Rivers play a prominent part in the hymns of the Rigveda, and consequently in early Vedic religion. This bridge across the Danube River links Hungary with Slovakia. ... The Rigveda (Sanskrit: , a tatpurusha compound of praise, verse and knowledge) is a collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the gods. ... The religion of the Vedic civilization is the predecessor of classical Hinduism, usually included in the term. ...

Mythology

The central history of the Rigveda is that of Indra slaying Vritra (literally "the obstacle"), liberating the rivers; in a variant of the myth, Indra smashes the stone Vala, liberating the cows that were imprisoned within. Rivers and cows are often compared or mythically identified in the Rigveda, for example in 3.33, a notable hymn describing the crossing of two swollen rivers by the cars of the Bharata tribe, Indra (Sanskrit: इन्द्र or इंद्र, indra) is the god of weather and war, and lord of Svargaloka in Hinduism. ... In the early Vedic religion, Vritra (Sanskrit: वृत्र (Devanāgarī) or (IAST)) the enveloper, was an Asura and also a serpent or dragon, the personification of drought and enemy of Indra. ... Vala can refer to: Völva, a priestess in Norse mythology a Scandinavian earth spirit a poem, Vala, or the Four Zoas, by William Blake Vala (Vedic), a demon or a stone cavern in the Rigveda Vala is a place on the island of Aegina Vala, a former princely state... Bharat may refer to Bharat Ramesh aka Sajid Mahmood, tho it is impossible to be two people at once, he stil is sajid mahmood Bharata भरत (Sanskrit to be or being maintained) may refer to a name of Agni a name of Rudra one of the Adityas Emperor Bharata, son of...

3.33.1cd Like two bright mother cows who lick their youngling, Vipas and Sutudri speed down their waters. (trans. Griffith)

The Sapta Sindhu are a group of seven chief rivers of uncertain or fluctuating identification (the number seven is of greater importance than the exact members of the group, compare the Saptarishi, and also the seven seas and the seven climes). Beas River in Himachal Pradesh Beas river and mountains as seen from Van Vihar, Manali Beas in Himachal Pradesh The Beas River is the second easternmost of the “five rivers” that give the Punjab its name. ... Sutlej River (Sanskrit: IAST: , Punjabi: , Urdu: , Hindi: also known as Satluj), is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic cross-road region known as the Punjab in northern India as well as Pakistan, and is located North of the Vindhya range, south of the Hindu Kush... The Sapta Sindhu are the seven sacred rivers in Hindu mythology. ... Saptaŗişhi or Saptarşi (सप्तर्षि, pronounced as səptərŞhi) in Sanskrit means the Seven Sages or rishis who are extolled at many places in the Vedas and other Hindu literature. ... The traditional Seven Seas Medieval European and Arabic literature often spoke of the Seven Seas. ... The seven climes (klima, plural klimata, meaning inclination, referring to the angle between the axis of the celestial sphere and the horizon) was a notion of dividing the Earth into zones in Classical Antiquity. ...

Geography of the Rigveda

Geography of the Rigveda; the extent of the Swat and Cemetery H cultures are indicated.

Identification of Rigvedic rivers is the single most important way of establishing the geography of the early Vedic civilization. Rivers with certain identifications stretch from eastern Afghanistan to the western Gangetic plain, clustering in the Punjab. Some river names appear to go back to common Indo-Iranian rivers, with cognate river names in Avestan, notably the Sarasvati and the Sarayu. Image File history File links Rigvedic_geography. ... Image File history File links Rigvedic_geography. ... Geography of the Rigveda, with river names; the extent of the Swat and Cemetary H cultures are indicated. ... The Cemetery H culture developed out of the northern part of the Indus Valley Civilisation around 1900 BC, in and around the Punjab region. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Indo-Gangetic Plain is a rich, fertile and ancient land encompassing most of northern and eastern India and parts of Pakistan. ... Punjab, 1903 Punjab Province, 1909 Punjab (Persian: ‎, meaning Land of the five Rivers) (c. ... The term Indo-Iranian includes all speakers of Indo-Iranian languages, i. ... Yasna 28. ... The Sarasvati River is an ancient river that is mentioned in Hindu texts. ... The Sarayu (also Sarju; Dev. ...

A number of names can be shown to have been re-applied to other rivers as the center of Rigvedic culture moved. It is only possible to establish a clear picture for the latest phase of the Rigveda, thanks to the Nadistuti sukta which contains a geographically ordered list of rivers. The most prominent river of the early Rigveda is the Sarasvati, losing its prominence to the Indus in the late Rigveda. The reason for this is mostly ascribed to the movement of Vedic Aryans from out of their early seats in Gandhara and eastern Afghanistan into the Indus valley. It is disputed whether the loss of prominence of the Sarasvati is due to the drying up of the Ghaggar-Hakra. But in the earlier rigvedic hymns, the Saraswati is the most prominent river of all and if one subscribes to the Saraswati as the Ghagghar-Hakra system which might have earlier included the Yamuna and some major present-day feeders of the Indus, one could not be very much off the mark in considering the Saraswati as the most prominent river-system at that time. Rivers have been known to have changed their courses in the indian subcontinent and satellite photos have proved that. This would also negate the theory that the centre of rigvedic culture moved from the west to the east and it would also mean that the rigvedic culture encompassed a much larger area. The Nadistuti sukta (praise of the rivers) is hymn 10. ... The Sarasvati River is an ancient river that is mentioned in Hindu texts. ... Satellite image of the Indus River basin. ... Gandhāra (Sanskrit: गन्धार, Persian; Gandara, Waihind) (Urdu: گندھارا) is the name of an ancient Indian Mahajanapada, currently in northern Pakistan (the North-West Frontier Province and parts of northern Punjab and Kashmir) and eastern Afghanistan. ... The Ghaggar is a seasonal river in India, flowing when water is available from monsoon rains. ...

List

In the geographical organization of the following list, it has to be kept in mind that some or even the majority of names appearing both in early and in late hymns may have been re-applied to new rivers during the composition of the Rigveda.

Northwestern Rivers (western tributaries of the Indus):

• Trstama (Gilgit)
• Susartu
• Anitabha (listed once, in 5.53.9, with Rasa, Kubha, Krumu, Sarayu
• Rasa of the early Rigveda (later a mystical or cosmological river)
• Sveti
• Kubha (Kabul)
• Krumu (Kurrum)
• Gomati (Gomal)
• Sarayu
• Mehatnu
• Svetyavari
• Prayiyu (Bara)
• Vayiyu
• Suvastu (Swat) in Ghandari (hapax legomenon in RV 8.19.37)
• Gauri (Panjkora)
• Kusava (Kunar)

The Indus and its minor eastern tributaries: The Gilgit River is a tributary of the Indus River, and flows past the town of Gilgit. ... Rasa () means moisture, humitidy in Vedic Sanskrit, and appears as the name of a western tributary of the Indus in the Rigveda (verse 5. ... Kabul River or Kabal River (Persian: دریائے کابل )) is a river that rises in the Sanglakh Range of Afghanistan, separated from the watershed of the Helmand by the Unai Pass. ... The Kurrum River (Urdu: دریائے کرم) flows through the Kurrum Valley across the Afghan-Pakistani border west to east (crossing from the Paktia Province of Afghanistan into the Kohat border region of Pakistan) at , about 80 km southwest of Jalalabad. ... The Sarayu (also Sarju; Dev. ... Rasa () means moisture, humitidy in Vedic Sanskrit, and appears as the name of a western tributary of the Indus in the Rigveda (verse 5. ... Kabul River or Kabal River (Persian: دریای کابل) is a river that rises in the Sanglakh Range of Afghanistan, separated from the watershed of the Helmand by the Unai Pass. ... The Kurrum River (Urdu: دریائے کرم) flows through the Kurrum Valley across the Afghan-Pakistani border west to east (crossing from the Paktia Province of Afghanistan into the Kohat border region of Pakistan) at , about 80 km southwest of Jalalabad. ... Gomal River (Urdu: دریائے گومل ) is a river in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with its headwaters in the south-east of Ghazni. ... The Sarayu (also Sarju; Dev. ... Bara Hundred, or Bara härad, was a hundred of Scania in Sweden. ... PTDC Motel at Malam Jabba Ski Resort, Swat, NWFP, Pakistan. ... A hapax legomenon (pl. ... Panjkora river rises rises high in the Hindu Kush at Lat. ... Kunar river is located in Afghanistan and Pakistan. ...

• Sindhu (Indus; in the earlier hymns, sindhu means "stream" generically)
• Susoma (Sohan)
• Arjikiya (Haro)

Central Rivers (rivers of the Punjab): The Indus is a river; the Indus River. ... The Sohan is a river of the Punjab, northern Pakistan, forming the northern border of the Bannu District (at ca. ... Haro may refer to: the Haro River of Pakistan a city in Spain, see Haro Haro (anime) Haro Bikes This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

• Vitasta (Jhelum)
• Asikni (Chenab)
• Parusni (Ravi)
• Vipas (Beas)
• Sutudri (Sutlej)
• Marudvrdha

East-central Rivers (rivers of Haryana): The Jhelum River is the largest and most western of the five rivers of the Punjab province of Pakistan, and passes through Jhelum City. ... The Chenab River rises in the Himalayan ranges of Kashmir and flows through the plains of the Punjab, forming the boundary between the Rechna and the Jech Doabs. ... The Ravi River (Punjabi: , Urdu: ) is a river in India and Pakistan. ... Beas is a small town in the Punjab state of India, located between the cities of Amritsar and Jalandhar along the banks of the river Beas. ... The Sutlej, also known as Satluj, is the longest of the five rivers of Punjab (five waters) that flows through Northern India, with its source in Tibet near Mount Kailash. ... , Haryana   (HindÄ«: हरियाणा, PunjabÄ«: ਹਰਿਆਣਾ, IPA: ) is a state in north India. ...

• late Sarasvati (Ghaggar; the early Sarasvati is more often identified with the Helmand, or classified as of unknown identification; late and post-Rigvedic Sarasvati is both a mystical, invisible river and an independent goddess)
• Drsadvati, Apaya ? (both hapax legomenon in RV 3.23.4)

Eastern Rivers: The Sarasvati River is an ancient river that is mentioned in Hindu texts. ... The Ghaggar is a seasonal river in India, flowing when water is available from monsoon rains. ... The Helmand River: Avestan: Haētumant rich in dams (also Helmend, Helmund, Hirmand or Tarnak) is the longest river in Afghanistan. ... This article is about Saraswati, the Hindu goddess. ... This article is about Saraswati, the Hindu goddess. ... The Drsadvati River (, meaning she with many stones) is a river already mentioned in the Rig Veda (RV 3. ... A hapax legomenon (pl. ...

• Asmanvati (Assan)
• Yamuna
• Ganga (Ganges)

Uncertain / other The Assan barrage is a wetland in the Uttarakhand-Himachal Pradesh border region (Dehradun District), northern India, situated at the confluence of the Yamuna Canal and the Assan River. ... Not to be confused with Jamuna River. ... This article is about the river. ...

• Silamavati
• Urnavati
• Yavyavati (Zhob river?)

The Yavyavati is a river of ancient India, mentioned in the Rigveda (in RV 6. ... Zhob River is located in Balochistan, Pakistan. ...

See also

• River goddess
• Samudra
• Nadistuti sukta
• Sapta Sindhu
• Ap (water)
• Rigvedic deities
• Aryan migration
• Out of India theory
• Old European hydronymy

Mythological personifications of rivers (river gods, river goddesses) and of the sea or the ocean // Sea deities Greek Oceanus and Tethys Proteus Triton Nereids Poseidon/Neptune Vedic Sea deities are much less common in Vedic than in Greek mythology. ... Samudra is a Sanskrit term for ocean. ... The Nadistuti sukta (praise of the rivers) is hymn 10. ... The Sapta Sindhu are the seven sacred rivers in Hindu mythology. ... Ap () is the Vedic Sanskrit term for water, in Classical Sanskrit occurring only in the plural, (sometimes re-analysed as a thematic singular, ), whence Hindi . ... There are 1028 hymns in the Rigveda, most of them dedicated to specific deities. ... The controversial Aryan invasion theory is a historical theory first put forth by the German Indologist Friedrich Max Müller and others in the mid nineteenth century in India. ... Out of India Theory (OIT) is the hypothesis that the Indo-European languages (I-E) originated in India, from which they spread into Central and Southwestern Asia and Europe. ... Old European (alteuropäisch) is the term used by Krahe (1964) for the language of the oldest reconstructed stratum of Indo-European hydronymy in Central and Western Europe. ...

References

• Shrikant G. Talageri, The Rigveda, a historical analysis, Aditya Prakashan, New Delhi (chapter 4)
• S.C. Sharma. 1974. The description of the rivers in the Rig Veda. The Geographical Observer, 10: 79-85.
• Michael Witzel, Tracing the Vedic dialects in Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes ed. Caillat, Paris, 1989, 97–265.

Shrikant G. Talageri, born in 1958, is an Indian author & a bank clerk in his day-job. He is the author of a book on the Rigveda and on the Aryan Invasion Theory. His works include THE RIGVEDA - A Historical Analysis. ... Michael E. J. Witzel (born 1943) is Wales Professor of Sanskrit and Chair of the Committee on South Asian Studies at Harvard University. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Punjab, 1903 Punjab Province, 1909 Punjab (Persian: ‎, meaning Land of the five Rivers) (c. ... Image File history File links Pk-punj. ... “Punjabi” redirects here. ... The Jhelum River is the largest and most western of the five rivers of the Punjab province of Pakistan, and passes through Jhelum City. ... The Chenab River (Punjabi: , , Urdu: , literally Moon(Chen) River(ab)) is formed by the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers at Tandi located in the upper Himalayas, in the Lahaul district of Himachal Pradesh, India. ... The Ravi River (Punjabi: , Urdu: ) is a river in India and Pakistan. ... The Sutlej, also known as Satluj, is the longest of the five rivers of Punjab (five waters) that flows through Northern India, with its source in Tibet near Mount Kailash. ... The Beas River (Punjabi: ) runs through the Northwestern Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... The Jhelum River is the largest and most western of the five rivers of the Punjab province of Pakistan, and passes through Jhelum City. ... The Chenab River (Punjabi: , , Urdu: , literally Moon(Chen) River(ab)) is formed by the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers at Tandi located in the upper Himalayas, in the Lahaul district of Himachal Pradesh, India. ... The Ravi River (Punjabi: , Urdu: ) is a river in India and Pakistan. ... The Sutlej, also known as Satluj, is the longest of the five rivers of Punjab (five waters) that flows through Northern India, with its source in Tibet near Mount Kailash. ... The Beas River (Punjabi: ) runs through the Northwestern Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... The Jhelum River is the largest and most western of the five rivers of the Punjab province of Pakistan, and passes through Jhelum City. ... The Chenab River (Punjabi: , , Urdu: , literally Moon(Chen) River(ab)) is formed by the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers at Tandi located in the upper Himalayas, in the Lahaul district of Himachal Pradesh, India. ... The Ravi River (Punjabi: , Urdu: ) is a river in India and Pakistan. ... The Sutlej, also known as Satluj, is the longest of the five rivers of Punjab (five waters) that flows through Northern India, with its source in Tibet near Mount Kailash. ... The Beas River (Punjabi: ) runs through the Northwestern Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. ...