River Saraswati of Rigveda and Hindu mythology did exist, concludes Expert Panel

October 16, 2016: The evidence of the course of river Saraswati mentioned in Rigveda and Hindu mythology is said to be found by an expert committee of archaeologists, geologists, and hydrologists.

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The seven-member expert committee is headed by Professor K.S. Valdiya of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR). A report commissioned by Water Resources Ministry announced it in public on Saturday. It concluded that evidence from paleochannels, the remnants of the river suggested that Sarsuti-Markanda rivulets in the State of Haryana were the water courses of the eastern branch of Himalayan river, whereas the Ghaggar-Patiala channels were the western branches.

The branches met in Shatrana, that is, 25 kilometers south of Patiala and it flowed as a large river which emptied out into the sea and that is now known as the Rann of Kutch.
The mystery of the origins of Saraswati rivers has occupied the scholars over at least two centuries or more with some confirming that the Yamuna, Ghagghar, and Sutlet were all once part of the Saraswati and its shrinking is associated with the decline of the Harrapan civilization. However, other scholars believed that the river Saraswati existed only in the mythology.

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The findings are quite convincing evidence for the government. According to The Hindu, the Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti said in a statement, "The report is an assertion of the assumption that River Saraswati originated from Adibadri in the Himalaya to culminate in the Arabian Sea through the Rann of Kutch."

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"This river was once upon a time the lifeline of the north-western states of India and a vibrant series of civilizations from Mahabharat period to Harappa had flourished on the banks of this river."

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Apart from the mythological investigation, the six-month investigation's greater purpose was to check whether the ancient channels that buried under several layers of sediment can ever be replenished and used for the improvement of groundwater levels.

-by NewsGram team