Pratipat - Water
What can we do without water? Nothing. It is a well-known fact that without water a person can not survive for even a couple of days. Will Durant in his ‘The Story of Civilization’ points out that among all factors, geological and geographical factors are the most important. Water and water sources are a major part of both of them.
Yangtze and Huang He gave rise to Chinese Civilization. Ganga, Sarasvati, Yamuna, Sutlej and other countless rivers of the Indian Subcontinent still cradle the Indian Civilization. The Volga, Ob, Yenisei and Lena water the lands of Russia and Siberia. The Euphrates and Tigris rivers fed the Persian Empire. The river Tiber gave rise to the Romans. Danube, Seine, Rhine, Thames support the Modern European Civilization. On the banks of the Amazon, Mississippi and Missouri rose great civilizations in the Americas.
In short, without water nor can an individual exist or a society. Hence, Indians have always worshipped water as a motherly figure. The Rig Veda honours water thus, ‘Give us a share of your most essential sap of Rasa, beneficent like mothers longing for love’(RV 10.9.2).