The Rigveda mentions the sapta-sindhavaḥ (
Sanskrit: सप्तसिन्धवः, seven rivers), along with other rivers:
“He has surveyed eight summits of the Earth, three shore or desert regions, seven rivers.” (aṣṭaú vy àkhyat kakúbhaḥ pr̥thivyā́s trī́ dhánva yójanā saptá síndhūn RV.I.35.8).[1]
Identification of Rigvedic hydronyms has engaged multiple historians; it is the single most important way of establishing the geography and chronology of the early
Vedic period.[2][3] Rivers with certain identifications stretch from eastern
Afghanistan to the western
Gangetic plain, clustering in the
Punjab. The region's name comes from پنج, panj, 'five' and آب,
āb, 'water' thus "
five waters", a Persian calque of the Indo-Aryan Pancha-nada meaning "five rivers". Many have cognates in
Avestan.
The same names were often imposed on different rivers as the Vedic culture migrated eastward from around Afghanistan (where they stayed for a considerable time) to the subcontinent via Punjab.[2]
List of rivers
Multiple hydronyms are located in the Rigvedic corpus; they are slotted according to rough geographical locations, following the scheme of
Michael Witzel.[2] Alongside, opinions of scholars about modern correlates are provided:[4][5]
Indus:
Síndhu – Identified with
Indus.[4] The central lifeline of RV.[5]
Northwestern Rivers:
Tr̥ṣṭā́mā – Blažek identifies with
Gilgit.[4] Witzel notes it to be unidentified.[2]
Susártu – Unidentified.
Ánitabhā – Unidentified.
Rasā́ – Described once to be on the upper Indus; at other times a mythical entity.[4]
Mehatnū – A tributary of
Gomatī́.[4] Unidentifiable.[2]
Yavyā́vatī – Noted to be a branch of Gomatī́. Witzel as well as Blažek identifies with
Zhob River.[2][4] Dähnhardt comments it to be synonymous to Yamúnā or flowing very close to it[5] but Witzel had rejected a similar take by Talgeri.
^
abcdefghWitzel, Michael (1998). "Aryan and non-Aryan Names in Vedic India: Data for the linguistic situation, c. 1900-500 B.C". In
Bronkhorst, James; Deshpande, Madhav (eds.). Aryans and Non-Non-Aryans: Evidence, Interpretation and Ideology. Harvard Oriental Series. Cambridge. pp. 337–404.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
^
abcdDähnhardt, Thomas Wolfgang Peter (2009). "The descent of King Lion: Some considerations on the relations between the Indus and other rivers in the sacred geography and culture of ancient India". In Filippi, Gian Giuseppe (ed.). I fiumi sacri. Indoasiatica. Vol. 6. Libreria Editrice Cafoscarina. pp. 189–208.
ISBN9788875432416.
Gherardo Gnoli, De Zoroastre à Mani. Quatre leçons au Collège de France (Travaux de l’Institut d’Études Iraniennes de l’Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle 11), Paris (1985)