The research paper by Chatterjee, A., Ray, J.S.,
Shukla, A.D. et al tilted “On
the existence of a perennial river in the Harappan heartland” in nature.com
offers a new dimension to prove Mr Nilesh Oak’s date of Mahabharata as wrong. According
to this research the river Sarasvatī was perennial between 9ka and 4.5ka and
was receiving sediments from the Higher and Lesser Himalayas. This period “can
be attributed to the reactivation of the river by the distributaries of the Sutlej.”
It was within this period Mr Nilesh Oak has located his date of Mahabharata
war!
His date, 5561 BCE falls at a time when the river Sarasvatī
was well fed by stronger monsoonal waters whereas the river was missing at Udapana
and Vinasana in its course downstream, according to Mahabharata. This
means that at the time of Mahabharata the river was not flowing continuously in
full strength until it reached its estuary.
Taking exception to the findings of this research,
Mr Nilesh Oak posted the following in twitter, which contrary to what he wanted
to do - that is, reject the research findings - turned out to be an acceptance
of the traditional date of Mahabharata!
The last point (within box) acceding to
intensification of monsoon until 4500 BCE and abrupt drying by 3000-2000 BCE
augurs well for the traditional date of Mahabharata (3136 BCE) and not for his
date at 5561 BCE! Sarasvatī was brimming at his date of Mahabharata war.
Let me reproduce below the figure furnished by the
authors linking the Harappan settlements with sediment provenance to prove that
the settlements of Mahabharata characters such as Jayadratha and other Sindhu
kings in the Indus region could not be dated earlier than 5.8 ka (=3800 BCE)
{Evolution of the Ghaggar from changes in
sediment provenance and the Harappan settlement dynamics. (A)
Stratigraphic changes in sediment Sr-Nd isotopic compositions in the Ghaggar
alluvium during last 20 ka. Symbols and abbreviations are as in Fig. 1. (B)
Evolution of the Harappan civilization in north-western India and eastern
Pakistan as inferred from the settlement dynamics through ages (9.0-3.5 ka)7,10,47,48. Modern and inferred former
courses (dashed lines) of the major Himalayan rivers are also shown. I: Indus;
J: Jhelum; C: Chenab; B: Beas; S: Sutlej; SS: Saraswati (Ghaggar); Y: Yamuna;
G: Ganga}.
The bottom figure at right (B) shows absence of
settlements in Mr Oak’s date of Mahabharata. But there were settlements at the
time of Mahabharata in the Indus region. The Indus region was occupied by
Jayadratha and 10 other kingdoms stretching upto Afghanistan at the time of
Mahabharata. It presupposes beginning of occupation in the Indus region
sometime before Mahabharata times. It had started only from 5.8ka (3800 BCE) which
goes well with the traditional date of Mahabharata and not Mr Oak’s date.
The Pandavas did not cross the river Sindhu at that
time as known from Yudhishthira’s words during the dice game, when he referred
to Parsana at the east of Sindhu as the western limit of his kingdom. The
second figure from the bottom of B matches with this description. Most
settlements were along Sarasvatī, but some were around the Sindhu and its
tributaries, the regions of Sindhu kings. With early Harappan coinciding with
the traditional Mahabharata date, this research is proof of traditional date
and not Mr Nilesh Oak’s date.
The research findings are consistent with Valdiya’s
paper published in Current Science
highlighting the periods of heavy rainfall. The figure reproduced from his
paper shows “heavy rains at 15,300, 14,700 and 11,500–10,800 yrs BP and very
heavy rains between 9500 and 5500 yrs BP.” The rains must have occurred due
to Western Disturbance (WD). The dynamics of WD is such that it was heavy following
the end of Glacial Maxima.
The rains peaked between 9500 BP to 5500 BP and this
matches with the results of the current research of testing the sediments for
dating. It was only after this period Sarasvatī started drying up, that
coincided with Mahabharata times. In contrast Mr Nilesh Oak’s date at 5561 BCE
had seen heavy rains followed by a thousand year long very heavy rains that kept
the lakes of Thar desert filled with water all the time. Would he call this
also a ‘weak claim’ by Singhvi and Kale?
Mr Nilesh Oak’s date of Ramayana debunked
by this research.
The above figure also unsettles his date of Ramayana
located at 12K+ BCE. The period was dry at that time which is contrary to
Ramayana description of Sarayū overflowing in rainy season (told by Rama. VR
4-28-56).
The name Sarayū like Sarasvatī is also traced to the
root word, Saras, the pond. Valmiki Ramayana (1.24.10) says that Sarayū
originated in Manasa Lake (near Mt Kailash). This
means de-glaciation had started before that time which is impossible for Mr Oak’s
date of Ramayana. His Ramayana date occurs at Pleistocene, when the Himalayas
and most of north India were wrapped under extreme cold conditions giving no
scope for formation of Manasa Lake near Mt Kailash. Under such conditions, from
where did Sarayū originate?
Rig Veda has references to river Sarayū on par with Sarasvatī.
“Let the great Streams come hither with their mighty
help, Sindhu, Sarasvatī, and Sarayū with waves” says Rig Veda 10.64. Another verse brings out the malevolence of Sarayū in causing hardship to Arya Citraratha. This
verse is from 4th Mandala, verse number 30-18. The 4th
Mandala is one of the oldest according to Mr Oak that he places it before 22k+
BP.
Per this, the mighty Sarayū
that washed away Arya Citraratha can be dated at before 22ka! That was the time
of Last Glacial Maxima with ice sheets spread all across the Himalayan region
and Tibetan plateau. This wipes out any chance for the formation of Manasa Lake
in the Himalayas in which Sarayū had originated. There is no scope for monsoonal
rains either to feed Sarayū. The global sea level at that time was below 125
metres than it is now which means the Indian monsoons (South west and North east)
had not yet started. From where did Sarayū get its furiously flowing waters at
22ka + at the time this verse was
composed in Mr Oak’s opinion?
Rig Vedic verses on Sarasvatī concur
with Holocene rains.
The peak monsoon running for thousands of years
after the start of Holocene matches well with Rig Vedic description of Sarasvatī.
The Rig Vedic description, “Pure in her course from
mountains to the ocean” (Rig Veda 7.95.2), “Seven sistered-, sprung from
threefold source” (Rig Veda 6.61.12) and “swelling with streams” (Rig Veda
7.96.6) on her way to the ocean match well with Sutlej and other tributaries in
North West feeding into Sarasvatī.
The description of Vājasaneyi Samhita (Book 34- verse 11) on how Sarasvatī flowed
in her early days (See Griffith 1899:281): “Five rivers
flowing on their way speed onward to Sarasvatī, but then became Sarasvatī
a fivefold river in the land” had happened at early Holocene when
monsoon peaked. This verse implies that the five rivers of the Sindhu
joined with Sarasvatī in the place of their origin. It was a fused water
body of enormous size at that time – perhaps the ‘Saras’
(pond) from which Sarasvatī flowed down. The Rig Vedic hymns on Indra were
aimed at getting relief from the destructive rains and subsequent floods.
Turning a Nelson’s eye to the excellent
synchronisation of Rig Vedic verses to the incidence of rainfall found out in the
research, Mr Nilesh Oak has pushed the date of Rig Veda to 22+ ka when LGM
peaked. Only South East Asia was warm and Sundaland was kicking with life then.
Genesis of Harappan Unicorn from Sarasvatī
The image of Unicorn (Varaha), the most widely found
symbol of the Harappan settlements holds the key to tracing continuity from Rig
Vedic Sarasvatī in the ‘lake’ from the rainy period around 9ka to the Harappan
phase that coincides with post Mahabharata date.
The first ever reference in Rig Veda to Varāha comes
in the context of battering by heavy rains. ‘Vṛtra’, the boar (Varaha) was
lying in the water, put to sleep by the mighty thunder of Indra (Rig Veda
1.121.11). When water subsided in course of time and the land forms arose, it
was a manifestation of Varāha. It was personified as though Varāha
lifted up Mother Earth (Bhū Devī) and kept her on its lap. The first
ever place that was lifted up, perhaps came to be identified as the root or
origin of Varāha and hence came to be called as Varāhamūla
(Baramulla). This place was on the ridges close to Jhelum River, the highest
point of the huge body of water that was Kashmir. This was the first place that
became visible when water receded.
Entire region was once under water extending upto Jhelum in
the west.
The presence of Mānasarāwar lake (presently
known as Manasbal Lake, an ox-bow of Jhelum) and Kailāś ranges[1] in
this part of Himalayas in Kashmir (Drew 1875:312-313) and the reference to Sarasvatī
as originating from Mānasa lake (Figure 13) in the hymn of Vasiṣṭha
(MB 9.40) match well with the description of her origins in Saras.
Lake Mānasa and
Kailāś
range in Kashmir
The once flooded Sarasvatī (and then gone
dry) started getting dotted with land mass with a number of lakes forming in
her upper course in Kashmir. The exposed or lifted lands rich with sedimentary
soil gave good sustenance for vegetation and living. Glorification of Varāha
in this region must have started with
this. The occupants of this region (Sindhu Kings) continued to hold Varaha in high
esteem. Varaha was the royal emblem of the Sindhu King Jayadratha of
Mahabharata fame.
The presence of Unicorn (Varāha) seal found only
in this region, (Harappan) can be justified from the above account. Whoever
later adapted Varāha can be said to have originated from the people of
this region. But what remains in the final analysis is that the concept of Varaha
that came up with the rising of land forms from the once battered- by- rains
regions of Sindhu- Sarasvatī had continued to remain with Sindhu occupants
before and after Mahabharata times (as Harappan) and as relics at our times, enabling us to
trace back its history to the beginning of Holocene when Sarasvatī was a
bountiful river – a feature established again by the recent research.
[1] Francis Drew
quotes the location of Kailāś from Cunningham’s book ‘Ladakh’. It was
a ridge behind Leh, between the Indus and Shayok and was called Kailāś or Gangri range.
The name Kailāś was taken from a peak near Mānasarāwar lake, presently known as
Manasbal lake in J&K.
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