The Geography of the Puranas c10.41

c10.41

In the list. Except the Gaṅgā and the Yamunā, no river of the Gangetic system is represented here. Alberuni's list of these rivers is based on the Purāṇas but in it we find a sequence from west to east. This sequence has been helpful in identifying some of the rivers in the Purāṇic list. His list runs as follows: Siṅh, Biyatta, Candraba, Biyāha, Irāvatī, Śatarudra, Sarsat (Saraswatī), Jaun (Yamunā), Gaṅga, Sarayū, Devikā Kuhn, Gomati, Dhutpāpā, Viśālā, Bāhudāsu, Kausikī, Niścīrā, Gaṇḍakī, Lohitā. For the identification of these rivers, the following two facts were kept in mind:
(a) These rivers are perennial, they rise from 'snow-clad' ranges and
(b) they rise from the Himalayas. Rivers which do not fulfil these conditions were discarded.