Saraswathy River

SARASWATHY RIVERtc "Saraswathy river"

Aerial photographs and satellite inquiries indicate that the Thar desert formerly had a number of streams.  The courses of three extinct streams are buried under the desert plain.  For example, the extinct river Saraswathi, which has been documented in the ancient Indian literature, traversed through the desert and has been identified below the present dry bed from north to south.  Its part has been identified in Pakistan also (Reference:Oldham 1893, Allchin et al., 1978; Ghose et al., 1979, Balkiwal and Grover 1988, Dhir et al.1992).

SEM analysis of the quarternary sediments of the north-eastern sector of the desert indicates considerable glacial and fluvial transport of the sediments (Raghav 1991b).  It is believed that the survival of the Saraswathi and its tributaries such as Drishadvati courses depended mainly on the perennial supply of water from the Sutlez which was called the Satadru in vedik literature (See Dhir et al. 1992 page 39) which shifted its course several times in the sub-Himalayan plains, as a consequence of neo-tectonic movements (Valdiya 1989; Kar 1992a, Venkateswarlu et al 1990 and reference in Dhir et al. 1992)

These research findings confirm that Saraswathy river which forms Triveni Sangamam along with Ganga and Jamna at Allahabad did exist in history as authenticated above -Editor