The Religions of India c8.26

c8.26

Not till the time of the Atharva Veda do the Aryans appear as far east as Benares (Vārānasī, on the ‘Varanāvatī’?), though the Sarayu is mentioned in the Rik. But this scarcely is the tributary of the Ganges, Gogra, for the name seems to refer to a more western stream, since it is associated with the Gomati (Gomal). One may surmise that in the time of the Rig Veda the Aryans knew only by name the country east of Lucknow. It is in the Punjab and a little to the west and east of it (how far it is impossible to state with accuracy) where lies the real theatre of activity of the Rig Vedic people.