English )
30) Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Samiti -2008 Vishay Chintan (Marathi)

MEDALLION OF ALEXANDER - Fake/Authentic?

----- Arun Nigudkar


Alexander the Great is the first foreign invader of India. This is the first recorded invasion dating back to 326 BC, and consequently then Puru’s war becomes the first war to preserve independence. Many recorded events actually point out that it was Puru or Porus who turned out to be the winner and not Alexander. So have Historians and History books made an error?

Hollywood decided to venture a film on “Alexander the Great” on Frank Holt’s then recently published book of the same name. Frank started searching for proof of the historic events that would help him for a film story. He first went to the British Museum. The British Museum has a magnificent elephant medallion depicting Alexander’s victory over Puru. It was thought that this medallion to be the only one of its kind. But soon a few more coins depicting the said Puru Alexander battle displaying the same incident were found elsewhere, differing in size, finish, and mint quality. These were Silver Coins too, having no similarity to either the facial features of Alexander or Puru. The British Coin showed an elephant, a mounted soldier and a Greek pursuer, charging them on a horse. The reverse side carried Alexander with a thunderbolt in his left hand.

The mystery is who brought this medallion here? And why do historians not accept this coin as genuine?

One, it does not carry any message of Alexander the Great imprinted on the occasion of his victory over Porus at Taxila or at Karri, the battle field. Two, neither a scripted inscription in Greek, Macedonian, Sanskrit nor Brahmi is on the coin in the British Museum or other similar coins found.

Based on the writings of Arrian Plutarch & Curtius, Dr. Saifur Rahman Dar and Dr. Ahmed Hassan Dani (both Pakistani Archaeologists of world repute) excavated the Bhir mound - Taxila (Ambhi’s Kingdom) for similar Coins or medallions on Alexander. They found 495 coins of Bactrian –Greek origin but none of Alexander’s journey to and back from Taxila.

It was one more point to raise doubt on the credibility of the medallion at the British museum, and those found elsewhere. From where then had this British coin come? And how was it assigned as being that from the era of Alexander? British records show that it is the Oxus treasure coin which came to England in 1887 via Afghanistan, then India and entrusted to the British Museum for safe preservation.

Percy Gardner, a Historian, examined the coin. He researched it thoroughly and found out that it was minted at the time of victory celebration of Greek Bactrian King over Yuchi Mongols. The museum accepted this version and made necessary changes in their catalogue. Hence since the possession of this artifact of Indian origin, till 1926, none had ever thought it to be or related it to Alexander or Porus.

In 1926, Sir John Francis Hill once again observed the coin and stated that the dress worn by the figure with a thunderbolt to be a victory coin of Alexander. The British museum promptly accepted it and made the changes in their records.

Shri Parmeshwari Lal Gupta has written a world famous book on coins and expressed his doubt about the credibility of it. What is true then? Historical facts as researched by me are as follows. The period of stay of Alexander in India is 18 months
1. Alexander stayed at Taxila; between Feb. 326 and June 326 BC (Arrian, Curtus, Plutarch)
2. He fought one day war on the Karri battle ground, just 100 miles away from Taxila on Jhelum River.
3. His army consisted 6000 foot soldiers, 5000 horsemen and reserve force of another 5000 totaling about 17000 as against 50000 of Porus.
4. The battle ground was formed of quartz, a hard semi precious white stone 5 x 5 miles girdled by Karri hill.
5. The Greeks on the opposite bank of Jhelum were on the soft black soil, which became muddy and slippery because of heavy rains and inundated waters that formed whirlpools due to boulders rumbled down the slope and stuck in deep waters.(14 to 30 ft deep)
6. This was too dangerous and the Greeks had to walk towards Haranpur (Northern Bank) for 17 miles and for 26 hours.
7. The weary soldiers were starved for two days and had no will to enter into battle with Indians, awaiting them for 5 months and fresh ever under their king Puru.

Alexander the Great lost his battle against Puru on the Karri battlefield in the first week of July 326 BC and took one year to reach Makran coast (Sindh) He left India on 25th Oct, 325 BC, reached Babylon in April 323BC, died in June 323 BC . He was slow-poisoned over12 days, Commander John Grieve, Forensic expert of the Scotland Yard, excavated Alexander’s grave in Alexandria (Egypt). He further researched on for 5years on the skull and skeleton of Alexander using all modern techniques --- DNA, X-RAY, C-14, Chemical analysis & Facial reconstruction. This supported the theory of his defeat and his being poisoned. All these facts lay doubt to the very existence of a victory coin. If Alexander lost the battle why would he mint victory coins?