Early in the twenty-first century India witnessed an event that some viewed as miraculous: the resurgence of rivers in the desert. Hindu writings make many references to a river that flowed in a region that has been arid for millennia. The Rig Veda honors Saraswati as the River, the Mother, and the Goddess. At the time of the Mahabharata, it was already known that the Saraswati river had dried up in the desert. Gradually, Saraswati, the flowing woman who materialized from Brahma’s head, evolved into the goddess of knowledge, music, and the arts.
On January 26, 2001, an earthquake that measured 7.6 on the Richter scale wrought havoc in India. Its epicenter was in the State of Gujarat, but the quakes were felt as far as one thousand miles away. Immediately afterward, a number of rivers sprung forth. One of these rivers began to flow in the arid, salty, and barren thirty thousand square kilometer expanse known as the Rann of Kutch. It measured over one hundred kilometers in length and over eighty meters in width.
Some scientists concluded that the new rivers could be part of the once sacred Saraswati river network that had until then existed only in legends. Others believe that the Indus Valley Civilization—that had endured for one thousand five hundred years—was coming back.
The new rivers that were born from the earthquake may not flow above the ground forever. Their waters may not always remain sweet. Yet the resurrection of the rivers has given credence to legends that puzzled many for thousands of years.
This excerpt is from On Hinduism by Irina Gajjar. To purchase the book, visit our Amazon Link.
