Rivers in Ancient India (study)
by Archana Sarma | 2019 | 49,356 words
This page relates ‘The river Gomati and its present status’ of the study on the rivers in ancient India as reflected in the Vedic and Puranic texts. These pages dicsusses the elements of nature and the importance of rivers (Nadi) in Vedic and Puranic society. Distinctive traits of rivers are investigated from descriptions found in the Vedas (Samhitas), Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads and Puranas. The research is concluded by showing changing trends of rivers from ancient to modern times.
14. The river Gomatī and its present status
In some mantra of the Ṛgvedasaṃitā, there is a mention of the river Gomatī.[1] In the other Saṃhitās, there is no mention of Gomatī river. Gomatī is celebrated river of Purāṇic fame and this river is worshipped as a goddess. Another name of Gomatī is Kauśikī.[2] According to Bhāgavatapurāṇā, the Gomatī river is one of India’s transcendental rivers.[3] It is modern Gomit that joins the Ganges between Benaras and Ghazipur.[4]
The Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Ramgaṅgā, and Gomatī are the rivers of West Gaṅgā Plains of India. They are characterized by deep, stable and inscribed ditch and low discharge per unit area as well as low sediment yield. The Gomatī river is unique in that it is both rain and ground water-fed. The other major tributaries of the Gaṅgā in this region are snow-fed rivers originating in the Himalayas. The Gomatī river joins the river Gaṅgā at Kaithi Ghat near Varanasi.
The Gomatī River is a major source of drinking water for more than 3.5 million people but declining river flows and increased discharge of pollutants in recent years have led to a decline in water quality. Flow volumes in the Gomatī and its tributaries have decreased in recent years, and in the same period pollution loads have increased due to urbanization and waste water discharge. Ground water levels have also decreased as monsoon rainfall declines and deforestation sweeps the region. Many of the Gomatī’s tributaries that used to be ceaseless have become seasonal rivers, dry during the non-monsoon seasons. The reduction inflow in its tributaries has led to reduce water flow in the Gomatī itself. Climate change and neotectonics may have also contributed to the changing regime of the river and reduced discharge.
Still today, rivers are treated as holy places. Various temples are built on the banks of the different rivers. The confluence of the rivers is considered sacred place. In Hindu tradition, Triveni Sangam is the ‘confluence’ of three rivers. This point of confluence is a sacred place for Hindus, with a bath here said to flush away all of one’s sin and free one from the cycle of rebirth. One such Triveni Sangam in Allahabad was called “Prayagraj”. But, now a days the whole Allahabad city is known as ‘Prayagraj.’ It has the confluence of three rivers. This place has a religious importance and every twelve years Kumbha Mela is held here. Over the years, it has also been the site of immersion of funeral ashes.
The Gaṅgā is India’s most important and iconic river. The sprawling Gaṅgā basin, an area of 860000 sq km spread across 11 states, is the world’s most populous river basin. The basin provides more than one third of India’s surface water, 90 percent of which is used for irrigation. As India’s holiest river, the Gaṅgā has a cultural and spiritual significance that far transcends the basin’s boundaries. It is worshipped as a living goddess and, since time immemorial people from across the country have flocked to the many historic temple towns that lie along the river’s banks to pray and bathe in its flowing waters.
Despite this iconic status and religious heritage, the Gaṅgā today is facing formidable pollution pressures, along with the attendant threats to biodiversity and environmental sustainability. An evergrowing population, together inadequately planned urbanization and industrialization, has affected the quality of the river’s water. Recently, the Government of India in the year 2014 has initiated many projects to rejuvenate the Gaṅgā river. The World Bank is supporting the Government of India in its effort to rejuvenate the Gaṅgā river. The ‘National Gaṅgā River Basin Project’ is helping the ‘National Gaṅgā River Basin Authority’ (NGRBA) to build institutional capacity for rejuvenating the river. The National Mission for Clean Gaṅgā (NMCG), the operational wing of the NGRBA, has been set up to coordinate the river’s clean up programme.[5]
Footnotes and references:
[2]:
Bhāgavata Purāṇa.,10.79.9
[3]:
Ibid., 5.19.17-18
[5]:
http://www.globalwaterforum.Org