Cosmography and Geography in Early Indian Literature c5.s3.11

c5.s3.11

The Ṛgvedic Aryans regarded some of the rivers as divinities. Thus the Sarasvatī is called devitamā (the best among the goddesses).⁸⁶ In the Āprī hymns, she is associated with the goddess Bhāratī who was the divine protective power of the Bharata people dwelling in the Sarasvatī valley.⁸⁷ It is well known that the goddess Sarasvatī=Bhāratī became a famous deity in later times.