GANGA 46th Issue | Page 8

The descent of the Ganga on earth is known

Other towns emerge along the river. The

as

Gangavatarana

Yajur Veda mention about Kampilya, almost

theme has been depicted by ancient artists

midway between Hastinapur and Kaushambi

on rocks in Mamallapuram, 32 miles south

while east of the Ganga Yamuna Doab the

of Chennai in the sea shore. A colossal

enormous clay rampart of Rajghat (Banaras)

sculpture cut from the east face of the rock

dates from about 800 B.C. It shows even in

depicts the river rushing out from its source

Vedic period growing settlements along the

in the distant Himalayas. The entire stone

Ganga valley.

pulses with life Gods, mortals, animals all

In the end people grow to worship the things

hurrying to witness the event- the celestial

they need. In India above all these things

river tumbling down from heaven to nourish

include water and the sustenance of the

humanity and restore the sons of Sagara.

fields. As a result Ganga who served them in

Gangavatarana.

This

so many ways become the Goddess, the
The early settlement in Ganga valley

mother, a living being.

The Aryans settlement in Ganga valley

Besides assimilating their beliefs to the new

stated after they acquire certain skills during

environment, the Aryans carried certain

their stay in Punjab. The development of

other things in their totality. The myth of

trading and agriculture and acquiring of boat

river Sarasvati, the great vedic river lingers

building skills enhanced the first tentative

in the memory of the immigrants as they

efforts towards larger settlements such as at

continue their journey east.

Koushambi and at Hastinapur and at

(source: The Ganges in Myth and History by

Ahichatra in Upper Ganga valley.

Steven G Darian)

The first proto-urban site in the Ganga
valley is Hastinapur dates back twelfth
century B. C. In the Mahabharata Hastinapur

Editor- Sujit Choudhury, Published by
IRBMS (© Integrated River Basin
Management Society)

is the great capital of the Kuru Dynasty. It
was swept away by the Ganga after several
generations of its ruler king Parikshit who
may have reigned ninth century B. C. The
archeological record shows Hastinapur was
abandoned by eighth century B.C.

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Integrated River Basin Management Society