Sapta Sindhu
Also called: Land of seven rivers, Sapta Sindhava · Topic: The Vedic Age · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 5 "India, That Is Bharat"; Class 6, Ch 7 "India's Cultural Roots"; Class 9, Ch 5 "State and Society up to 1000 CE"
Meaning
Sapta Sindhu, also called Sapta Sindhava, means 'land of the seven rivers'. It is the northwestern part of the subcontinent watered by seven rivers: the Indus, its five tributaries and the Sarasvatī. The earliest hymns of the Ṛigveda were composed here. This is the same region where the Sindhu–Sarasvatī (Harappan) civilisation had flourished earlier. It is therefore the first home of Vedic culture.
Example
The five tributaries of the Indus in this region are the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. In the Ṛigveda they are called the Vitastā, Asiknī, Paruṣhṇī, Vipāś and Śhutudri. Early Vedic clans, such as the Bharatas and Purus, lived along these rivers.
Don't confuse with
- Ganga plains: the main centre of the later Vedic period, from c. 1000 BCE onwards. Iron, paddy and larger territorial states known as janapadas developed there. Sapta Sindhu belongs to the early Vedic stage.