Historical Geography of Ancient India c6.221

c6.221

Dṛṣadvatī.—This river which is mentioned in the Ṛgveda (III, 23-4) has been described as the southern and eastern boundary of what was then known as Brahmāvarta (II. 17). According to the Mahābhārata, it seems to have formed one of the boundaries of Kurukṣetra (Vanaparva, 5074). In the Kālikāpurāṇa (Ch. 51. 77ff.) it is mentioned as looking like the Ganges (Gaṅgā). The confluence of the Dṛṣadvatī and the Kauśikī was of peculiar sanctity. This river has been identified with the modern Citrang which runs parallel to the Sarasvatī (Rapson, Ancient India, p. 51; Imperial Gazetteer of India, p. 26). The origin of this river may be traced to the hills of Sirmur. Elphinstone and Todd sought to identify it with the Ghagar flowing through Ambala and Sind but now lost in the desert sands of Rajputana (J.A.S.B., VI, 181), while Cunningham found in it the river Rākshi that flows by the south-east of Thaneswar (Archaeological Survey Report, XIV). Some have identified this river with the modern Chitang or Chitrung (J.R.A.S., 25, 58). The Vāmana Purāṇa (Ch. 34) takes the Kauśikī to be a branch of Dṛṣadvatī. The Bhāgavata Purāṇa also refers to it as a river (V. 19, 18; X, 71, 22). The Yoginītantra (2. 5. 139ff.) mentions this river.