[Nectar] Sarasvati River

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By Deena Bandhu dasa

 

Regarding the Sarasvati River, Jaya Vijaya who wrote the Ganga book

sent me the following information:

 

There is a common understanding that whenever and wherever Ganga and

Yamuna join, then Sarasvati is also there, and visa-versa at times!

 

The Brahma-vaivarta Purana explains why Sarasvati no longer exists in

her full glory: When Ganga-devi cursed Sarasvati-devi to become a river

here on Mrtyuloka, one of the conditions was that she would only remain

on earth as long as rishis and other great sages performed tapasya on

her banks. Since we are now in Kali-yuga, there are no longer these

great souls performing austerities, so she vanished.

 

There are many dried-up river banks of the Sarasvati that flow a little

during the monsoon. I recall only a few: one near Panipat (Haryana);

near Northern Gujarat; and of course in Prahbasa-tirtha/ksetra or Sind,

where Krsna and Balarama left this mortal world.

 

The Sarasvati in the Mana-Badarinath area, that so beautifully flows

and originates somewhere from Tibetan/China (according the locals), is

the only actual flowing Sarasvati to be physically seen today.

Personally, where she joins the Alakananda at Kesava-prayaga is my

favorite Himalayan bathing area. Words can't describe her beauty when

the sun is shinning fully. We know that the Vyasadeva's original

asrama is situated in Uttara-Badari, which is in another realm and

inaccessible to humans. It's mentioned in the SB (1.4.15) that

Vyasa's asrama is on the western banks of the Sarasvati. The current

Vyasa-gufa/asrama in Mana, where most pilgrims/tourists visit, is an

expansion of the original asrama and is located on the eastern bank of

the Sarasvati. So it may possible that the present day Sarasvati River

that we see in Mana at Kesava-prayaga is an expansion of the one

mentioned in the SB?

 

"They" always say Sarasvati is mystical at Prayaga, but just go to

the Himalayas and see for your self! Scientists claim that there is an

underground source of the Sarasvati. If that is true, then she has a

double appearance at the Triveni. The more the better! Just as some

demigods take various human forms during the Kumbha-melas, it may be

possible she also personally appears during the Kumbha-melas in a

different form, as with Ganga-devi and Yamuna-devi.

 

As mentioned in the Puranas, when Kali-yuga progresses in sinful life,

Ganga will finally disappear from this planet (in 5,000 years or so),

and then all other scared rivers and tirthas will also vanish and hide

until next Satya-yuga. In one way, Sarasvati is fortunate being already

gone except in the Himalayas!

 

In our travels, we've had darshan of 5 different

Triveni-sangamas/ghatas (and there must be many more):

 

1) Prayaga-raja or Triveni-sangama: The Sarasvati joins the Alakananda

at Kesava-prayaga@Mana-Badarinath and then they join the Bhagirathi at

Deva-prayaga (becoming the Ganga). Then they travel through Rishikesh,

Haridvara, Sukatala, Soro-ksetra, Kanyakubja, Bithur and finally

Prayaga where they join the Yamuna.

 

2) Rishikesh or Triveni-ghata: The Ganga and Sarasvati are already

together flowing down from Mana. Near the banks of the Ganga in

Rishikesh there is Rishi-kund which is non-different from the Yamuna,

thus becoming Triveni-ghata.

 

3) Gangani or Jamadagni's asrama: On the banks of the Yamuna in

Gangani in the Himalayas there is Jamadagni Rishi-kunda which is

non-different than Gomukh-jala. Just opposite Gangani is another large

river (I can't recall the Garhwali name) that is considered

Sarasvati, thus another Triveni-sangama.

 

4) Saptagrama or Triveni-ghata: In Saptagrama (West Bengal, just south

of Kalna and Jirat) there is another Triveni where the seven sages

performed tapasya. Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvati eternally flow there and

Lord Nityananda visited this place.

 

5) Mayapura Dhama or Antardvipa: The Ganga & Yamuna are already flowing

together coming from Prayaga. The Ganga flows on the Mayapura side and

the Yamuna flows in the Navadvipa township side. Then they meet the

Jalangi, which is also the Sarasvati, thus creating the original

Triveni-sangama known today as Hular-ghata.

 

Also see:

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/recent_research_on_the_sarasvati_river.htm

 

In service of Srimati Vrinda Devi, Deena Bandhu dasa

 

 

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