Drishadvati River

Location

Although the Drishadvati is mentioned several times in Sanskrit Granthas, a detailed description of the river is not found in other ancient literature and this has generated speculation about its source and route. The Latyayana Srautasutra (10.17) describes it as a seasonal river, with the Saraswati a perennial river until its vinasana (10.15-19).

The Drishadvati is mentioned in Brahmanas written primarily in the state of Brahmavarta. According to these texts, the river originated in the pot of Brahma: Pushkar Lake, near Ajmer. The Sarasvati, with four branches flowing in different directions, originated in the hills near Pushkar. Drishadvati was the branch flowing north. Most of the ashrams of the Rishis who compiled the Rigveda were on the river, between Pushkar and Dhosi Hill in Brahmavarta. According to the Rigveda, the Drishadvati was preferred for religious sacrifices by the Vedic people.

In the Manu Smriti, the Drishadvati and the Sarasvati define the boundaries of the Vedic state of Brahmavarta: "It says that the land, created by the Gods, which lies between the two divine rivers Sarasvati and Drishadvati, the (sages) call Brahmavarta." The text also says that although the Sarasvati formed the northern boundary of Kuru Pradesh, the Drishadvati flowed in south of Kuru Pradesh and north of Brahmavarta. According to the Mahabharata, the southern boundary of Kuru Pradesh was Guru Drona's ashram (present-day Gurgaon at one end and Rohtak and Jhajjar at the other); therefore, the Drishadvati flowed in the southern portions of these cities. Although about 100 streams flowed south to north in the 200-kilometre (120 mi)-wide Aravalli Range during the Vedic period, the only large river is the present-day Sahibi. The Sahibi has a lower flow at present because of low rainfall in its catchment area and has a wide, dry bed which carries water from the districts of Jaipur, Sikar, Alwar Rewari, Jhajjar, Rohtak and Delhi into the Yamuna.

The Drishadvati is mentioned in the Rigveda (RV 3.23.4) with the Sarasvati and Apaya. According to the Rigveda, the Brahmanas and the Kalpa, Vedic sacrifices were performed on this river and on the Sarasvati. In the Srimad Bhagavatam, the Drishadvati is a transcendental river.