While most Indians have been known to worship Ganga as a holy river since time immemorial, the ancient Indian text Rigveda has a different story to tell, according to a new exhibition ongoing here.
The show "Cultural Continuity from Rigveda to Robotics," at the Lalit Kala Akademi uses different fields of study like astronomy, archeology, paleo-botany and oceanography among other science disciplines in an attempt to establish a synergy between ancient Hindu scriptures and modern sciences.
"We were very surprised that there was no mention of the river Ganga in the first nine mandals of Rigveda. All 22 rivers were mentioned in a geographically correct way with not a single mistake. But the great river Ganga was not mentioned until the tenth mandal of Rigveda," says Saroj Bala, Director, Delhi chapter of Institute of Scientific Research on Vedas (I-Serve).
The Rigveda mentions Saraswati, which is often believed to be a mythical river, to be "the most celebrated river."
A poster put up by I-Serve stated that around 6000 BC, efforts by Suryavanshi kings Sagar and Bhagirath helped to facilitate the flow of Bhagirathi waters into Ganga, thus vindicating its description as the holiest river in post Rigvedic literature, while Saraswati becomes non-perennial.
"While Ganga is referred to as a holy river in the Ramayana, in Mahabharata it is said that it remains dry in some places. In this exhibition we have tried to present the entire story," says Bala.
According to organisers, the exhibition aimed to carry out research into the authenticity and historicity of events narrated in ancient books by making use of modern scientific tools.
"We wanted to know the truth through the means of pure scientific medium and find out whether these scriptures contain any true events," says Bala
Through the process of scientific dating, the exhibition also says that indigenous civilisation has been developing in Indian sub-continent for last 10,000 years and that Aryans were originals of India.
"There was no Aryan invasion. It is often believed that the Dravidians were pushed down south, but there was nothing like that" says Peeyush Sandhir, Associate director, I-Serve.
The show which was opened last evening by Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma had RSS joint general secretary Krishna Gopal and classical dancer Sonal Mansingh as guests.
Sky views of important events in Ramayana and Mahabharata including determining the date and time of birth of Lord Ram and the infamous game of dice where the Pandavas lose to Kauravas have been showcased.
Besides astronomical evidences, the show also presents archaeological evidences in form of utensils, ornaments, weapons and infrastructure that support dates of references in these scriptures. The exhibition supported by the Culture Ministry is set to continue till September 23.
