River and Goddess Worship in India: Changing Perceptions and Manifestations of Sarasvati

169 Pages·2017·8.545 MB·English

by  R.U.S. Prasad

This is a commendable book, thorough, carefully researched, ground- breaking,
and generously sensitive to the multiple dimensions of Sarasvati as goddess and
river over the ages. R.U.S. Prasad has very responsibly studied the many
and varied relevant texts, and also paid attention to geographical, architectural,
and iconographic details. He has taken seriously a very long history, without
reducing the meaning of what we learn about Sarasvati simply to historical data.
Scholars and believers both will respect this book and benefit from the immense
learning it contains. It should quickly become a standard resource for the study of
Sarasvati and similar figures in the Vedic and Hindu traditions.
Francis X. Clooney, SJ, Parkman Professor of Divinity and Professor of
Comparative Theology and Director, Center for the Study of World Religions,
Harvard University, USA
This carefully researched study provides an excellent contribution to present con-
troversial debates on the identity of India’s holy river. Of particular relevance in
this context is the critical evaluation of the various theories about Sarasvati’s
identification with the Helmand river in Afghanistan, the Indus and the seasonal
monsoon fed Ghaggar-Hakra river in Haryana and south eastern Pakistan. The
main emphasis and significant capacity of the book is the comprehensive analysis
of the textual evidence from the Rigveda to the Puranas, depicting the successive
stages and facets of Sarasvati’s transformation from a river goddess to the divine
embodiment of speech and learning, fine arts and music.
Professor (Eme.) Hermann Kulke, Kiel University, Germany
Dr R.U.S. Prasad’s work reflects a very thorough study of the available evidence
on Sarasvati. He has effectively demonstrated within the confines of evidence that
Sarasvati was a river in reality eulogized by the Aryans without getting trapped in
the quagmire of an irrelevant archaeological debate. Tracing the evolution of Sar-
asvati through the corpus of later Vedic texts, he has been able to show how the
goddess of river gradually merges with goddess of wisdom and learning. The
coverage of the pilgrimage sites along the course of the Sarasvati and of the
pattern of their clustering mainly in the state of present Haryana is comprehensive;
this perhaps derives from the early tradition of the sanctity of Brahmavarta as
sacred space par excellence, although by the time the lists of the tirthas were really
formalized, their sanctity may have been more notional than functional.
Professor (retired) B.D. Chattopadhyaya, Centre for Historical Studies,
Jawaharlal Nehru University, India

River and Goddess Worship in India
Sarasvati assumes different roles, a physical river and a river goddess, then as a
goddess of speech and finally that of a goddess of learning, knowledge, arts and
music. References to Sarasvati in the Vedas and the Brahmanas, the Mahabharata
and the Puranas and her marked presence in other religious orders, such as Bud-
dhism, Jainism and the Japanese religion, form the basis of discussion as regards
her various attributes and manifestations. In Jainism, her counter- part is Sutra-
devi, in Buddhism it is Manjusri and Prajnaparamita and in the Japanese reli-
gion, Benten is the representative goddess. The physical presence of Sarasvati in
various iconic forms is seen in Nepal, Tibet and Japan. Tantrism associated with
Sarasvati also finds reflection in these religious traditions. Sculptors and art his-
torians take delight in interpreting various symbols her iconic forms represent.
The book examines Sarasvati’s origin, the course of her flow and the place of
her disappearance in a holistic manner. Based on a close analysis of texts from
the early Rig- Veda to the Brahmanas and the Puranas, it discusses different
view- points in a balanced perspective and attempts to drive the discussions
towards the emergence of a consensus view. The author delineates the various
phases of Sarasvati’s evolution to establish her unique status and emphasise her
continued relevance in the Hindu tradition. The book argues that the practice of
pilgrimage further evolved after its association with the River Sarasvati who was
perceived as divinity personified in Hindu tradition. This, in turn, led to the
emergence of numerous pilgrimage sites on or near her banks which attracted a
large number of pilgrims.
A multifaceted and interdisciplinary analysis of a Hindu goddess, this book
will be of interest to academics researching South Asian Religion, Hinduism and
Indian Philosophy as also the general readers.
R.U.S. Prasad holds a PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. He is cur-
rently an Associate in the Department of South Asian Studies, Harvard Univer-
sity. He is the author of two books on telecommunications and Rig-V edic and
Post- Rig-Vedic Polity.
Routledge Hindu Studies Series
Series Editor: Gavin Flood, Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
The Routledge Hindu Studies Series, in association with the Oxford Centre for
Hindu Studies, intends the publication of constructive Hindu theological, philo-
sophical and ethical projects aimed at bringing Hindu traditions into dialogue
with contemporary trends in scholarship and contemporary society. The series
invites original, high quality, research level work on religion, culture and society
of Hindus living in India and abroad. Proposals for annotated translations of
important primary sources and studies in the history of the Hindu religious tradi-
tions will also be considered.
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The Vedānta of Rāmānuja with Special Reference to
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A philosophical-t heological inquiry
Debating “Conversion” in Hinduism Julius J. Lipner
and Christianity
Ankur Barua River and Goddess Worship
in India
Non- violence in the Mahabharata Changing Perceptions and
Siva’s Summa on Rishidharma and the Manifestations of Sarasvati
Gleaners of Kurukshetra R.U.S. Prasad
Alf Hiltebeitel
River and Goddess Worship
in India
Changing Perceptions and Manifestations
of Sarasvati
R.U.S. Prasad
First published 2017
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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© 2017 R.U.S. Prasad
The right of R.U.S. Prasad to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
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without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Prasad, R. U. S., author.
Title: River and goddess worship in India : changing perceptions and
manifestations of Sarasvati / R.U.S. Prasad.
Description: New York : Routledge, 2017. | Series: Routledge Hindu
studies series | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016054664| ISBN 9781138630444 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781315209401 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Sarasvatåi (Hindu deity) | India–Religion.
Classification: LCC BL1225.S25 P73 2017 | DDC 294.5/2114–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016054664
ISBN: 978-1-138-63044-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-20940-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
Dedicated to my wife Kanchan who has been a source of great
strength to me.

Contents
List of figures xi
List of maps xii
List of tables xiii
Foreword xiv
Preface xv
Acknowledgements xvii
List of abbreviations xix
1 Introduction 1
2 Origin of the Vedic River Sarasvati – various theories 8
3 Sarasvati in ancient Indian texts – an overview 27
4 Sarasvati in the Rig- Veda 30
5 Sarasvati in the Yajur-V eda and the Atharva- Veda 37
Sarasvati and the Yajur- Veda (YV) 38
Sarasvati and the Atharva-V eda (AV) 40
6 Sarasvati in the Brahmanas 44
Aitareya Brahmana (AB) 45
Kausitaki Brahmana (KB) 46
Jaiminiya Brahmana (JB) 46
Satapatha Brahmana (SB) 46
Pancavimsa Brahmana (PB) 47
7 Sarasvati and other deities in Vedic texts 52
Sarasvati and Ila 52
Sarasvati and Bharati 53
Sarasvati and male deities 54