2. The rivers in the Purāṇic Literature

The rivers occupy an important place in the Purāṇas. In the Purāṇas, there are descriptions of different rivers. The authors of the Purāṇas assumed that rivers originate in lakes. So each river has, in their accounts, invariably a lake visible or invisible as its source. In its turn, this lake lies at a foot of a mountain and collects the rain or glacial water which runs down its slopes. Thus, as a rule, according to the Purāṇas, each river has a corresponding lake and an associated Mountain. The Purāṇas believe that a river can infiltrate, through subterranean channels, Mountain ranges or minor impediments, which lie across its course. As a consequence, the water of a lake could ‘filter’ through the bounding ridges and give rise to streams on opposite slopes. The Purāṇas imagine and locate subterranean channels where a river falls into and an end in a lake which has no visible outlet. If a river rises on the opposite side of a range overlooking the lake, it is supposed that the course of the former river is continued across the range. A river flowing through a broad valley enters a narrow abyss, and gives the impression of a decrease in its size and volume. In this case, the assumption is that the river has lost some of its waters by sending a branch or branches across the adjoining ridges into the neighbouring valleys. Thus, a river could flow in as many as two, three or more channels, separated by intermediate ridges. The authors of the Purāṇas consider a river with all its tributaries as one river. They do not usually give separate names for tributaries while describing the main river. These three basic principles or notions of the Purāṇas are the key to an understanding of the Purāṇic description of rivers and lakes. Without this, the Purāṇic accounts in many cases become meaningless, and mythical.^[1]

In the Matsyapurāṇa, there is a description on nadī. Here it has been described as—

kailāśapādasambhutaṃ pūnyaṃ sītajalaṃ śrubham /
mandodakaṃ nām saraḥ payastu dadhisannibham //
tasmāt pravavate divyā nadī mandākinī śrubhā /
divyañca candanantatra tasyāstīre mahadvanam //^[2]

It means that, “There is a lake which is shining like the Devas. It is covered with the aroma of Mandāra flowers. The lake is watered by the cold and sweet springs of Kailāsa. The sacred river Mandākinī runs from this source. The scenic Nandana forest of vast dimensions stands on its bank”.

Again in the Kālikāpurāṇa, regarding nadī, it has been explained as—

nadyaśca parvatāḥ sarve hirupāśca svabhāvataḥ/
toyaṃ nadīnaṃ rupantu śarīramaparantathā //
sthāvaraṃ parvatānāntu rūpaṃ kayastathaparaḥ/
sruktīnāmatha kambūnāṃ tathaivāntargatā tanūḥ //^[3]

It means, “The rivers and the mountains are of bi-form like the conch and the oyster pearl which have outer and the inner body. The water is the outer form of the rivers while they have their different inner body too”.

Similarly, the immovable stones are the outer form of the mountains but they got another inner body also.

Besides these, the Mahābhārata^[4] expresses the nadī as—

jayantu dharmajñatayā mahātmā na rājyakāmo nṛvaro nadījaḥ ||

The Śabdakalpadruma mentions so many descriptions about nadī.

Among them, the description of nadī as furnished in the book Tithitattam [Tithitatta] is as follows—

dhanuḥ sahasrāṇyaṣṭau ca gatiryāsāṃ nā vidyate /
na tā nadīśabdavahā gartāstāḥ parikīrttitāḥ //

In the Purāṇic literature, rivers played an important role. The rivers are worshipped as god and goddesses in the Purāṇic literature. Waters and the rivers are referred with a great respect in the Purāṇic literature. So many rivers occupied a prominent position in the different Purāṇas. The rivers as mentioned in the Purāṇas are—The Sarasvatī, the Gaṅgā, the Narmadā, the Sindhu, the Yamunā etc.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

cf., Ali,S.M., The Geography of the Purāṇas, pp.60-61

[2]:

Matsya Purāṇa, 101.1.2

[3]:

Kā.p., 22.11-12

[4]:

Mahābhārata, 7.102.8,