Title: Saraswathi Nadi Author: T R Anantharamu Publisher: Navakarnataka Publications Pvt Ltd, Embassy Centre, Crescent Road, Bangalore 560001; Phone: 080-22203580/30578022 Pages: 104, Price: `45
No river in the world, other than the mythical river Saraswathi, has arisen enormous curiosity among the people cutting across the physical limitations of the borders between the nations.
For the Hindus, it has been a legendary river flowing underground and invisible to the people.
They believe that this ancient river confluences with the other two legendary and sacred rivers Ganga and Yamuna in Allahabad and this place, known as Triveni Sangama, has become a most sacred place for them.
Others are wonder struck. For them it is puzzling.
Where, how, when and why this river — once recognised as the greatest river of India by in the scriptures like Rigveda — must have gone missing suddenly? This curiosity and consequently the heated debate among the believers and the rationalists has led to a series of investigations to trace this river.
Both have based their researches on the Rigvadic hymns, epics where the river Saraswathi is referred to, on the spot investigations, excavations on either side of the bed where the river was once believed to have flowed and satellite pictures of the north western region of the country where the river is believed to have been flowing underground.
The study has developed into a multi-disciplinary research involving archaeologists, historians, geologists, water and river experts, space scientists and others.
Over 1,000 archaeological sites along the dried bed of the river Saraswathi have been traced so far indicating that this river had groomed and supported civilisations along its banks and it is believed that some tectonic activity in the northwestern region must have made this river go missing.
There is also another argument that other rivers flowing in the region must have, while changing their course, “stolen and overpowered” this river.
In the present book (first published in 2005), well-known writer T R Anantharamu has given all these details about the legendary river and how it has been perceived in mythology, history and science.
There are books in almost all languages about the river Saraswathi. But almost everyone of them has tried to take a stand on the existence of the river. So, those authors develop their arguments according to their beliefs in their books.
But Anantharamu has, without taking any stand on the existence of the river, tried to give all the arguments that prevail about the river without any bias and with a great concern to enlighten the readers.
He explains, quoting hymns from the Rigveda, how this river earned an important place in ancient India.
He tries to locate the course of the river then based on the hymns of Rigveda. He narrates how the river went missing in the historical India and tries to find the reasons behind it. He also explains the research that has been going on to trace the river.
In this book, the reader can have a comprehensive look at the river Saraswathi since the days of Rigveda till the present time.
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