The
Sarasvati River (
Sanskrit: ) is one of the main
Rigvedic rivers mentioned in the
Rig Veda and later
Vedic and post-Vedic texts. It plays an important role in
Hinduism, since Vedic Sanskrit and the first part of the Rig Veda are regarded to have originated when the Vedic people lived on its banks, 2nd millennium BCE . The goddess
Sarasvati was originally a personification of this river, but later developed an independent identity.