Multiple River Names

[Narayan R.Joshi]

There is one Sindhu river fortunately with five eastern tributaries
(VitastA,AsiknI,Paru.sNI,VipAsh,and ShutudrI) and six western tributaries
(SuvAstu,GaurI,KubhA,Krumu,GomatI and Sarayu-Talageri, p.104, Rigveda).But
there are two SarasvatIS-one Rigveda SarasvatI flowing two Arabian Sea and
the second Afghan SarasvatI flowing to a lake.It is said that because the
Rigvedic seer, Kavasa Ailu.s was Dasyu Putra, other priests cast him out.In
anger he chanted a powerful hymn inducing the holy river SarasvatI to
follow him to desert.What is the opinion of scholars about this legend?
      The name SarasvatI traveled all the way to Europe(Lithuanian river
and the name Serb-Croat related to Hrvat related to SarasvatI), but it
stopped in the Northwestern region of the sub-continent.According to one
view, the earlier name of the Central Asian river Jaxartes was D.r.satvatI
flowing northwest towards the Aral Sea.Again there was/is D.r.satvatI east
of the ancient Indian SarasvatI.It was tributary of SarasvatI.To the best
of my knowledge, the name D.r.satvatI is not found other than for these two
rivers.There is the second name YavyAvatI to the Indian D.r.satvatI
(Talageri-p.456, Rigveda).Prof Witzel believes YavyAvatI is Zhob river of
N.Baluchistan.Then there is Oxus of Central Asia.Could it be Rasa or RanhA
river? Now we have three Sarayus(First of Uttar Pradesh, Second, the
western tributary (Talageri)of Sindhu and the third Dr.Kochhar's Afghan
Sarayu)and two GomatIS (First of Uttara Pradesh and Second, the western
tributary of Sindhu).Thanks God, at least there is one Sindhu.These
multiple river names enforce my earlier opinion that it is too early to
take position regarding a large scale one-way migration from East to West
or from West to East.I also find it difficult to believe that one tribe
drove other tribes out of the sub-continent in the prehistoric times. In
the known history, when Cyrus the Great (549-530BCE)reached in the middle
of Afghanistan during expansion of his empire, he told his soldiers that
beyond these mountains our cousin brothers lived.Cyrus knew the past
history of the world and respected Indians.All tribes were there from
prehistoric times in the region of Iran and India and they were related.The
real trick is to push under the rug the true Dravidian history of the
ancient South India by outplacing Dravidians in the Central Asia first and
bringing them later on into the sub-continent "Chori-Chori" or "Chupke-
Chupke" before the well dramatized arrival of the Aryans.