Saraswati River refers to a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

, that was a distributary

Distributary

A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. They are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributary is a tributary...

 of the Bhagirathi and is now no more there but was active till around the 16th century AD. The course and condition of the Saraswati has played an important role in the development and decline of river port towns in Bengal

Bengal

Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...

. Initially, the major port town was Tamralipta

Tamralipta

Tamralipta or Tamralipti was the name of an ancient city on the Bay of Bengal believed by scholars to be on the site of Tamluk in modern-day India.-References:...

, after the decline of which Saptagram

Saptagram

Saptagram was a major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal, in ancient and medieval times, the location presently being in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is about 4 km from Bandel, a major rail junction. By the early twentieth century, the...

 rose and declined, and finally Kolkata

Kolkata

Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

 came up.

Earlier course

At Tribeni

Tribeni

Tribeni is a small town in Hooghly in the state of West Bengal, India. It was an old holy place for the Hindus. The Muslims took over it during early phases of their conquest of Bengal.-Geography:Tribeni is located at ....

 near Bandel

Bandel

Bandel , founded by Portuguese settlers, is a gram panchayat in Chinsurah-Mogra block in Chinsurah subdivision of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is under Chinsurah police station. A major junction station of Eastern Railway, it is 40 km from Howrah station...

 in Hooghly District

Hooghly District

Hooghly district is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal in India. It can alternatively be spelt Hoogli or Hugli. The district is named after the Hooghly River.The headquarters of the district are at Chinsura...

 in the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

 the Bhagirathi branched off into three streams The Saraswati flowed south-west beyond Saptagram

Saptagram

Saptagram was a major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal, in ancient and medieval times, the location presently being in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is about 4 km from Bandel, a major rail junction. By the early twentieth century, the...

, the Yamuna (this is distinct from the river of same name in northern India and several streams of the same name in eastern Bengal) flowed south-east, and the Bhagirathi proper flowing through the present Hooghly channel to Kolkata and then through Adi Ganga

Adi Ganga

Adi Ganga , also known as Gobindapur creek, Surman’s Nullah and Tolly’s Nullah, was the main flow of the Hooghly River from the 15th to 17th century but has subsequently virtually dried up.-History:...

, past Kalighat

Kalighat

Kalighat is a locality of Kolkata, India. One of the oldest neighborhoods in South Kolkata, Kalighat is also densely populated and vibrant -- with a rich history of cultural intermingling with the various foreign incursions into the area over time....

, to the sea. It is believed that the Saraswati flowed into an estuary near present-day Tamluk

Tamluk

Tamluk is the district headquarters of Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. Though there is some controversy, scholars have generally agreed that present day Tamluk is the site of the ancient city variously known as Tamralipta or Tamralipti...

 and received the waters of not only the Rupnarayan

Rupnarayan River

The Rupnarayan River is a river in India. It begins as the Dhaleswari in the Chhota Nagpur plateau foothills northeast of the town of Purulia. It then follows a tortuous southeasterly course past the town of Bankura, where it is known as the Dwarakeswar river. Near the town of Ghatal it is...

 and Damodar

Damodar River

Damodar River originates near Chandwa village, Palamau district, on the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the Jharkhand state in eastern India, and flows eastward for about 592 km through the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the estaury of the River Hooghly...

 but several other smaller streams. Some time after the 8th century AD, Tamralipta

Tamralipta

Tamralipta or Tamralipti was the name of an ancient city on the Bay of Bengal believed by scholars to be on the site of Tamluk in modern-day India.-References:...

 lost its importance primarily on account of silting up of the mouth of Saraswati and the consequent shifting of its course.

The Saraswati moved to a position when it flowed out at Triveni and after a movement towards the west turned to the southeast to meet the Hooghly River again at Betore opposite present Garden Reach, thus forming a loop. Saptagram was situated on the upper part of the loop on the southern bank..
It is believed that the Saraswati had an independent course to the sea.

Change in course

In the sixteenth century, the main waters of the Bhagirathi, which earlier used to flow through the Saraswati, started flowing through the Hooghly channel. In the course of time, the upper Saraswati dried up, but the Bhagirathi or Hooghly has abandoned the old Adi Ganga channel and flows through the lower course of the Saraswati below Sankrail

Sankrail

Sankrail is a census town in Sadar subdivision of Howrah district in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Geography:Sankrail is located at . It has an average elevation of 2 metres .-Demographics:...

.

Mention of Saraswati River

There is a clear indication of the river in Van den Brouck’s map of 1660. A hundred and fifty years prior to Van den Brouck’s map, the Bengali poet Bipradas Pipilai

Bipradas Pipilai

Bipradas Pipilai , was a 15th century poet. He was the son of Mukunda Pipilai, the family hailed from Badurya-Batagram in 24 Parganas, now in the Indian state of West Bengal.-The Manasa Vijay:...

 gave an account of the river and the surrounding area in his Manasamangal. As the merchant ship of the trader Chand Sadagar

Chand Sadagar

Chand Sadagar, , , was a rich and powerful merchant of Champak Nagar in ancient India. Bipradas Pipilai gave an account in his Manasamangal about the merchant ship of the trader Chand Saudagar proceeding to the sea, passing through Saptagram and Tribeni, the tri junction of the Ganges, Saraswati...

proceeded to the sea, he passed through Triveni and Saptagram and the tri junction of the Ganges, Saraswati and Yamuna.He wrote:

Ganga aar Saraswati, Yamuna vishal oti