The disappearance of Saraswati

The evidence for the Saraswati is not restricted to the Hindu scriptures. There is scientific evidence both for its existence and for the reasons it disappeared.

The evidence for the existence of the river Saraswati is not restricted to its mention in the scriptures of Hinduism. There is a wealth of scientific evidence both for its existence and for the reasons it disappeared.

An English engineer named Oldham noticed in 1893 a tiny rivulet Ghaggar flowing in a river bed that was 3 km wide. He surmised that the Ghaggar was using the course of the old Saraswati River.

In Jaisalmer (Rajasthan) through where the Saraswati once passed, groundwater is available at a depth of 50 meters despite arid conditions and negligible rainfall. Wells have water throughout the year. Carbon dating has shown that this water is about 4000 years old. Archaeological excavations have brought to light the remains of more than 1000 towns along the course of the erstwhile river. Kalibangan in Rajasthan is notable. These findings in these excavations are consistent with the descriptions obtained from the Vedas. Several spots along the course have not completely dried up and even today lakes are found there. The most prominent ones are the Lunkaransar, Didwana, Sambhar, the Ranns of Jaisalmer and Pachpadra. Through remote sensing devices numerous paleochannels have been located that enable experts to trace the migratory course of Saraswati from the Himalayas through Kurukshetra and Rajasthan to the Rann of Kutch.

No single reason is given for the disappearance of the River Saraswati. The decline set in sometime about 4000 BC and by 1500 BC the river had disappeared. It is well accepted that the Indian subcontinent broke away from Africa and attached itself to Asia. The Himalayan ranges are a result of this plate movement. This tectonic activity continues intermittently and one such event must have cut off the glacier turning the river into a non-perennial one. Further blows came when its two main tributaries the Yamuna and the Sutlej changed their courses. The Yamuna turned eastwards and merged with the Ganga and the Sutlej turned westward to merge with the Indus. The desertification of Rajasthan occurred around this time.

Two further causes have been postulated. Satellite images have shown a large number of ground faults along the course of the river that would have drained the waters underground, sometimes to resurface through another fault. This is consistent with references from the Mahabharata given in the blog Saraswati:The lost river. Finally the shifting sands due to high winds in the desert area could have dammed up the river, which had already lost its flow.

There is not as yet any conclusive evidence for the Saraswati emerging at Prayag. Perhaps it seemed an appropriate point the river to emerge from her underground course. Or this theory could have something to do with the Yamuna leaving the Saraswati and meeting the Ganga. However the fact remains that this mighty river once existed and gave birth to a civilization on its banks.

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