Vedic Geography: Rivers and Sites
The Rig Vedic rivers with their modern names, and the PGW sites of the Later Vedic heartland.
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Every place on this map
Asked in exams
Actual questions from UPSC and state PCS papers that this map answers. The key detail column carries the correct fact behind each question.
| Exam | Question | Key detail |
|---|---|---|
| UPSC 1996 | River most mentioned in early Vedic literature: Sindhu | not Sutudri, Sarasvati or Ganga |
| UPPCS | Parushni: the Ravi | Battle of Ten Kings on its bank |
| UPPCS | Vitasta: the Jhelum; Asikni: the Chenab | — |
| UPPCS | Vipas: the Beas; Sutudri: the Sutlej | — |
| UPPCS | Kubha: the Kabul; Gomati: the Gomal; Krumu: the Kurram | — |
| UPPCS | Saraswati identified with the Ghaggar-Hakra channel | — |
| UPPCS | Sapta Sindhu: the land of the seven rivers | — |
| UPPCS | Gayatri mantra: Mandala III of the Rig Veda | — |
| UPPCS | Rig Veda: 10 mandalas; family books are Mandala II to VII | — |
| UPPCS | Battle of Ten Kings: Sudas of the Bharatas defeated the confederacy | — |
| UPPCS | Hastinapur and Atranjikhera: Painted Grey Ware sites of the later Vedic phase | — |
| UPPCS | Second most mentioned Rigvedic river after Sindhu: Saraswati | — |
| UPPCS | Dasyu/chief of the Bharatas in the Rig Veda: Divodasa and Sudas | — |
About this map
The Rig-Vedic rivers under their Vedic names, the Saraswati question, and the Later-Vedic and iron-age sites. Each marker gives the Vedic name, the modern identification, and the mandala or text reference.
River-name matching is the whole exam here: Sindhu-Indus, Vitasta-Jhelum, Asikni-Chenab, Parushni-Ravi, Vipash-Beas, Shutudri-Sutlej, and the celebrated Saraswati (Naditama). The Sapta-Sindhava region is asked as a boundary question.
Later-Vedic sites (Hastinapura, Kaushambi, Kuru-Panchala zone) mark the eastward shift. Painted Grey Ware sites are the archaeological anchor for the Later-Vedic phase.