River Sarasvati to Flow Again – Return of Holy Saraswati River

suchandra · December 30, 2008

Posted by abhilash on 30.12.08: Hindus always believed that the River Sarasvati flowed on earth before disappearing and the river is mentioned in the Hindu Holy scriptures and is worshipped along with <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Ganga</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">River</st1:placetype></st1:place>. But the existence of River Sarasvati was always questioned by historians with hidden political agenda. Sadly, such historians were ruling the academies for more than 50 years in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> after independence. Now, archeologists have discovered the bed of the <st1:placename st="on">Sarasvati</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">River</st1:placetype> in <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Bhoresaidan</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Village</st1:placetype></st1:place>, about 13 km from Kurukshetra in Haryana. The fact is also mentioned in numerous ancient literary texts.

Haryana government is now planning to revive the course taken by <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Sarasvati</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">River</st1:placetype></st1:place> by building a 50 km-long channel in Kurukshetra. The discovery of the Sarasvati River Bed happened in 2004 when water started oozing out from the dried <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Saraswati</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">River</st1:placetype></st1:place> bed at the Kapil Muni Temple Sarovar at Kalayat.

Atul Sethi writes in Times of India

A boon that would not have been possible without the discovery of the river bed. "In 2004, an extraordinary phenomenon occurred," recalls Purohit, deputy director of the Kurukshetra-based <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Sri</st1:placename> <st1:placename st="on">Krishna</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Museum</st1:placetype></st1:place>. "Water started oozing out from a palaeochannel (a dried river bed) at the Kapil Muni <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">temple</st1:placetype> <st1:placename st="on">sarovar</st1:placename></st1:place> at Kalayat. We carried out studies of this water. Simultaneously, a scientific team studied its mineral composition."

Scientists from ISRO also carried out studies using space imagery and discovered a number of fossil valleys in upper central Haryana. "Mapping images of the palaeo channels showed that they corresponded to the archaeological sites of Haryana," says Purohit. "This means that these settlements came up near the river, as was the norm in those times and gives further proof that the river Sarasvati indeed existed," he says.

When the existence of River Sarasvati was confirmed, the historians who doubted its existence changed their standpoint and started doubting the name of the river.

Incidentally, the debate about the existence of the Sarasvati has been continuing for a long time although lately, most historians have begun to concede that the river perhaps did exist. However, they still continue to debate the name by which the river was known, the route that it took and the reasons for its disappearance. There is no doubt that the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Sarasvati</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">River</st1:placetype></st1:place> existed. However, opinion is divided on whether it was known as the Sarasvati or the Ghaggar.

People of the region are not interested in such worthless debates. They want water and they will soon get it through the revival of an ancient river – River Sarasvati.

"The revival of the Sarasvati will benefit countless people in the region as it will augment ground water resources," says Darshan Lal Jain of the Sarasvati Nadi Shodh Sansthan, which is working with the government on this project. The plan is not to line with the river's course with bricks so that water can permeate the ground. With ground water levels dipping to as low as 150 feet, the river's revival may be a boon for parched Haryana.