The Geography of the Puranas c8.11

c8.11

The four rivers mentioned above and their corresponding lakes have been discussed and identified¹ in the following chapters, which deal with the geography of the major regions of Jambū Dvīpa. It may, however, be mentioned that the nomenclature of the rivers has been a source of constant trouble. It is not peculiar to the Purāṇas alone. Even today in certain regions the main channel of a river assumes a different name after every bend. Chitral, Asnar, Yasin, Kunar and Mustaj, for instance, are names given to different parts of the same river. Similarly Tashkurgan, Taghdumbash, Dangubash, Sarikol, Karat-Chukor, Tisnaf, Chiragh Tau and Almaligh are the names of different parts of a single river. In Ladakh the Indus is known by many names, so is the Sutlej. The names Karnālī, Gogra, Śaradā and Kurialī all pertain to one river, and these are in addition to its purely Tibetan names. Where two affluents join, the combined stream is frequently given a name differing from those of either tributary: Gaṅgā is the name given to the river formed by the junction of the Alakanandā and Bhāgīrathī, and yet the Purāṇas apply the name Gaṅgā to either of them. Thus, while it is common for a river to be known by many names, it is equally common for the same name to be used for different rivers. The names Sarayū, Rāmagaṅgā, Kālī, Dhaulī, Kosī, Śaradā are all given to more than one Himalayan river; the Great Kālī river, for instance, has the alternative name Śaradā. Dhaulī is the name of a tributary of the Kālī in Kumaon and also of a tributary of Alakanandā. Kizil Sū is the name of two rivers flowing in opposite directions from a pass in the Alai valley. In this respect, the name Gaṅgā is perhaps the most common of all. It has been given ever since ancient times to many large rivers particularly to those which have been considered sacred. In Bhāratavarṣa alone we have the Pen-Gaṅgā, Waingaṅgā, Rāmagaṅgā, Kṛṣnagaṅgā, Viṣnugaṅgā and a number of other ‘Gaṅgās which we can easily locate on any modern map. The Gaṅgā of the Purāṇas may be easily taken to denote any river of the Seven Dwīpas which is as big, and as beneficial as the Gaṅgā proper.