A Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism Klaus K Klostermaie

153 Roy, Ram Mohan
Daily life by the river Ganges.
rivers
Rivers played a great role in early Vedic
religion, where they were hymned as life
giving. The SAPTASINDHU, the seven
rivers, are a constant point of reference,
among which the (now dried out)
SARASVATÏ was praised as the greatest
and the mother of all. When the Hindu
heartland moved eastwards, the
YAMUNÄ and the GA¢GÄ became the
two most important and holy rivers.
Many tïrthas (places of pilgrimage) are
located along them, and the confluence
of Yamunä and Gaögä (together with
the invisible Sarasvatï) at Präyäga is one
of the holiest spots in India. In South
India the KAUVERÏ is also called the
‘Southern Ganges’. The NARBADÄ in
Central India enjoys the unique distinction
among the Indian rivers of purifying
a person on sight. Most rivers are
treated as female (although Indus,
Brahmaputra, Sone, Gogra and Sutlej
are male) and personified as goddesses.
In many temples images of Gaögä (with
the makara, alligator) and Yamunä
(with the kürma, tortoise) flank the
entrance. Rivers were worshipped as
nourishers as well as purifiers: ablutions in
them cleansed a person from many sins.
øk
A hymn in general; a verse in the
Øgveda as well as the entire Øgveda;
worship, praise.
Roy, Ram Mohan (1772–1833)
Early Indian religious and social
reformer, founder of the Brahmo Samäj,
called ‘father of Modern India’. Born
into an orthodox Hindu family, he
received a liberal education that included
the study of Persian and Arabic,
Sanskrit and later English. He was one
of the first Indian employees of the
British East India Company. Following
a religious calling he left service and got
in touch with the Christian missionaries
at Serampore. He published many
essays and tracts and worked towards
establishing a Hindu monotheism. His