1

Search for Sarasvati based on mistranslations and

misrepresentations to buttress Marxist ideology to distort

Hindu traditions

Historians and scientists have to contend with the reality substantiated by the presence of 80%

(of 2600 archaeological sites) of Sarasvati-Sindhu (Hindu) civilization sites on Sarasvati River

Basin which had maritime contacts with Mesopotamia, another doab civilization of Tigris-

Euphrates river basins. Presence of cylinder seal in Kalibangan attests to this contact between

ancient India and Mesopotamia. Celebration of Triveni sangam every 12 years in Kumbha mela

is an abiding Hindu tradition -- NOT mythology -- and it is for historians and scientists to find

the factual basis for this tradition which is founded on knowledge systems.

Witzel had mistranslated Baudhayana Srautasutra of Taittiriya Shakha school of the Krishna

Yajurveda (ca. 6th century BCE) to buttress his false theory of Aryan invasion/migration. The

sutra simply stated two migrations from Sarasvati river basin 1) towards Ganga basin and 2)

towards Iran.

pran Ayuh pravavraja. Tasyaite Kuru-Pancalah Kasi-Videha ity. Etad Ayavam pravrajam.

Pratyan amavasus. Tasyaite Gandharvarayas Parsavo ‘ratta ity. Etad

Amavasavam. (BSS18.44:397.9 sqq)

Translation: Ayu migrated eastwards. His (people) are the Kuru-Pancalas and the Kasi-Videhas.

This is the Ayava (migration). Amavasu migrated westwards. His (people) are the Ghandhari,

Parsu and Aratta. This is the Amavasu (migration).

Similarly, Irfan Habib misquotes geologist Marie-Agnes Courty to buttress his false theory of

mythical Sarsuti river to paint the pariyatra along River Sarasvati, of Balarama described in

Salyaparva of Mahabharata as a myth. It has been proved that this pariyatra was a historical

event of ca. 3000 BCE) by 1) reconstructing (using planetaria software of NASA) the

150+ astronomical details provided in the epic; and 2) identifying about 2000 archaeological

sites on Sarasvati river basin of what is called Harappan culture.

See: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2015/04/trying-to-hide-pumpkin-in-handful-of.html

Trying to hide a pumpkin in a handful of cooked rice, Irfan Habib and TheHindu get a barrage of

adverse comments, beyond Marxism

Let us see what Marie-Agnes said in 1985, how Irfan Habib misquotes her and how to realize the

important of subsequent discoveries by ISRO and Indian geologists of hydrological regimes in

Northwest India. ISRO (RRSC, Jodhpur) has fully mapped the paleochannels of Vedic River

Sarasvati, a map which adorns the Office of Prime Minister.

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French geologist Marie-Agnes Courty, based on a microscopic study of sediments in Ghaggar-

Chautang region, found 'true grey sands at a depth of over 8 m, identical to those of the Yamuna

and Sulej...mighty rivers with their sources in the Himalayas flowed at the end of the last ice age

in the Ghaggar's present basin...Yamuna-like rivers...stopped flowing in the study area well

before the Protohistoric period...' The proto-historic periods she is referring to are periods well

before 2600 to 1900 BCE of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization. The 7 or 8 m of alluvium covering the

grey sands were layers of loamy sand and silty clay and could have originated from streams

flowing from the Shivaliks, and not from the inner Himalayas. Puri and Verma have

demonstrated the presence of metamorphic and quartzite rocks in the ancient river-bed (Somb

nadi) area of Ad Badri, at the foothills of Shivaliks and established that the paleochannel could

have flowed from the inner Himalayas, making Ad Badri the Hardwar of Vedic River Sarasvati.

(Puri, VMK & BC Verma, Glaciological and geological source of Vedic Saraswati in the

Himalayas, Itihas Darpan, vol. 4, 1998, no. 2, pp. 16, 7-36). Puri and Verma identify three

glaciers in the Bandarpunch massif which fed Tons (Tamasa river), the tributary of Yamuna river

before Yamuna reached the plains and suggest that Tamasa and Yamuna once flowed westward

into the wide Bata valley and onto the Markanda river. They thus concluded that Tamasa river

was the Vedic River Sarasvati in the upper Himalayan reaches. This finding of a Himalayan river

flowing into the Ghaggar-Chautang basin is reinforced by the findings of KS Valdiya based on

the dynamics of Himalayan ranges continuously under tectonic regimes caused by plate-

continents of the northward drift of Indian plate jutting into the Eurasian plate. Valdiya explains

this vividly in the context of the Yamuna tear near Paonta Saheb demonstrating the eastward

migration of Yamuna River, a migration principally caused by plate-tectonics and Himalayan

dynamics. (Valdiya, KS, 2002, Saraswati, the river that disappeared, ISRO and Universities

Press, Hyderabad, p. 27).

Courty, Marie-Agnes, 'Le milieu physique et utilisation du sol', in Henri-Paul Francfort,

ed., Prospections archeologiques au nord-ouest de L'inde: rapport preliminair 1983-1984,

memoire 62, Editions Recherches sur les Civilisations, Paris, 1985, p. 30

Courty, Marie-Agnes, 'Integrfation of Sediment and Soil information in the reconstruction of

protohistoric and historic landscapes of the Ghaggar plain (North-west India)', in Frifelt, Karen

& Per Sorensen, eds., South Asian Archaeology 1985, Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies,

Occasional papers No. 4, Curzon Press, London, 1989, p. 259

The controversy among geologists about the Himalayan source for Vedic River Sarasvati was

renewed by an article of Liviu Giosan of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA, USA in a

paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

(https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/viewArticle.do?id=147629)

In this paper, Giosan acknowledges the presence of a large river system in NW India and refers

to Ghaggar river as a river fed by seasonal monsoon rains and NOT sourced from Himalayas.

This view was countered by KS Valdiya in Current Science wherein the phenomena of aandhi

(sand storms) and Himalayan dynamics were reinforced to underscore that climate or monsoon

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was only a partial explanation and that larger forces were at work in the region leading to river

migrations. A westward migration of Sutlej river abandoning Ghaggar and joining the Sindhu in

Bahawalpur province has also been noted by Valdiya and Rafique Mughal who did excavations

identifying over 200 ‘indusrial sites’ on Cholistan desert sites of Sarasvati-Sindhu civilization.

[http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/11/evidence-for-sutlej-sarasvati-as.html#! K.S. Valdiya.

2013. "The River Saraswati was a Himalayan-born river". Current Science 104 (01)]

If the westward diversion of the Sutlej river occurred recently (about 4000 years ago), it may

have been responsible for the Ghaggar-Hakra (Saraswati) drying up, causing desertification

of Cholistan and the eastern part of the modern state of Sindh, and the abandonment of Harappan

settlements along the Ghaggar. However, the Sutlej may have already been captured by the Indus

thousands of years earlier, leaving hundreds of streams (naiwal) continuing to flowin southwards

into Ghaggar, as evidenced in satellite images analysed by RRSC, Jodhpur of ISRO.

Geologists have to explain this 90-degree westward tun of River Sutlej which occurred in

historic times, from ca. 2500 BCE.

Saraswati underground

Author(s): Richard Mahapatra

Nov 15, 2002 |

Experts attempt to map the mythical river's palaeo-channels and put them to good use

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Photo: Bandeep Singh / India Today Legend has it that the

beautiful goddess Saraswati sprung from the forehead of her

father Brahma, the god of creation. It is said that as soon as

Brahma looked at her beauty, he was filled with desire for her.

Unhappy with the amorous attentions he bestowed upon her, she

tried to dodge and hide. This is why the river Saraswati flows

underground. And the brief appearance she made aboveground is

the moment, legends assert, that she stopped to rest from her

tiring run.

Whatever the merits of this legend, on June 15, 2002, Union

Minister for Culture Jagmohan announced excavations to trace

the course of the river Saraswati.

He has named a team of four experts -- Baldeo Sahai of the

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Ahmedabad, archaeologist S Kalyan Raman,

glaciologist Y K Puri and water consultant Madhav Chitle -- for this task. They will carry out the

first phase of excavations, from Adi Badri to Bhagwanpura in Haryana, followed by a second

phase from Bhagwanpura to Kalibangan on the Rajasthan border.

These experts will also look into deepening Kapalmochan and Ranmochan, two wells fed by

Saraswati. It is believed that the Pandavas had taken a bath in these wells. If efforts to yield

Saraswati water in these wells fail, experts have been told to tap tubewells. There will also be an

attempt to trace the Saraswati at Thaneshwar -- once the capital of Harshvardhan -- a few

kilometres (kms) from Kurukshetra.

Novel as this project is, it is an extension of the work done by the Rajasthan Groundwater

Department (RGWD). The RGWD had, as early as 1996, embarked on an ambitious project --

albeit confined to the state of Rajasthan -- to retrace an ancient network of water channels.

These channels, buried 60 metres below the ground, were believed to be the route traced by the

river Saraswati. The RGWD was clear about what it set out to do. Once these channels were

retraced, and the sequence of the river flow established, it would go a long way in solving the

water problem in arid Rajasthan. The theory was that these channels could transport surplus

water from Punjab and Haryana during the monsoons, and store it for future use.

RGWD's research, design and development division in Jodhpur is monitoring the project with a

Rs 4.7 million grant from the Rajiv Gandhi National Mission for Drinking Water (RGNMDW).

The RGWD is assisted by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), ISRO, Bhabha Atomic

Research Centre (BARC) and the National Physical Laboratory. WhileRGWD is investigating

sites of palaeo-channels, CGWB is carrying out drilling activities for water and soil

samples. BARC, meanwhile, is estimating the age of water and soil samples by carbon-14 dating.

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This experiment is novel in that Rajasthan would be the first to ever use palaeo-channels for

transporting water and storing it underground.

Satellite images, supported by a four-year drilling exercise, which was guided by ancient

literature, have established that the river Saraswati is not a myth. It was a huge river that died a

premature death about 5,000 years ago, and is now buried 60 metres below the ground. A map of

all the channels discovered so far leads one to conclude that it was probably 1,500 km long, three

to fifteen kms wide, and about five metres deep. The river probably crisscrossed the present-day

states of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. S C Sharma, regional

director, CGWB, says it continues to flow to the sea at a rate of 20 metres a year.

The prospect of rediscovering the Saraswati was triggered off by digital photographs sent by the

American satellite Landsat. To the surprise of many scientists, the photographs showed the

presence of underground water in a definitive pattern in the Jaisalmer area. It was during this

time that scientists started speaking of a large palaeo-channel in Rajasthan that could well belong

to a big river.

Remote sensing images of the ISRO and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) also found the

existence of palaeo-channels of a mighty river in seven to eight places, all lying on the west of

the Aravalli ranges. The images pointed to the possibility that the river started at the foothills of

the Aravallis and shifted westward in stages. The river seems to enter Rajasthan in Ganganagar

district, with its tail ends in Bikaner and Jaisalmer districts, a few kilometres from the Rann of

Kutchh.

Further, a geophysical survey undertaken by the RGWD in the Tanot and Longewala areas

indicated the existence of coarse sediments in the depth range of 30 to 60 metres pointing to the

possibility of the existence of a river in the region.

6

A satellite image of the

Siwalik domain and foothills showing the Sarsuti and its tributaries

However, until the project initiated by Jagmohan was inaugurated, scientists were hesitant to call

it 'revival of the Saraswati'. Officially, they preferred to call it 'revival of palaeo-channels'.

However, S Kalyan Raman, member of the new project committee, is clear that he is working on

the Saraswati. "The Harappan civilisation existed on the banks of the Saraswati. Nearly 2,000 of

the 2,600 Harappan sites that have been discovered are situated on the old palaeo-channels of

Saraswati." K K Srivastava, divisional chief of RGWD's research, design and development

division, puts it differently, "It is a cooperative exercise involving both history and science."

The first evidence of the ancient underground channels came in

the 1930s, when scientists Haren and B C Gupta from

the GSI spoke of the channels. They claimed that they might

belong to the river Saraswati. Bimal Ghose, former scientist at

Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur, also

made a reading based on the topography map of Rajasthan. He

confirmed that the ancient channels were a dead river that could

well be Saraswati. It may be mentioned here that ancient

literature and texts and the geographical history of the region

were constant bases of reference in these studies.

Photographs: Bandeep Singh / India Today The Rigveda, for

example, mentions a mighty river that originates in the Himalaya

and flows south-westwards. The Mahabharata speaks of a river

that disappeared underground near the present-day town of Sirsa

in Haryana. Besides, the geographical history of the now arid

western Rajasthan points to the fact that the region used to be

green and did not lack water resources. Barely 10,000 years ago,

7

the whole region was host to a big river system, which attracted civilisations like the

Mohenjodaro and Harappa.

Archaeological findings also indicate that a major river originating primarily from the same

source as the present Sutlej flowed through northern Rajasthan, Bahawalpur and Sindh. The

course of the river was southeast of the Sutlej's present course. Some scholars working on

ancient literature also suggest that the Saraswati flowed along the present course of Luni river in

Rajasthan, and shifted westwards progressively. Baldeo Sahai, one of the members of the new

research project says, "Latest research indicates that the Saraswati was a perennial river

connected to the Bander Poonch glacier in the Himalayas."

RGWD scientists say that the desertification of western Rajasthan started only 5,000-6,000 years

ago. After the Ice Age, it is believed that the area had some massive glaciers, which flushed it

with fresh water for thousands of years. Due to marine tectonic activity, the area from the Rann

of Kutchh to Bikaner was submerged by seawater. This was the beginning of the desertification

process.

The tectonic activity is also said to be the reason behind Saraswati's delinking from its source of

water. Consequently, it is believed, the river dried up and was buried under desertification sands

and alluvium.

In the early 1980s, RGWD scientists were amazed by the fact that fresh water was available in

many places of Jaisalmer district, and some wells never dried up. This aroused considerable

interest, for Jaisalmer's water is known to be saline. Investigations revealed that about 100

metres away from the site of the fresh water, the groundwater was saline. Some ofCGWB 's

observation stations for monitoring groundwater have fresh water in the depth range of 30-40

metres. "These stations are located in a linear pattern in the northeast-southeast direction, and

never go dry," saysS C Sharma. "During drilling operations, alluvial sediments were found at a

depth of 78-100 metres, pointing to the existence of a flow channel. It also points towards the

existence of a fresh water source along the inferred palaeo-channel," says K K Srivastava.

Extensive surveys showed that there was a big water channel 60-70 metres underground, and the

water was moving very slowly towards the sea. Drilling work to trace these channels were

started in Jaisalmer. The second stage of the operations is in the Bikaner-Kolait region, upward

of Jaisalmer. There are palaeo-channels in all 10 districts of western Rajasthan, and these have

been mapped to prepare the river's ancient course.

The course of the river is yet to be traced completely, though. Besides, it is believed that, like

any other major river, the Saraswati also changed its course frequently. This would explain the

very large number of channels buried underground.

Once the fact that the channels do exist was established, RGWDcommissioned the Physical

Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad and BARC,Bombay to determine the age of the water and the

soil. A team of scientists led by S M Rao of BARC's isotope division studied the samples

collected from different depths. BARC's dating suggests that the samples are as old as 20,000-

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40,000 years. The youngest sample dates back to 2,500 years. These findings place the samples

in the 'marine transgression' age, when the desertification of Rajasthan started. The groundwater

today contains more tritium, a radioactive material, due to atmospheric nuclear tests conducted in

the 1960s and 1970s by the USand the erstwhile USSR.

RGWD, in a proposal to the RGNMDW, outlined the utility of the project. This report suggests

that once the channels are demarcated, and their course traced, they could contribute

substantially towards solving the water crisis in arid western Rajasthan. "Transporting water

through palaeo-channels would reduce the cost of water transportation drastically, because we do

not need to build a canal. It would also reduce wastage due to evaporation," says S C Sharma.

The channels could also double up as storage facility for surplus monsoon water.

Officials say that the defence ministry has also shown an interest in the project, as it could mean

adequate water supply to its soldiers stationed on the India-Pakistan border. Whether the large

amount of data available with the army is utilised or not, the findings of the two projects on

Saraswati are worth waiting for.

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/saraswati-underground

Evidence for Sutlej-Sarasvati as a Himalayan river system. Visit Ropar. A suggestion to Liviu

Giosan et al.

From tectonically to erosionally controlled development of the Himalayan orogen

Thiede et al. Geology 2005 33 (8), p. 689

Rasmus C. Thiede, J Ramon Arrowsmith, Bodo Bookhagen, Michael O McWilliams, Edward R.

Sobel and Manfred R. Strecker Geology 2005; 33; 689-692, The Geological Society of America

Abstract

Whether variations in the spatial distribution of erosion influence the location, style, and

magnitude of deformation within the Himalayan orogen is a matter of debate…The locus of

pronounced exhumation defined by the apatite fission-track (AFT) data correlates with a region

of high precipitation, discharge, and sediment flux rates during the Holocene. This correlation

suggests that although tectonic processes exerted the dominant control on the denudation pattern

before and until the middle Miocene; erosion may have been the most important factor since the

Pliocene…

9

Geological setting of the Northwestern Himalaya

Sustained Eurasian-Indian convergence since the continental collision ca. 50 Ma has caused

persistent lateral and vertical growth of the Himalaya, which has been accommodated by

progressive motion along a series of major crustal fault systems: the Southern Tibetan

detachment, the Main Central thrust, the Main Boundary thrust, and the Main frontal thrust.

These orogen-parallel fault systems bound the main Himalayan tectonostratigraphic domains,

which are underthurst by the Indian plate along the basal Main Himalayan thrust.

…Although the southern Himalayan front is affected by heterogeneous erosion at the million

year time scale, the topography forms a nearly perfect arc. Focused erosion is thus compensated

by self-organized thrust activation resulting in heterogeneous distribution of rock uplift and

exhumation. Rapid rock uplift in tur may keep the longitudinal river profiles steep, forcing the

rivers to further incise. For example, the removal of the 10-15-km thick High Himalayan

Crystalline nappe, which today is replaced by Lesser Himalayan Crystalline rocks forming the

Larji-Kulu-Rampur window, indicates pronounced removal of crystalline rocks along the Sutlej

River network…

The development, however, toward synchronous exhumation of both crystalline nappe systems

may suggest that when a critical mass removal threshold is exceeded, the orographic barrier may

play a fundamental role in intercepting moisture and focusing discharge, erosion, and sediment

transport along an orogenic front. To compensate the erosional loss, the orogen is forced to

internally reorganize, and therefore erosion may control the distribution of exhumation and rock

uplift. For the past 10 m.y., the Himalayan deformation front has migrated only 20-50 km.

southward. Therefore internal rock uplift and focused exhumation concentrated orogenic

deformation in this internal sector, rather than propagating the deformation front southward.

Read the full text pdf document

here:https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4BAzCi4O_l4bXFJREpFSjR6VU0/edit?usp=sharing

10

Sutlej Valley from Rampur c. 1857

In the early 18th century, it was used to transport devdar woods for Bilaspur district, Hamirpur

district, and other places along the Sutlej's banks.

The Sutlej, along with all of the Punjab rivers, is thought to have drained east into

the Ganges prior to 5 mya. There is substantial geologic evidence to indicate that prior to 1700

BC, and perhaps much earlier, the Sutlej was an important tributary of the Ghaggar-Hakra

River (thought to be the legendary Sarasvati River) rather than the Indus, with various authors

putting the redirection from 2500-2000 BC,( Mughal, M. R. Ancient Cholistan. Archaeology and

Architecture. Rawalpindi-Lahore-Karachi: Ferozsons 1997, 2004) from 5000-3000

BC,( Valdiya, K. S., in Dynamic Geology, Educational monographs published by J. N. Centre

for Advanced Studies, Bangalore, University Press (Hyderabad), 1998.) or before 8000

BC.( Clift et al. 2012. "U-Pb zircon dating evidence for a Pleistocene Sarasvati River and capture

of the Yamuna River." Geology, v. 40. [2]) Geologists believe that tectonic activity created

elevation changes which redirected the flow of Sutlej from the southeast to the southwest.( K.S.

Valdiya. 2013. "The River Saraswati was a Himalayan-born river". Current Science 104 (01). ) If

the diversion of the river occurred recently (about 4000 years ago), it may have been responsible

for the Ghaggar-Hakra (Saraswati) drying up, causing desertification of Cholistan and the eastern

part of the modern state of Sindh, and the abandonment of Harappan settlements along the

Ghaggar. However, the Sutlej may have already been captured by the Indus thousands of years

earlier.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutlej

11

Today’s Sutlej is a tributary to the Indus.

It was in ancient times, thanks to the orogeny (growth of the Himalayas due to plate-tectonics) a

tributary of the River Sarasvati.

Thiede et al’s article (2005) embedded above points to the high rate of erosion caused by the

modern Sutlej river which has influenced the local faulting and rapidly exhumed rocks above

Rampur.

12

Cattle grazing on the banks of the river inRupnagar, Punjab, India

Crossing the Sutlej near Simla upon inflated animal skins

Sutlej river is 1,450 km. long, raising in the Manasarovar Kailas range, SW Tibet region. In the

Punjab it receives the Beas river and forms part of the Indo-Pakistan border and continues into

Pakistan.

Bhakra dam (229 m) impounds part of the water of Sutlej. The mean flow rate at Rupar is

approximately 500 cu m per sec, and the maximum is about 20,000 cu m per sec.

“Major irrigation canals from the Sutlej include the Dipalpur, Pakpattan, Panjnad, Sirhind, and

Bikaner canals. During floods, the canals carry 100 to 300 cu m of water per sec. During high

water, the Sutlej is navigable in some parts. The large Bhakra-Nangal hydraulic engineering

complex has been built in India at the point where the river emerges from the mountains. The

major cities on the Sutlej are Nangal and Phillaur in India and Bahawalpur in Pakistan.” (AP

Muranov). http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Sutlej+valley

Any study related to the history of evolution and secular desiccation of the River Sarasvati has to

take into account the migration of River Sutlej recorded at Ropar (Rupanagar).

13

Ropar is a very important archaeological site of Indus-Sarasvati civilization. A site museum is

also organized at this place and shoule be visited by any explorer or researcher evaluating the

causes for the ‘drying up’ of River Sarasvati .

This is the abrupt shift of Sutlej river westwards near Ropar, cutting off waters to River

Sarasvati. (http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/oct25/articles20.htm)This virtual 180 degree turn has

to be explained by the incision caused by the Himalayan river (Sutlej) near Ropar which gives

the appearance of a Grand Canyon today. This may answer the concern of some researchers to

look for incisions along the paths of tributaries, to define Sarasvati as a Himalayan-sourced river.

14

Sutlej river. Ropar.

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/01/incisions-of-sutlej-and-90-degree-turn.html

JAN

16

Incisions of Sutlej and 90 degree turn at Ropar. Giosan et al should visit the Ropar

Archaeological museum

See the blogpost: http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/01/sarasvati-was-himalayan-river-

ks.html Sarasvati was a Himalayan River -- KS Valdiya (2013) rejects Giosan et al arguments.

I hope Giosan et al would carefully evaluate evidence and arguments provided by Prof. Valdiya

and revise their findings about Sarasvati river system..

On one issue, some evidence exists even today. The issue concerns upstream of the alluvial

plains and alleged "lack of large-scale incisions' in the Ghagghar-Hakra"..

Ghagghar-Hakra stream is not far from Ropar where River Sutlej takes a 90 degree turn, a tell-

tale indication of tectonics resulting in river migration, Sutlej migrating westwards to join the

Sindhu (Indus).

Figure 10 (loc.cit. Valdiya). Block diagram by Sinha et al.42 shows the palaeochannels of the

Saraswati – including the one abandoned by the Satluj – and the extent of fluvial sediments

filling their channels.

15

Explaining the palaeo-channels of Sutlej into

Sarasvati River system.

One key issue not adequately evaluated by Giosan et al relates to the migration of River Sutlej

which is a Himalayan river. This river was feeding into the Sarasvati River system. Giosan et al,

looking into incisions? Here are some present-day images.

Hill erosion near river Sutlej, Ropar. Ropar is the location

where River Sutlej takes a 90 degree turn weswards to join the River Sindhu (Indus).

16

Hill view near River Sutlej.

http://travelingluck.com/Asia/India/Punjab/_1258042_Ropar+Headworks.html

A canal carrying industrial

effluents merges with the river Sutlej near Ropar international

wetland http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/mobile.aspx?article=yes&pageid=7&sectid=edid=

&edlabel=TOIPU&mydateHid=24-08-

2009&pubname=&edname=&articleid=Ar00700&publabel=TOI

Rampur Bhushair Sutlej

gorge. http://www.flickr.com/photos/63783963@N00/17386820 (Source: http://flickrhivemind.n

17

et/flickr_hvmnd.cgi?method=GET&page=1&photo_number=50&tag_mode=all&search_type=T

ags&originput=river,satluj&sorting=Interestingness&photo_type=250&noform=t&search_domai

n=Tags&sort=Interestingness&textinput=river,satluj)

Sutlej en route to

Powari. http://farm9.static.flickr.com/8002/7203725524_8c034b82a7_m.jpg

Giosan et al should visit the Ropar (Rupnagar) Archaeological Museum which celebrates Ropar

as a 'Harappan' site. Why did the river Sutlej take 90 degree turn here? Where was it flowing,

southwards before this 90 degree turn?

This museum at Ropar is a cute, beautiful museum. I would strongly urge all researchers of

Sarasvati River basin and study of Hindu civilization history should visit this Museum and see

the Indus script seals excavated from the site and kept there. The excavations were carried out

by Dr. Y.D. Sharma of the Archaeological Survey of India."At Ropar excavations at the lowest

levels yielded Harappan traits belonging to Period 1. Findings include a steatite seal with Indus

scriptprobably used for trading goods, impressions of seals on a terracotta lump of

burnt clay, chert blades, copper implements, terracotta beads and bangles and typical

standardised pottery of the Indus Valley civilization. The earliest houses at Ropar were built with

river pebbles available in abundance but soon they made use of cut slabs of lime with the same

ratio of 4:2:1. Sun baked bricks were sometimes used in the

foundations." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupnagar

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Ropar 1,Text 9021(One side of the tablet has two incised circles;

the other side has three glyphs of Indus script).

The occurrence of this archaeological site at Ropar and its identification as an early Indus site

(Period 1) has to be evaluated in the context of geo-hydraulics of the times. Is it not notable that

there are no major site locations identified on the present-day banks of River Sutlej as it moves

westward to join River Beas? Maybe, during the 'mature' phases of the civilization, the path of

the river was NOT westward? It may be helpful if a comprehensive provenance study is carried

out on this stretch of River Sutlej, of the type of study done on Luni river system by Bajpai et al

(as mentioned by Prof. Valdiya).

Museum - Ropar

Archaeological Museum, Ropar (Punjab)

The Archaeological Museum is situated about 40 kms north east of Chandigarh on the

Rupnagar – Chandigarh highway on the bank of sutlej river. It was opened to public in the

year 1998.

Opened to public in the year 1998, the museum houses the archaeological remains of

excavated site near Ropar, the first Harappan site excavated in Independent India. The

excavation revealed a cultural sequence from Harappan to medieval times. Important

exhibits include antiquities of Harappan times, Painted Grey ware culture, Saka, Kushana,

Gupta times such as Vina Vadini (lady playing on vina), steatite seal, copper and bronze

implements, ring stone, yakshi image, gold coins of Chandragupta. Besides, the visitors

can have a glimpse of important protected monuments of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal

Pradesh and World Heritage monuments.

Timings of visit: 10.00 am to 5.00 pm.

Closed on - Friday

Entrance Fee: Rs. 2.00

(Children up to 15 years free) http://asi.nic.in/asi_museums_ropar.asp

Discussion

19

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/05/24/1112743109

I think Dr. Giosan et al have, in particular, to explain the date when Sarasvati ceased to be

a himalayan-fed river. The archaeological evidence is emphatic that west of Ropar

(Rupanagar) where River Sutlej took a 90-degree turn to abandon feeding into Sarasvati-

Ghaggar-Hakra system, there are NO archaeological sites. There is evidence for sites such

as Kunal, Banawali, Kalibangan on the palaeo-channels of Sutlej linking Ropar with

Ghaggar.

See image: http://tinyurl.com/burrxq2 (Posted also on the blogpost of Jan. 2013)

This indicates that Sutlej as a himalayan-fed tributary of Sarasvati system did contribute to

the sustenance of the sites at Kunal, Banawali, Kalibangan.

I am sure that the deliberation on scientific issues will help identify and explain the

navigability of the channels on Sarasvati river system which facilitated trade links with

Mesopotamia, navigating across the river channels, and the Persian Gulf. Navigability may

explain the find of a cylinder seal at Kalibangan with glyphs comparable to those found in

the sites of Tigris-Euphrates river basin, perhaps created by sea-faring merchants from

Meluhha.

http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.in/2013/11/evidence-for-sutlej-sarasvati-as.html