Rigvedic rivers

{{Redirect|Hindu river|the river known as the Sindhū|Indus River}}

The Rigveda refers to a number of rivers located in the northwestern Indian subcontinent, from Gandhara to Kurukshetra.

Rigvedic geography

Identification of Rigvedic hydronyms has engaged multiple historians; it is the single most important way of establishing the geography and chronology of the early Vedic period.{{Cite book|last=Witzel|first=Michael|title=Aryans and Non-Non-Aryans: Evidence, Interpretation and Ideology|year=1998|editor-last=Bronkhorst|editor-first=James|editor-link=Johannes Bronkhorst|series=Harvard Oriental Series|location=Cambridge|pages=337–404|chapter=Aryan and non-Aryan Names in Vedic India: Data for the linguistic situation, c. 1900-500 B.C|author-link=Michael Witzel|editor-last2=Deshpande|editor-first2=Madhav}}{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/download/195.1996-sapta-sindhvas-the-landof-seven-rivers/195.1996_SaptaSindhvas-TheLandofSevenRivers.pdf|title=Sapta Sinhavas- The land of seven rivers|work=M. Aslamkhan}} Rivers with certain identifications stretch from eastern Afghanistan to the western Gangetic plain, clustering in the Punjab. The Rigveda mentions the sapta-sindhavaḥ ({{langx|sa|सप्तसिन्धवः}}, seven rivers), along with other rivers:

{{Blockquote

|text=“He has surveyed eight summits of the Earth, three shore or desert regions, seven rivers.” (aṣṭaú vy àkhyat kakúbhaḥ pr̥thivyā́s trī́ dhánva yójanā saptá síndhūn RV.I.35.8).{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=H.H |title=Rig Veda 1.35.8 [English translation] |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/rig-veda-english-translation/d/doc829317.html |website=www.wisdomlib.org |access-date=22 May 2022 |language=en |date=27 August 2021}}}}

Sapta-sindhavaḥ is cognate with Avestan hapta həndu, and is interpreted as referring to Punjab.{{efn|'Seven Rivers' include Indus and the five rivers of Punjab. Seventh is generally believed to be the legendary Sarasvati; however, J. S. Grewal considers river Kabul more likely to be the seventh river instead. See also Avestan geography#Vendidad references}} The region's name comes from پنج, panj, 'five' and آب, āb, 'water' thus "five waters", a Persian calque of the Indo-Aryan Pancha-nada meaning "five rivers".{{Cite journal |last=Grewal |first=J. S. |author-link=J. S. Grewal |date=2004 |title=Historical Geography of the Punjab |url=https://punjab.global.ucsb.edu/sites/default/files/sitefiles/journals/volume11/no1/2_grewal.pdf |journal=Journal of Punjab Studies |publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=1–18 |issn=0971-5223 |oclc=436148809}}

The same names were often imposed on different rivers as the Vedic culture migrated eastward from around Afghanistan (where they stayed for a considerable time) to the subcontinent via Punjab.

List of rivers

Multiple hydronyms are located in the Rigvedic corpus; they are slotted according to rough geographical locations, following the scheme of Michael Witzel. Alongside, opinions of scholars about modern correlates are provided:{{Cite journal|last=Blažek|first=Václav|author-link=Václav Blažek|date=2016|title=Hydronymia R̥gvedica|journal=Linguistica Brunensia|publisher=Masaryk University|volume=64|issue=2|pages=7–54}}{{Cite book|last=Dähnhardt|first=Thomas Wolfgang Peter|year=2009|editor-last=Filippi|editor-first=Gian Giuseppe|chapter=The descent of King Lion: Some considerations on the relations between the Indus and other rivers in the sacred geography and culture of ancient India|series=Indoasiatica|publisher=Libreria Editrice Cafoscarina|volume=6|pages=189–208|title=I fiumi sacri|isbn=9788875432416}}

Indus:

Síndhu – Identified with Indus. The central lifeline of RV.

Northwestern Rivers:

Tr̥ṣṭā́mā – Blažek identifies with Gilgit. Witzel notes it to be unidentified.
Susártu – Unidentified.
Ánitabhā – Unidentified.
Rasā́ – Described once to be on the upper Indus; at other times a mythical entity.
Mehatnū – A tributary of Gomatī́. Unidentifiable.
Śvetyā́ – Unidentified.
Kúbhā – Identified with Kabul river.
Krúmu – Identified with Kurrum.
Suvā́stu – Identified with Swat.
Gomatī́ – Identified with Gomal.
Saráyu / Harōiiu – Blažek identifies with Sarju. Witzel identifies with Hari.
Kuṣávā – Probably the Kunar River.
Yavyā́vatī – Noted to be a branch of Gomatī́. Witzel as well as Blažek identifies with Zhob River. Dähnhardt comments it to be synonymous to Yamúnā or flowing very close to it.

Eastern tributaries:

Suṣómā – Identified with Soan.
Arjikiya – Blažek identifies with Haro. Witzel speculates it to be Poonch or Tawi.
Rivers of Punjab:
Vitástā – Identified with Jhelum.
Asiknī́ – Identified with Chenab.
Iravatī – Identified with Ravi.
Vípāśā – Identified with Beas.
Śutudrī́ – Identified with Sutlej.
Marúdvr̥dhā – Identified with Mahuvardhavan.

Haryana:

Sarasvati{{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}}
Āpayā́ and Āpayā́ – Streams/rivers of Sarasvati basin.
Drishadvati{{Cite journal|last1=Kar|first1=Amal|last2=Ghose|first2=Bimal|date=1984|title=The Drishadvati River System of India: An Assessment and New Findings|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/635000|journal=The Geographical Journal|volume=150|issue=2|pages=221–229|doi=10.2307/635000|jstor=635000 |issn=0016-7398}}

Eastern Rivers:

Áśmanvatī – Identified with Assan.
Yamúnā – Identified with Yamuna.
Aṃśumátī – Probably an epithet for Yamúnā.
Gáṅgā – Identified with Ganga.

Rigvedic rivers

Rigvedic geography

List of rivers

See also

References

Further reading