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tributary represents the course of the proto-Vedic Sarasvati
River in the region [Paliwal, 2008]. Similarly, the western
lowermost tributary, which may represent the original Sindhu
River, has also disappeared. The seven tributaries of the
Indus River shown in the 5 million years ago geomorpholo-
gic map of the region represent
river in the Yajurvaveda (34:11, 18:03), one reference in the
Atharvaveda (6:30:1), and one reference in the Manusmriti
(3.17). In the Puranas, there are several references to this
ancient river, which depict the Sarasvati River
flowing in the
region in the Vamana Purana (32:1-4), Shrimad Bhagawata
Purana, Vayu Purana, Bhramana Purana, Skanda Purana,
Markandeya Purana, and Mahabharata (3:88:2, 3:130:4,
9:36:1, 9:53:11; Shantiparva: 1:29:20; and Wazzu: 3.80.118).
i.e., the seven
tributaries of the Indus River described in the Vedic litera-
ture. It is possible that during this interval India moved
farther north [Paliwal, 2008].
Sapt Sindhu,
6. ARCHEOLOGICAL FINDINGS IN THE REGION
5. INDIAN MYTHOLOGY AND THE SARASVATI
RIVER
In the history of early human migration [Singh, 2009],
India was the first stopover (70,000 - 50,000 years ago) after
the
India that is known as Bharat (Bharatvarsha/Aryavrita/
Jamboo Dweep) hosts the world
first settlers moved out of Africa in about 2 Ma. Australia
(50,000 years ago), Europe (40,000
s most ancient civilization;
the Dravidians and Aryans were ab intitio inhabitants.
These people followed Hinduism in three different ways:
(1) as Vaishnava, (2) as Shaiva, and (3) as Shakta and
enjoyed the Vedic culture in an orderly and organized
manner. It is believed that before the Vedas were written,
Hinduism was transferred from one generation to the other
through oral recitation. The Vedas were followed by the
Upanishada, Epics, Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and
Geeta texts. Hinduism has persisted since the beginning of
cultured civilization and is followed by the majority of the
people of India. Hinduism is more a way of life rather than
a religion; Buddhism and Jainism followed later. Buddhism
became more popular in the neighboring countries like
China, Japan, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, etc. Through
Mughal and British invasions, Islam and Christianity crept
into India.
The ancient mythological literature of India provides the
evidence of a mighty river known as the Sarasvati River
flowing in the region between the Indus River in the west
and Aravalli Mountain Range in India [Singhvi and Kar,
1992; Chauhan, 1999]. A well-developed civilization older
than the Harappan civilization and the Indus Valley civiliza-
tion, popularly cited as the Vedic civilization,
'
30,000 years ago), and
north central Asia (40,000 years ago) were the second, the
third, and the fourth stopovers, respectively, in the journey.
Similarly, Nordic countries (20,000
-
15,000 years ago) and
South Africa (15,000 - 12,000 years ago) were the fifth and
the sixth stopovers, respectively. During the Last Glacial
Maximum (18,000 years ago), all these places were
connected with land bridges. It is interesting to note that the
region of the second stopover (70,000
-
50,000 years ago)
around Greater India exhibits the maximum number of cli-
matic changes and most human racial diversity. In the region
under consideration, sites of Stone Age (700,000
-
-
7000 years
B.P.), pre-Harappan (5500
4600 years B.P.), Harappan
(4600 - 3300 years B.P.), and post-Harappan (3500 - 2100
years B.P.) civilizations have been excavated [Kenoyer,
1998; Possehl,2002;Madella and Fuller, 2006]. Archaeolog-
ical excavations (Figure 4) proved the existence of Paleolithic
(lower 700,000
-
-
100,000 years B.P., middle 102,000
-
32,000
years B.P., and upper 32,000
12,000 years B.P.), Mesolithic
(12,000 - 8500 years B.P.), and Neolithic or Chalcolithic
(8500
-
7000 years B.P.) sites in the region [Kenoyer, 1998;
Possehl, 2002; Madella and Fuller, 2006; Valdiya, 2002,
2010]. Paleolithic sites have been found in the floodplain
of the Luni River, near Didwana and the hills of the
Aravalli Mountain Range. Pre-Harappan (5500
-
flourished
along its banks, and Vedas and Epics were written by ancient
scholars [Radhakrishna and Merh, 1999]. According to Hin-
duism the Holocene period has been divided into the (1) Vedic
era (10,000 years B.P.), (2) Epic era (8000 to 5000 years
B.P.), (3) Puranic era (5000 to 2500 years B.P.), and (4) post-
Buddha era (2500 years B.P. to present). There are numerous
citations in the Vedas, Epics, Puranas, and Mahabharat about
the Sarasvati River flowing during these periods [Chauhan,
1999]. Out of the four Vedas (Rigaveda, Yajurvaveda, Athar-
vaveda, and Samaveda), there are eleven references to the
Sarasvati River in the Rigaveda (1:32:1, 2:41:16, 6:61:2,
6:61:8, 6:61:10, 6:61:13, 6:61:14, 7:36:6, 7:95:2, 10:64:9,
and 10:75:5 versions). There are two references to the holy
4600 years
B.P.) settlements indicate life based on agriculture. The pre-
Harappan sites have been located in the Baluchistan and
Ghaggar-Hakra reaches of the Sarasvati River up to Jind
and Hisar. The settlement discovered at Mehrgarh in Paki-
stan [Kenoyer, 1998] dates back to 9000
-
-
5500 years B.P.
[Valdiya, 2002].
Fossils of elephants (Figure 5), discovered [Paliwal, 2003]
in the Quaternary gypsum deposit forming the upper layers
(Figure 6) at Bhadwasi north of Nagaur in the Thar Desert of
India, have been dated at 6808 years B.P. by the thermolu-
minescence method. Recently, fossilized Bamboo Curtain
(Figures 7 and 8) has been discovered in the gypsum deposit
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