Sarasvati and Sarasvatas (People on Her Bank)

Summary

Gauri Mahulikar’s essay argues that the Sarasvatī River, venerated in Vedic literature, was a real river that profoundly shaped the civilisation along its banks. The author rejects colonial scholars’ claims that Sarasvatī is purely mythical and asserts that Rigvedic hymns describe her as a mighty river of “swift current and abundant waters.” Drawing on hymns from the Rigveda and later Vedic texts, the essay traces Sarasvatī’s course from the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea. The river originated near the Yamunā, flowed south‑west with tributaries such as the Drishadvati, Shutudri, Vipāśā, Chandrabhāga and Irāvatī, and nourished the land known as Brahmāvarta. The article notes that Vedic poets called her “best river, best mother and best goddess,” reflecting her importance to agriculture, trade and spiritual life. Numerous ṛṣis composed hymns praising her, and the river became personified as the goddess of knowledge and music. Mahulikar examines archaeological evidence from the Indus–Sarasvatī civilisation, pointing out that hundreds of Harappan sites lie along the dry Ghaggar‑Hakra channel, which many scholars identify with the Vedic Sarasvatī. She also discusses texts like the Mahābhārata and Purāṇas, which recount the Sarasvatī drying up and the exodus of communities who migrated along her former bed. These people, known as Sarasvatas, carried their culture eastward and southward, preserving Vedic rituals and establishing new settlements. The article surveys inscriptions and literary references to Sarasvata sages who revived Vedic learning during later periods. It highlights the cultural synthesis along the Sarasvatī, where tribes like the Bharatas, Purus and Trtsus interacted, and kings performed sacrifices on her banks. The author argues that the river’s disappearance was due to tectonic shifts and climate change rather than mythology. She concludes that recognizing Sarasvatī as a historical river enhances our understanding of Vedic geography and demonstrates the deep ties between environment, culture and spirituality in ancient India. By combining textual analysis with archaeological and geological data, the essay affirms that Sarasvatī nourished a thriving civilisation whose memory persisted long after the river ran dry.