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====चतुःसमुद्राः ॥ Four seas====

====चतुःसमुद्राः ॥ Four seas====

It is known that the present peninsular Indian subcontinent is surrounded by three seas (Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and the Arabian sea in the present terms). In many mantras of Rgveda there is a mention about "'''two seas (उभी समुद्रौ)'''" namely the 'पूर्व (purva)' which refers to the Bay of Bengal and 'पर (para)' samudra refers to Arabian sea (Rigveda 10.136.5).<ref name=":4" /> It is important to note that Rgvedic texts mention about the presence of a fourth sea in the northern region of India below the Himalayas. The following mantras mention the term '''"four seas (चतुःसमुद्राः)"'''<blockquote>रायः समुद्राँश्चतुरोऽस्मभ्यं सोम विश्वत: । आ पवस्व सहस्रिण: ॥६॥ (Rg. Veda 9.33.6)</blockquote>Here Rshi Trita prays to Soma to help him bring the vast wealth found in the four seas.<ref name=":2" /><blockquote>स्वायुधं स्ववसं सुनीथं । चतुःसमुद्रं धरुणं रयीणाम् ॥ (Rg. Veda. 10.47.2)</blockquote>Rshi Saptagu prays to Indra that the treasures available in the four seas  may be bestowed on him to make him prosperous.<ref name=":2" />

It is known that the present peninsular Indian subcontinent is surrounded by three seas (Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and the Arabian sea in the present terms). In many mantras of Rgveda there is a mention about "'''two seas (उभी समुद्रौ)'''" namely the 'पूर्व (purva)' which refers to the Bay of Bengal and 'पर (para)' samudra refers to Arabian sea (Rigveda 10.136.5).<ref name=":4" /> It is important to note that Rgvedic texts mention about the presence of a fourth sea in the northern region of India below the Himalayas. The following mantras mention the term '''"four seas (चतुःसमुद्राः)"'''<blockquote>रायः समुद्राँश्चतुरोऽस्मभ्यं सोम विश्वत: । आ पवस्व सहस्रिण: ॥६॥ (Rg. Veda 9.33.6)</blockquote>Here Rshi Trita prays to Soma to help him bring the vast wealth found in the four seas.<ref name=":2" /><blockquote>स्वायुधं स्ववसं सुनीथं । चतुःसमुद्रं धरुणं रयीणाम् ॥ (Rg. Veda. 10.47.2)</blockquote>Rshi Saptagu prays to Indra that the treasures available in the four seas  may be bestowed on him to make him prosperous<ref name=":2" />.

A clear reference to two seas ('''उभौ समुद्रौ'''), the east and west <blockquote>

A clear reference to two seas ('''उभौ समुद्रौ'''), the east and west <blockquote>

वात॒स्याश्वो॑ वा॒योः सखाथो॑ दे॒वेषि॑तो॒ '''मुनि॑:''' । उ॒भौ स॑मु॒द्रावा क्षे॑ति॒ यश्च॒ पूर्व॑ उ॒ताप॑रः ॥५॥ (Rg. Veda. 10.136.5)</blockquote>Summary: ''"The Muni is the aerial steed and friend of Vayu, whom all the Devas feel an eagerness to behold and who dwells in both the seas-that which is in the east and that which is in the west".''  

वात॒स्याश्वो॑ वा॒योः सखाथो॑ दे॒वेषि॑तो॒ '''मुनि॑:''' । उ॒भौ स॑मु॒द्रावा क्षे॑ति॒ यश्च॒ पूर्व॑ उ॒ताप॑रः ॥५॥ (Rg. Veda. 10.136.5)</blockquote>Summary: ''"The Muni is the aerial steed and friend of Vayu, whom all the Devas feel an eagerness to behold and who dwells in both the seas-that which is in the east and that which is in the west".''  

According to A. C. Das, the Muni referred to here is identified with Keshi or Sun whose rays are like the golden hairs of an ascetic. The Sun is also compared to a horse in the Rgveda. Keshi or Sun dwells both in the Eastern and Western seas, because he is seen to rise from the Eastern sea and sink down into the Western sea. Now this Eastern sea could be none other than the sea that washed the eastern shores of Sapta Sindhu. It is over this sea that the Ashvini devatas preceded and heralded the Dawn, used to come to Sapta-sindhu, sailing in their boats which they left moored in the harbour on the sea coast (1.46.8). Further it was from the depth of these waters that the Sun was seen, from the shores of Sapta Sindhu, to emerge and ascend the sky (Rg. Veda. 3.55.1). These waters were, rightly regarded as "the birth-place of the Sun", and "the mother of the Asvins". The western sea into which Keshi or the Sun sank down to rest was undoubtedly an arm of the Arabian sea which, in those days ran up the present lower valley of the Indus along the foot of the Western Range and covered a large portion of the present province of Sind (presently in Pakistan).<ref name=":7">Das, A. C. (1920) ''Rgvedic India, Cultural History of India as depicted in the Rgveda.'' New Delhi: Cosmo Publications </ref>  

According to '''A. C. Das<ref name=":7" />''', the Muni referred to here is identified with Keshi or Sun whose rays are like the golden hairs of an ascetic. The Sun is also compared to a horse in the Rgveda. Keshi or Sun dwells both in the Eastern and Western seas, because he is seen to rise from the Eastern sea and sink down into the Western sea. Now this '''Eastern sea''' could be none other than the sea that washed the eastern shores of Sapta Sindhu. It is over this sea that the Ashvini devatas preceded and heralded the Dawn, used to come to Sapta-sindhu, sailing in their boats which they left moored in the harbour on the sea coast (1.46.8). Further it was from the depth of these waters that the Sun was seen, from the shores of Sapta Sindhu, to emerge and ascend the sky (Rg. Veda. 3.55.1). These waters were, rightly regarded as "the birth-place of the Sun", and "the mother of the Asvins". The '''Western Sea''' into which Keshi or the Sun sank down to rest was undoubtedly an arm of the Arabian sea which, in those days ran up the present lower valley of the Indus along the foot of the Western Range and covered a large portion of the present province of Sind (presently in Pakistan).<ref name=":7">Das, A. C. (1920) ''Rgvedic India, Cultural History of India as depicted in the Rgveda.'' New Delhi: Cosmo Publications </ref>  

We see that of these four seas, the Rgveda mentions about two, the 'पूर्व (purva)' and 'अपर (apara)' samudras very clearly. The Purva (or अवर-Avara) samudra also called as Arvavat (अर्वावत्) is where the sunrises and the Apara (or पर - Para) samudra also called as Paraavat (परावत्) is where the sun sets. The Arabian sea is the Paraavat sea where the Sindhu and its tributaries drain into. It however, ran up the present lower valley of the Indus along the foot of the Western Range, and covered a large portion of the present province of Sindh. However, scholars opine that the Eastern sea or the Purva (Apara or Arvaavat) sea is not the same as the Bay of Bengal as this bay is very far from where the Saptasindhu rivers were flowing. It has been proposed that land areas that are now known to be Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, i.e., the gangetic plains were we find the rivers Ganga and Yamuna, were once areas of a sea (in the Pleistocene era) which got filled with the sands brought down by the rivers and became plains.<ref name=":42">Pt. Upadhyaya, Baldev. (2012 Second Edition) ''Samskrit Vangmay ke Brihad Itihas, Vol 1, Veda.'' Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Sansthan. (Pages 515-531)</ref> Geological evidence goes on to show that there were actually three seas on the three sides of Saptasindhu, i.e., the Eastern, the Western and the Southern and the fourth sea logically must have been somewhere on the north beyond the Himalayas. There is a mention that a deep trough (sea) did exist at the foot of the Himalayan range in ancient geological times as per Mr. Wadia (in his Geology of India book). This trough or sea lasted through long ages during which it was gradually filled up with alluvium into which were embedded the remains of a rich varied fauna "of herbivores, carnivores, rodents and of primates, the highest order of the mammals," brought down by the rivers and streams.<blockquote>ये अ॑स्या आ॒चर॑णेषु दध्रि॒रे स॑मु॒द्रे न श्र॑व॒स्यव॑: ॥३॥ (Rg. Veda. 1.48.3)<ref>Rgveda ([https://vedicheritage.gov.in/samhitas/rigveda/shakala-samhita/rigveda-shakala-samhitas-mandal-01-sukta-048/ Mandala 1 Sukta 48])</ref></blockquote>According to Dr. A. C. Das, geological evidence proves that such a sea did actually exist in ancient times, stretching from below the highlands of modern Turkestan towards Siberia on one side, and from the confines of Mongolia to the Black Sea, on the other, covering an immense area. This sea disappeared in comparatively recent geological times, leaving the Black Sea, the Sea of Aral, Lake Balkash, and an extensive depression low, dry and converted into steppes, as its remnants. The Black Sea was not at that time connected with the Mediterranean, and its western shores formed the Isthmus of Bosphorus linking Europe with Asia. On the confines of East Turkestan also there was in ancient times another immense Asiatic Mediterranean Sea, of which Lake Lobnor is the remnant. These stern geological facts are corroborated in Rgvedic mantras. We can see the effects of climate change reflected in the mantras and the disappearance of one of the four seas around the Sapta Sindhu, and the upheaval of a vast tract of arid desert in the South. Dr. Das's discussion about various geological evidences<blockquote>''"clearly proved the existence of the four seas mentioned in the Rgveda, round about the region, inhabited by the ancient Aryans, which included Sapta-sindhu on the south, Bactriana and Eastern Turkestan on the north, Gandhara on the west and the upper valleys of the Ganga and Yamuna on the east. The age of the Rgveda, therefore, must be as old as the existence of these four seas in ancient times."'' <ref name=":7" /></blockquote>It is time we delve deeper into the geological testimony which supports the vast antiquity of Rgveda stretching back to times immemorial.<ref name=":7" />

We see that of the four seas, the Rgveda mentions about two, the 'पूर्व (purva)' and 'अपर (apara)' samudras very clearly. The Purva (or अवर-Avara) samudra also called as Arvavat (अर्वावत्) is where the sunrises and the Apara (or पर - Para) samudra also called as Paraavat (परावत्) is where the sun sets. The Arabian sea is the Paraavat sea where the Sindhu and its tributaries drain into. It however, ran up the present lower valley of the Indus along the foot of the Western Range, and covered a large portion of the present province of Sindh. However, scholars opine that the Eastern sea or the Purva (Apara or Arvaavat) sea is not the same as the Bay of Bengal as this bay is very far from where the Saptasindhu rivers were flowing. It has been proposed that land areas that are now known to be Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, i.e., the gangetic plains were we find the rivers Ganga and Yamuna, were once areas of a sea (in the Pleistocene era) which got filled with the sands brought down by the rivers and became plains.<ref name=":42">Pt. Upadhyaya, Baldev. (2012 Second Edition) ''Samskrit Vangmay ke Brihad Itihas, Vol 1, Veda.'' Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Sansthan. (Pages 515-531)</ref>

 

Geological evidence goes on to show that there were actually three seas on the three sides of Saptasindhu, i.e., the Eastern, the Western and the Southern and the fourth sea logically must have been somewhere on the north beyond the Himalayas. There is a mention that a deep trough (sea) did exist at the foot of the Himalayan range in ancient geological times as per Mr. Wadia (in his Geology of India book). This trough or sea lasted through long ages during which it was gradually filled up with alluvium into which were embedded the remains of a rich varied fauna "of herbivores, carnivores, rodents and of primates, the highest order of the mammals," brought down by the rivers and streams.<blockquote>ये अ॑स्या आ॒चर॑णेषु दध्रि॒रे स॑मु॒द्रे न श्र॑व॒स्यव॑: ॥३॥ (Rg. Veda. 1.48.3)<ref>Rgveda ([https://vedicheritage.gov.in/samhitas/rigveda/shakala-samhita/rigveda-shakala-samhitas-mandal-01-sukta-048/ Mandala 1 Sukta 48])</ref></blockquote>According to Dr. A. C. Das, geological evidence proves that such a sea did actually exist in ancient times, stretching from below the highlands of modern Turkestan towards Siberia on one side, and from the confines of Mongolia to the Black Sea, on the other, covering an immense area. This sea disappeared in comparatively recent geological times, leaving the Black Sea, the Sea of Aral, Lake Balkash, and an extensive depression low, dry and converted into steppes, as its remnants. The Black Sea was not at that time connected with the Mediterranean, and its western shores formed the Isthmus of Bosphorus linking Europe with Asia. On the confines of East Turkestan also there was in ancient times another immense Asiatic Mediterranean Sea, of which Lake Lobnor is the remnant. These stern geological facts are corroborated in Rgvedic mantras. We can see the effects of climate change reflected in the mantras and the disappearance of one of the four seas around the Sapta Sindhu, and the upheaval of a vast tract of arid desert in the South. Dr. Das's discussion about various geological evidences<blockquote>''"clearly proved the existence of the four seas mentioned in the Rgveda, round about the region, inhabited by the ancient Aryans, which included Sapta-sindhu on the south, Bactriana and Eastern Turkestan on the north, Gandhara on the west and the upper valleys of the Ganga and Yamuna on the east. The age of the Rgveda, therefore, must be as old as the existence of these four seas in ancient times."'' <ref name=":7" /></blockquote>The '''third sea''', according to '''A. C. Das''', once covered the area into which the Sarasvati river drained into, and which is now the sandy desert area of Rajasthan. P. L. Bhargava called this sea as the '''Sarasvat (सरस्वत् समुद्र) ocean'''. In Rigveda (1.164.52) it has been mentioned that Sarasvat river is filled with many medicinal properties and was the source of water for many lakes. In the sukta 7.96 the first three mantras are in praise of the Sarasvati river while the rest of the three mantras are a stuti to the Sarasvat sea. With many beautiful poetic comparisons the Sarasvat sea bears an important position during the Rigvedic times.<ref name=":4" />

 

 

It is time we delve deeper into the geological testimony which supports the vast antiquity of Rgveda stretching back to times immemorial.<ref name=":7" />

=== Rivers ===

=== Rivers ===