Historical Geography of Ancient India c6.219

c6.219

Devikā.—This river is mentioned in Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī (VII. 3. 1), in the Yoginītantra (2. 5. 139ff.), and in the Kālikāpurāṇa (Ch. 24. 137-138). Pargiter has sought to identify this river with the Deeg, a tributary of the river Rāvī (Mārkaṇḍeyapurāṇa, p. 292, note). The Vāmana Purāṇa and the Matsya Purāṇa support this identification (Chs. 81, 84, 89; Ch. 113). According to the Agni Purāṇa (Ch. 200) it flowed through the Sauvīra country. The Padmapurāṇa (uttarakhaṇḍa, vs. 35-38) mentions this river. The Kālikāpurāṇa (Ch. 23. 137-138) refers to its source which is in the Maināka hills in the Sewalik range. This river has also been identified with the river Devā or Devikā in U.P., which is another name for the southern course of the Sarayū (Agra Guide and Gazetteer, 1841, II, pp. 120, 252). According to the Kālikāpurāṇa it flowed between the Gomatī and the Sarayū. The Anuśāsanaparva of the Mahābhārata (śls. 7645 and 7647) suggests that the Devikā and the Sarayū were not the one and the same river.