A good letter on this--
PROF. K. R. PRABHU
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGIST
RIVER SARASWATI
The only name of a river appearing in Rig Veda is name of Saraswati Hence, River Saraswati is the not only Punya (holy) river, it is also the Deva (Gods’) river. It appears that River Saraswati is older than the Vedas whose time is unknown (Sanatana) to the mankind. She starts from the Mount Everest a place known as “Plaksha Prasravana”.
The fertile & holy land in between River Saraswati & River Dhrishadwati is termed as Aryavarta or Bhrmavarta where Saraswat Brahmins were settled. These Brahmins were performing Yajna, Japa and Tapa acquiring the Divya Jnan (World Knowledge) and became authority to propagate Vedas and Vedantik Knowledge.
In other literatures like Mahabharata and Matsya Purana, the same area of Bhramavarta is called as Kurukshetra. It is 70 miles in length and 30 miles in width where Pavitra (Holy) grass by name ‘DARBE” was growing abundantly. This is the place where the Pandavas and Kavravas had their battle known as Dharma Yudh. In another reference, the Kurukshetra was formed by Sage Parashuram after he destroyed all Kshatryas to perform Yajna. He formed 4 villages known as Tarantuk, Arantuk, Ramahrad and Machutnak marking as boarders to the Aryavarta.
In Vedas you find the name of 3 Goddesses namely, Gayatri, Savitri and Saraswati The sloka in Veda about the Goddess Saraswati is, ,
"DEVI TAME, AMBI TAME, NADI TAME, SARASWATI” (Meaning, - Among Goddesses, Among .Mothers .and Among Rivers - Saraswati is Supreme."
The Saraswats are those Brahmins who were residing on the banks of Saraswati River . as per the evidences available as on date. They were Yajna Brahmins besides the Scholars in Vedas as they were well known to the entire Brahmin segments.
The reason being, Lord Vishnu and Devatas have thought that during the time of Pralaya, the Vedas are to be kept in a secured place where the Demons are not able to locate easily. Earlier the Vedas were hidden under the bottoms the oceans (Bhu Garbh). That is how in the previous case, Lord Vishnu was to take up the Matsy avatar to protect the Vedas and liberate from the hands of Demons. The Saraswati River was a river on the land and may not be easily forecasted by the Demons. Vedas are the most precious wealth from the time immemorial and it was the duty of Devas to protect them at any cost for the Humanity. Vedas contain Mantras/Slokas and all Gods and Spirits. .
Saraswati River was the most Holy river and a Vedic River as per Shalya Parva from . A dip in Saraswati River starting from Plaksha Praravana from Mount Everest which runs upto Prabhas (near Somnath- Kutch) at Gujarat all along was surrounded by fertile lands, landscapes and clean environment. People around the River were more religious, creative and scholarly. This is the power of the River Saraswati.
HOW WE BECAME SARASWATS?
Sage Bhragu was the son of Lord Brahma. Bhrigu's son was Sage Dadhich. Sage Dadhich was a great Jnani due to his penance for thousands of years in Himalayas once decided to come down to the planes to stay on the banks of a Holy River . He found that place is River Saraswati. Saraswati. Large numbers of humanity used to take dip in River Saraswati like River Ganga and River, to eradicate their sin. Hence the River Saraswati was to ease out the sins left by the pilgrims. By giving service to the great Sage doing his Meditation and the daily anustan, the sins of the river gets eased out. Hence in the night, the Goddess Saraswati carrying sins used to keep the hermitage and surrounding clean, in the process the sin used to get rid off by the penance power of the Sage.
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One evening as usual when he was performing the evening Sandhya, Sage Dadhich saw the mating of Gandharvs (angels) on the sky. Dadhich became emotionally energized and as a result, his semen was discharged in the River Saraswati. Being a devotee of Sage Dadhich and by knowing that his semen is most powerful due to his long penance and that , it should not go waste, River Saraswathi accepted to protect the semen under the water (Bhu Garbh). The child born in that semen of Dadhich was named after his mother Saraswati as SARASWAT. In the Vedic times, the mother's name was more prominent like Ganga Putr, Kaunteya, Yashodha Nandan etc.
The Saraswat as a child sage, has learnt all the 4 Vedas from his mother Saraswati. He became a custodian of these scripts and thus became the owner or authority of the Vedas because he was the First Person to read the Vedas after pralaya. To learn Vedas, one has to worship Saraswati by chanting the Sloka as contained in Rig Veda
Dorbhiryukta chaturbhim sphatika maninibhai rakshamalandadhana Hastenaikena padmam sitamapicha shukam pustakam chaparena | Bhasa kundendushankhasphatikamaninibha bhasamana.asamana Sa me vagdevateyam nivasatu vadane sarvada suprasanna || "
Saraswat was the first sage who was performing Yajnas by chanting Mantras near the Saraswati
River. This news went around the Bharath Khand that the Vedas are the collection of Mantras and those Vedas were in the custody of a young sage by name Saraswat.
They all came to see him and requested him to give the Vedas. Saraswat tells them that Vedas cannot be just possessed. It should be administered by (learned from) a Guru. That shocked the so called Brahmins who were following mantra less rituals. They were all elderly and refused to touch the feet of a young boy and accept him as their Guru. Saraswat remained firm and they all went back. Again they thought that by accepting him as a Guru they get precious Vedas and what if they touch his feet?
The whole group came back to the Saraswati River to meet the young Sage Saraswat. They prayed to him that all of them have accepted Sage Sarsawat as their Guru. Saraswat held Training Camps to the lakhs of Brahmin aspirants on the banks of River Saraswati. After training them, he awarded them the Degrees such as Agni-hotri, Dwivedi, Thrivedi, Chaturvedi, Misra, Thripati, Puranik, Purohit, Joshi, Vaidya, Avdhari, Samaga etc depending on the specialization they have made in Vedic scripts.
Hence the First Guru of Vedic Brahmins was Sage Saraswat. We are the descendents of Saraswat Rishi and we have become Saraswat Brahmins - the Vedic Brahmins. We have studied all Vedas and rituals. We became Avdhanis, Upadhyayas, Pandits, Acharyas, Joshis, Sharmas, Mishras, and Bhats (Purohits) etc by profession. .
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Part 4 Added on 23rd Sept 2011.
The Land Of Dharma
On Kurukshetra- TOI by Ranjeni. A Singhon
http://www.speakingtree.in/public/view-article/The-Land-Of-Dharma?track=1&uid=14406&date=23%20Sep,%202011
By : Ranjeni A Singhon Sep 19, 2011 | Views (132) | Responses (3) |
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During my first visit to Kurukshetra, I was put off by the numerous ‘historical religious sites’ that dotted the landscape — they all looked picture-perfect, touristy and too new. Did the epic Mahabharata battle really take place here? Did Brahma create the Universe from here? Did Krishna, in 700 verses, tutor Arjuna about life, death and the beyond? Nah, it couldn’t be. There seemed nothing ancient or spiritual about the place.
My perception about the place, however, changed during my second visit. I realised that the religious aura was in the elements of nature and not in the sandstone structures.
I was moved by the sight and faith of thousands of pilgrims jostling with one another to take a dip in the holy waters of the Brahm Sarovar during the solar eclipse, faces glowing with devotional fervour.
Earn Vedic Merits
The Matsya Purana and Padma Purana tell us that if a person takes a dip in the sacred tanks of Kurukshetra during an eclipse, he attains the merits of thousands of Ashwamedha Yagnas, a Vedic ritual conducted by kings to acquire power and glory. Krishna, along with his family, is believed to have come here from Dwaraka to participate in the solar eclipse fair at Kurukshetra.
Interestingly, Mughal Emperor Akbar, accompanied by his court historian Abul Fazl, visited Kurukshetra during the 1567 solar eclipse.
Brahma is believed to have created mother earth from here. Therefore, Brahm Sarovar is often called the cradle of Indian civilisation. The lake finds mention in Kitab-ul-Hind, written by the medieval Islamic scholar Alberuni. Surrounded by a number of shrines, the largest man-made tank in India — the Brahma Sarovar — presents an enchanting environ to the devout.
A Unique Experience
The best way to experience the religious fervour of the place is to visit Kurukshetra during festivals such as Kartik Purnima and Gita Jayanti. One can sit on the banks of the sarovar or the smaller Sannihit Sarovar nearby for hours and observe the way faith moves people; here, I saw a poor cycle-rickshaw puller and a man emerging from his C-class sedan bathing side by side — praying fervently as they disappeared into the water, and emerging yet again.
A few steps away, a young girl was helping an old Tamil mami come out of the waters; faith is a great leveller, too.
While there are several sacred water bodies across the country, Kurukshetra offers a unique religious experience. The place gets its name from King Kuru, the ancestor of the Kauravas and Pandavas.
The Bhagavad Gita describes Kurukshetra as Dharmakshetra, the field of justice, Brajmakshetra, the field of Brahma and as Nardak, without sorrow.
No visit to Kurukshetra is complete without a visit to the Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple or Jyotisar. Reportedly, Shiva was first worshipped in the form of a lingam in this very temple. Five km from Kurukshetra is Jyotisar, where Krishna delivered the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna. The huge banyan tree is believed to be the offshoot of the original tree beneath which Krishna spoke.
Finding your way about the town, steeped in history and religion, might be tricky with the numerous narrow bylanes crisscrossing the place. But you will find your way and the locals are only too willing to help.
Wash Away Your Sins
Read up and decide where you want to start your tour of the district. There are too many shrines that vie for your attention: Sthaneshwar Mahadev and Bhadrakali temples, Gurudwara Sidhbati, Kamal Nabhi, Bhisham Kund, Narkatari, Jyotisar, Birla Mandir, Valmiki Ashram and the Krishna Museum, to name a few. Next to the museum is the Kurukshetra Panorama & Science Centre where the main attraction is a 34-feet high depiction of the Mahabharata battle scene.
Taking a dip in the Sannihit Sarovar on amavasya, or New Moon night, is known to absolve one of all sins. On the banks of the Sannihit Sarovar are smaller shrines like the Dhruv Narain Mandir, Vishnu Mandir, Hanuman Mandir, Durga Mata Mandir and the Laxmi Narain Temple. At the Krishna Museum, you can acquaint yourself with the various facets of the Mahabharata with the help of beautiful graphic depictions.
A visit to Kurukshetra will leave you yearning for more. The place has so much to reveal of Hindu philosophy that each visit will keep you engrossed.
Getting There
By Train: Kurukshetra is a major railway junction, well-connected with all important towns and cities of the country. Haryana Tourism runs special one-day conducted tour coaches from Delhi and Chandigarh.
By Road: Buses of Haryana Roadways and other state corporations ply through Kurukshetra and connect it to Delhi, Chandigarh and other important places.
By Air: The nearest airports are at Delhi and Chandigarh, which are well-connected by road and rail. Regular taxis are also available.
Other Attractions
Kalayat: The town is named after Kapil Muni, who wrote the Shankhya. On Kartik Purnima, devotees take a dip at the sacred tank in the town. Other places of historical interest from the medieval period include Pathar Masjid and Chini Masjid.
