Sarasvati,boats myths etc...

[Sn. Subrahmanya]

At 08:02 AM 5/23/98 -0400, you wrote:
>On Fri, 22 May 1998, Vidyasankar Sundaresan wrote:
>
>> Why limit this debate to a river that may or may not have been mighty,
>> and may or may not have flown into the ocean? How about looking at the
>> Rgvedic sarasvatI in a more generic sense, with reference to a delta
>> region, with coastal lagoons and/or estuaries? Aren't these "ponds" too?
>
>Yes, but the geographical limit of the Rgveda seems to be limited to the
>area from the Himalayas to the borders of Sindh (Bhalanas ~ Bolan pass)
>and from Afghanistan to the Yamuna/Ganga. No mentioning of the Indian
>Ocean -- unless one wants to understand the mythological hundred-oared
>ship of the  mythological figure Bhujyu (in the ocean of the night sky)
>as the "ocean going ships of the Rgveda" (RV 1.116.3 sqq.)
>
Sorry...but I just couldnt resist posting..

How does a myth become a myth ?

To come up with a hundred oared ship myth -
one should first know about boats and oars.

So there might not have been a 100 oared ship, but a boat with a few
oars is definitely possible.

Also, it is important to realize that the Rgveda was not meant
to be a encyclopaedia and if something is not mentioned in it -
doesnt necessarily mean that it was unknown either.

A more realistic judgement is required.

Subrahmanya
Houston, TX