THE FOUR RIVERS OF 'GENESIS' - THE SANSKRIT CONNECT

The Book of Genesis offers a fascinating glimpse into the geography of paradise, describing a single river that split into four distinct headwaters to sustain the world:

"A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates".

When we view these ancient names through the lens of Sanskrit, remarkable linguistic connections begin to emerge. Take the first river, the Pishon. Biblical scholars often interpret Pishon to mean "the great effusion," viewing the river as a beautiful reminder of God’s abounding grace.

In Sanskrit, we find two striking cognates that mirror this exact essence: 

Poshin (पोषिन्): Meaning "nurturing" or "nourishing"—the perfect linguistic equivalent to the concept of God's sustaining grace.

Ishan (इषन्): Meaning "streaming out" or "pouring out," which directly parallels the biblical definition of a "great effusion."

What makes these connections truly remarkable is that these specific root meanings do not exist in Aramaic or Hebrew. While biblical traditions record the definitions of these names, the literal vocabulary to build those meanings is missing from the Semitic languages. Instead, the exact vocabulary and roots only exist within the Sanskrit language.

The Pishon is said to flow through the land of Havilah (alternatively spelt Evilas or Evilath). An etymological analysis of “Havilah” through Sanskrit suggests a connection to the word “havana” (हवन), meaning “invocation.” In the Indian context, this would translate to “land of invocation, chants, sacrifice, and obeisance.” This term is not unfamiliar in Judaism, where “Havineinu” or “Habinenu” are associated with blessings from the Amidah, a central prayer in Jewish liturgy recited thrice daily. The term “Havineinu” means “cause us to understand” and appears in both the Tanakh and the Talmud. A deeper exploration of these recitations might uncover further insights into the meaning of “Havilah.”

The second river is the Gihon. Biblical dictionaries interpret 'Gihon' as 'valley' and that has led some scholars to equate the river with the Nile River. The Sanskrit, gahan (गहन) means dense, deep, dark and impenetrable. That indeed could be a description of the Nile, but since the Bible refers to the Nile by that name, Gihon is a likely reference to some other major river. The Sanskrit,  gahan (गहन), means dense, deep, dark and impenetrable, and could be the source of the name. Gahan certainly, is a cognate of the name Gihon. 

The other two rivers are the Euphrates and Tigris. The Tigris has always been described as the 'swift river' as compared to the 'slow moving' Euphrates. Its name may well have been derived from the Sanskrit 'tivra' (तीव्र), which means 'swift, fast or intense'. The second syllable is 'agr' (अग्र) and means first, foremost, or ahead'. The more common interpretation of the name Tigris is 'tiger' which itself is derived from the Sanskrit 'vyagr' (व्याग्र).

However, the Sumerian name of Tigris was 'idigna': Idigna or Idigina is believed to derive from *id (i)gina with the meaning "running water", which can be interpreted as "the swift river", contrasted to its neighbor, the slow-moving Euphrates. The Sumerian Idigna or Id(g)nina too has Sanskrit links for 'ida' (इडा) means 'flow' and 'ina' is wild or powerful. Idi may be a truncated form of Sanskrit 'nadi' meaning river.

There seem to be more links to Sanskrit. For example, the Sanskrit word 'ninad' relates to 'humming noise' or 'sound made by gushing water'. Nini is 'pouring out'.

Sometimes the name 'Tigris' is associated with Old Persian or Avestan 'Tigr' meaning 'the fast one' but that again is derived from Sanskrit 'tivra' (तीव्र) meaning 'fast'. 

Fausset's Bible dictionary states that in the word Euphrates, the first syllable Eu, is derived from the Sanskrit Su (सु), which denotes 'good'; the second syllable denotes 'abundant'. The Sanskrit word for abundant is 'Purna' (पूर्ण). Hence Euphrates may be derived from the Sanskrit 'Su-Purna' (सुपूर्ण) meaning 'Good-Abundance'. 

The Babylonians and Assyrians called Euphrates 'Su-Purattu'. It was known as 'Purattu' in Akkadian and 'Puranti' in Hurrian, 'Puranti' may be linked to Sanskrit 'Purandhi' (पुरन्धि) which means 'bountiful' or 'abundant'.

Notice names such as 'Nagar' (नगर) meaning 'town;
and 'Haran' probably from Sanskrit (हरणि) meaning
'water channel' in the vicinity of the Euphrates.  'Haran'
 may also have got its name from the Vedic 'Haran'
which is another name of Lord Shiva.

Pococke, who had a different view, states in his book 'India in Greece' that the name Euphrates is a distortion of 'Su-Bharata' which changed into 'Su-Purattu', hence the Babylonian and Assyrian name. The word 'su' (सु), as mentioned above, means 'good' in Sanskrit; 'Bharat' (भरत्) is the name of an ancient Indian king after whom India was named 'Bharata' (भारत). Bharat is known to have extended his empire into Central Asia right up to the Mediterranean.

The Gihon was also known as the Karun, 'karun'
(करुण) means 'compassionate' in Sanskrit.

The Sumerian cities of Sippar and Nippur are also located on the path of the ancient Eu-pharates. The 'par 'and 'pur' are probable corruptions of the Sanskrit 'pura' meaning 'town' or 'city'. The first syllable in both names are short and may have meanings in many languages, however as a combination Nippur would mean the 'low lying city', nIpa (नीप) in Sanskrit meaning that which is situated on the 'lower side', and 'nipa' (निप) 'that which absorbs' or 'soaks'.  A corruption of any number of words, 'sipa' could be a distortion of 'ksipa' (क्षिप्) which means 'to pour'. That would make 'Sippar', the 'city that poured' (the waters of Euphrates) and 'Nippur' at the lower end of the flow making it 'the city that receives' (the waters of the Euphrates). Some historians trace the roots of the name Nippur to the word 'Nabha'. 'Nabhapur' - hence the city of the 'Nabhas'. Others have linked the name Sippar to Shiva-pura.

Suggested Links:

1. The Significance of Biblical Names
2. Genesis

ANCIENT MAP OF ISRAEL - THE SRI KRISHNA, SRI RAMA AND KASHMIR CONNECTION

Much has been written about the possibility of Jesus Christ having spent some of the missing years of his life in India, and the similarities between his life story and that of Sri Krishna, but there is much more that has been left untouched. That includes the India connection to the names of the ancient rivers and mountains and places in Israel.

First, the name 'Canaan'. Canaan was an ancient land corresponding to modern-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel and was also known as Phoenicia. The Ancient History Encyclopedia says, "The origin of the name 'Canaan’ comes from various ancient texts (among them the Hebrew Bible), and there is no scholarly consensus on precisely where the name originated nor what it was intended to convey about the land. According to the Bible, the land was named after a man called Canaan, the grandson of Noah (Genesis 10). Other theories cite `Canaan’ to have been derived from the Hurrian language, where 'caanan' stands for `purple’. The Greeks knew the Canaanites as `Phoenicians’; Phoenician is Greek for 'purple'. The Phoenicians worked in purple dye and so were called by the Greeks `purple people’. "This explanation is the most probable but, by no means, provable",- says the Ancient History Encyclopedia. 

But there are other more plausible explanations supported by cultural collateral as evidence. Canaan is historically attested throughout the 4th millennium BC. The later Amarna Letters use the name 'Kinahhu', while other sources of the Egyptian New Kingdom mention numerous military campaigns conducted in a place called 'Ka-na-na'. Now all these ancient names are cognates of the name 'Kanha' (कान्हा) - the name of Sri Krishna, who was also known as 'Kanan' (कानन) and 'Kishen' (किशन). 

One of the largest rivers in Israel, known as the Kishon (also called Kishen), drains into the Jezreel (also called Yizreel) valley. The name Kishon is a cognate of 'Kishen', the name of the Hindu God, Sri Krishna. This is pronounced as Kishen in many parts of India, including Kashmir. The name of Krishna's mother was 'Yashodha' (यशोधा), also called 'Jashoda' (जशोधा), close cognate of the names Yizreel and Jezreel. 

The Kishon flows in the region known as Phoenicia. In the same province are located the towns of 'Ramah' and 'Kanah'. Near the town of Ramah is 'Kadesh' also called 'Kudesh' (कुदेश), meaning 'inhospitable land' in Sanskrit, which could be a reference to the wilderness of Kadesh. It is quite logical to speculate that 'Ramah' and 'Kanah' get their name from Rama and Krishna.

To the East of Phoenicia lies the province of Galilee, named after the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee was also known as Kinneret (as it is called in the Old Testament) or Lake Gennesaret (as it is called in the Gospel of Luke). All Bible writers use the term 'sea' for 'Sea of Galilee' except the Gospel of Luke, where it is called a 'lake'.

Here is a look at the name 'Gennesaret' through the Sanskrit lens. First, a look at 'saret', the second part of the word. In Sanskrit, 'sara' (सर) means 'lake', 'sarat' (सरत्) means 'flowing', and 'sarita' (सरित्) means 'river'. The word 'ghanasara' (घनसार) means 'water' - the 'ghana' here indicating a 'deep' or 'immense' amount of water. That establishes the Sanskrit connection.

The name 'Kinneret' is the more ancient name and precedes the name 'Gannesaret'. It comes from the Hebrew word 'kinnor' meaning 'harp', which is regarded as the 'instrument of music in heaven'. The lake is supposed to be shaped like a 'harp'. In Sanskrit too,  'kinnar' (किन्नर) means 'heavenly music'. 

Also, in the Indian context, the 'kinnars' were a 'heavenly race of men' and are mentioned throughout the Ramayana. The female counterpart of the 'kinnars' were the 'apsaras'. In the Ramayana, the 'kinnars' are always mentioned along with the 'apsaras'. 

So if there was a 'Kinneret', was there a lake dedicated to the 'apsaras' too? The Bible does mention a lake by the name 'Asphar' in Israel. The Dead Sea itself was known as 'Ashphalites' - though the name is today connected to 'asphalt', there is no known reason for connecting the lake name to asphalt. 

Then there is the Susita River, also now called by its Greek name Hippos. 'Susit' (सुसिता) means 'white' in Sanskrit.

We digress here and touch a bit upon what might be of interest to many readers, and that is the question whether Jesus Christ ever travelled to India, especially to Kashmir. There are several places geographically located in Israel and in areas around Srinagar in India whose names are cognates of one another, and which are related to the life of Christ as well. These names indicate that the belief that Jesus lived a part of his life in India is indeed a fact. 

In a way, the map of Israel, especially the area adjoining the Ganeesaret Lake, is the map of Srinagar around the Dal Lake.

If one were to take Gane-Saret as the equivalent of Dal Lake whose ancient name was Maha-Sarit (महा-सरित), we find that both these names mean the same - 'a huge water body'. 

We proceed from there and find the mountain peak of Harmukh, the highest peak in the vicinity of Srinagar - and the abode of Shiva. And on the map of Israel one sees a river by the name Yarmouk - a cognate of the Harmukh. 'Yarmouk' is a tributary of the River Jordon and flows through the GanneSaret Lake.

Then there is Mt. Hermon, which again is a pretty close cognate of 'Harmukh'.  Equating the two names might seem like a bit of a stretch, but then we find that located at the bottom of Mt. Hermon is a lake by the name 'Ram'. There is a town called 'Ramah' in Phoenicia. Then there is the town of 'Ramathiam' in the province of Judea - and yet another town by the name of 'Ramah' in Judea, which is different from the one located in Phoenicia. 

In Assyria, Mt. Hermon was known as 'Sinieru' which is the Pali (a Sanskrit-derived language) name for Meru. Hence, another link is established. In any case, the Biblical name of Syria was 'Aram' and the language of the Bible was 'Aramaic '.

Another river that flows into the Gannesarat is the Bethasaida. Many words that begin with the sound 'V' in Sanskrit distort into 'B' in Sanskrit-derived languages. If the same principle is applied in the case of 'Bethsaida', it has then definitely originated from the name 'Vetasta' (वितस्ता) - the ancient name of the river Jhelum in Srinagar that flows along the Dal Lake or MahaSarit as it was once called.

The River Jordon that feeds the Genesserat is one of the major rivers of Israel and Jordan, and its name means 'descend' in Hebrew. But in all likelihood the name stems from the Sanskrit 'jhara' (झर)  which means 'descending water' or 'waterfall'. The Sanskrit connection to the name 'Jordon' has been discussed in detail here and here.

Ther is a bit more. On the northwestern shore of Lake Genesseret lay the city of 'Genesar'. In the Douay-Rheims Bible (Gospel of Matthew) it is stated that it was in the city of Genesar where Jesus visited and performed healing:

[34] And having passed the water, they came into the country of Genesar.

[35] And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent into all that country, and brought to him all that were diseased.

[36] And they besought him that they might touch but the hem of his garment. And as many as touched, were made whole. (Matthew 14:34-36).

Ganesar? Well, that name is just a distortion of the 'ghanasara' (घनसार) mentioned above. Ganesar and Ganessarat must have been derived from the same word.

Other occurrence of the name 'Canan', and therefore 'Kanha' (कान्हा) happens in the river by the name 'Cana' that flows in the Plains of Sharon just south of the Narabata River. Again 'Narabata' is probably a distortion of the Narmada (नर्मदा) - a river of India.

....continued ..

ANCIENT MAP OF ISRAEL - THE SRI KRISHNA, SRI RAMA AND KASHMIR CONNECTION

Much has been written about the possibility of Jesus Christ having spent some of the missing years of his life in India, and the similarities between his life story and that of Sri Krishna, but there is much more that has been left untouched. That includes the India connection to the names of the ancient rivers and mountains and places in Israel.

First, the name 'Canaan'. Canaan was an ancient land corresponding to modern-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel and was also known as Phoenicia.

The Ancient History Encyclopedia states, "The origin of the name 'Canaan’ comes from various ancient texts (among them the Hebrew Bible), and there is no scholarly consensus on precisely where the name originated nor what it was intended to convey about the land. According to the Bible, the land was named after a man called Canaan, the grandson of Noah." (Genesis 10).

Other theories cite sources which view `Canaan’ to have been derived from the Hurrian language, where 'caanan' stands for the colour `purple’. The Greeks knew the Canaanites as `Phoenicians’. The word 'phoenician' is Greek for 'purple'. The Phoenicians worked in purple dye and so were called by the Greeks `purple people’. "This explanation is the most probable but, by no means, provable", says the Ancient History Encyclopedia.

But there are other more plausible explanations supported by cultural collateral as evidence. Canaan is historically attested throughout the 4th millennium BC. The later Amarna Letters use the name 'Kinahhu', while other sources of the Egyptian New Kingdom mention numerous military campaigns conducted in a place called 'Ka-na-na'. Now all these ancient names are cognates of the name 'Kanha' (कान्हा) - the name of Sri Krishna, who was also known as 'Kanan' (कानन) and 'Kishen' (किशन). 

One of the largest rivers in Israel, known as the Kishon (also called Kishen), drains into the Jezreel (also called Yizreel) valley. The name Kishon is a cognate of 'Kishen', the name of the Hindu God, Sri Krishna, which is pronounced as Kishen in many parts of India, including Kashmir. The name of Krishna's mother was 'Yashodha' (यशोधा), also called 'Jashoda' (जशोधा), a close cognates of the names Yizreel and Jezreel.

The Kishon flows in the region known as Phoenicia. In the same province are located the towns of 'Ramah' and 'Kanah'. Near the town of Ramah is 'Kadesh ', also called 'Kudesh' (कुदेश), meaning 'inhospitable land' in Sanskrit, which could be a reference to the wilderness of Kadesh. However, Kadesh, with its generally accepted meaning of pure and holy, probably derives from the Sanskrit 'Shuddha'(शुद्ध), which means pure, true, absolute or unpolluted. In fact, the Canaanite root Q-D-S of Kadesh is nothing but the Sanskrit 'Shuddha'. It is also quite logical to speculate that 'Ramah' and 'Kanah' get their name from Rama and Krishna.

To the East of Phoenicia lies the province of Galilee, named after the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee was also known as Kinneret (as it is called in the Old Testament) or Lake Gennesaret (as it is called in the Gospel of Luke). All Bible writers use the term 'sea' for 'Sea of Galilee' except the Gospel of Luke, where it is called a 'lake'.

Here is a look at the name 'Gennesaret' through the Sanskrit lens. First, a look at 'saret', the second part of the word. In Sanskrit, 'sara' (सर) means 'lake', 'sarat' (सरत्) means 'flowing', and 'sarita' (सरित्) means 'river'. The word 'ghanasara' (घनसार) means 'water' - the 'ghana' here indicating a 'deep' or 'immense' amount of water. That establishes the Sanskrit connection.

The name 'Kinneret' is the more ancient name and precedes the name 'Gannesaret'. It comes from the Hebrew word 'kinnor' meaning 'harp' - which is regarded as the 'instrument of music in heaven'. The lake is supposed to be shaped like a 'harp'. In Sanskrit too 'kinnar' (किन्नर) means 'heavenly music'.

Also, in the Indian context the 'kinnars' were a 'heavenly race of men' and are mentioned throughout the Ramayana. The female counterpart of the 'kinnars' were the 'apsaras'. In the Ramayana the 'kinnars' are always mentioned along with the 'apsaras'. 

So if there was a 'Kinneret', was there a lake dedicated to the 'apsaras' too? The Bible does mention a lake by the name 'Asphar' in Israel. The Dead Sea itself was known as 'Ashphalites' - though the  name is today connected to 'asphalt' there is no known reason for connecting the lakes name to asphalt.

Then there is the Susita River, also now called by its Greek name Hippos. 'Susit' (सुसिता) means 'white' in Sanskrit.We digress here and touch a bit upon what might be of interest to many readers and that is the question whether Jesus Christ ever travelled to India, especially to Kashmir. There are several places geographically located in Israel and in areas around Srinagar in India whose names are cognates of one another, and which are related to the life of Christ as well. These names indicate that the belief that Jesus lived a part of his life in India is indeed a fact. 

In a way the map of Israel, especially the area adjoining the Gennesaret Lake, is the map of Srinagar around the Dal Lake. If one were to take Gennesaret as the equivalent of the Dal Lake, we will notice that their names have the same meaning in Sanskrit. Dal Lake was known as Mahasarit (महासरित)- 'a hugewater body', Gannesarat- (घन  'ghana' here indicating 'deep'.

We proceed from there and find the mountain peak of Harmukh, the highest peak in the vicinity of Srinagar - and the abode of Shiva. And on the map of Israel one sees a river by the name Yarmouk - a cognate of the Harmukh. 'Yarmouk' is a tributary of River Jordon and flows through the GanneSaret Lake.

Then there is Mt. Hermon, which again is a pretty close cognate of 'Harmukh'.  Equating the two names might seem like a bit of a stretch, but then we find that located at the bottom of Mt. Hermon is a lake by the name 'Ram'. There is a town called 'Ramah' in Phoenicia. Then there is the town of 'Ramathiam' in the province of Judea - and yet another town by the name of 'Ramah' in Judea, which is different from the one located in Phoenicia.  In Assyria, Mt. Hermon was known as 'Sinieru' which is a derivation of the Sanskrit Meru. Hence, another link is established. In any case, the Biblical name of Syria was 'Aram' and the language of the Bible was 'Aramaic'.

Another river that flows into the Gannesarat is the Bethsaida. Many words that begin with the sound v' in Sanskrit distort into 'b' in Sanskrit-derived languages. If the same principle is applied in the case of 'Bethsaida', it has then definitely originated from the name 'Vetasta' (वितस्ता) - the ancient name of the river Jhelum in Srinagar that flows along the Dal Lake or MahaSarit as it was once called.

The river Jordon that feeds the Genesserat is one of the major rivers of Israel and Jordon; its name is said to mean 'descend' in Hebrew. But in all likeliness the name stems from the Sanskrit 'jhara' (झर) which means 'descending water' or 'waterfall'. The Sanskrit connection to the name 'Jordon' has been discussed in detail here and here.

There is a bit more. On the northwestern shore of lake Genesseret lay the city of 'Genesar'. In Douay-Rheims Bible (Gospel of Matthew) it is stated that it was in the city of Genesar where Jesus visited and performed healing:

[34] And having passed the water, they came into the country of Genesar.
[35] And when the men of that place had knowledge of him, they sent into all that country, and brought to him all that were diseased.
[36] And they besought him that they might touch but the hem of his garment. And as many as touched, were made whole. (Matthew 14:34-36).

Ganesar? Well, that is just a distortion of the 'ghanasara' (घनसार) mentioned above. Ganesar and Ganessarat must have been derived from the same word.

Other occurrences of the name 'Canan', and therefore 'Kanha' (कान्हा), happen in the river by the name 'Cana' that flows in the Plains of Sharon just south of the Narabata River. Again, 'Narabata' is probably a distortion of the Narmada (नर्मदा) - a river of India.

....continued ..