Scholars find fault with Ptolemy for giving a very poor picture of the river Ganges; his description makes this river very small compared to the Indus. According to Ptolemy, Ganges has only three tributaries. But scholars see

Arrian assigns(quoting from Megasthenes) seventeen, and Pliny nineteen branch rivers for the Ganges.

The tributaries mentioned by Arrian are : the Kainas, Erannoboas, Kossoanos, Sonos, Sittokatis, Solomatis, Kondokhates, Sambos, Magon, Agoranis, Omalis, Kommenases, Kakouthis, Andomatis, Amystis, Oxymagis, and the Errhenysis. The two added by Pliny are the Prinas, and Jomanes.

The mistake of seeing these rivers as tributaries of the Ganges is at the root of the scholarly ideas of this ancient river whose source was the Lake Manasarovara.  Arrian’s and Pliny’s rivers represent the whole of the ‘inhabited world’ , and certain writers find the river Ganges as connected with all ancient rivers. Chinese pilgrims see the river Ganges as a very small river like Ptolemy, which enters the southern sea through a very wide mouth. Its source was very close to the sea.  

According to Hiouen Tsiang. ‘from the eastern side of the Lake, through the mouth of the Silver-Ox, flows the Ganges(King-kia), anciently written Hang-ho, from the south of the lake, through a golden-elephant’s moth, proceeds the Sindhu(Sin-to) river, encircling the lake once, it flows into the south-western sea’.

The wrong ideas formed on this ancient river can be seen in Yule’s statement itself;:- ‘Among rivers , some of the most difficult names are in the list which Arrian and Pliny have taken from Megasthenes, of the affluents of the Ganges. This list was got apparently at Palibothra(Patna), and if streams in the vicinity of that city occupy an undue space in the list, this is natural. Magon and Errhenysis-Mohana and Nirnjana, join to form the river flowing past Gaya, famous in Buddhist legend under the second name.  ……’.

On mouths of the Ganges, Wilson says, ‘Ptolemy’s descriptions (Asiat. Researches, Vol.XIV, pp.464-66) of the Delta of the Ganges is by no means a bad one, if we reject the latitudes and longitudes, which I always do, and adhere solely to his narrative, which is plain enough. He begins with the western branch of the Ganges or Bhagirathi, and says that it sends one branch to the right or towards the west, and another towards the east, or to the left.. This takes place at Triveni.  So called from three rivers parting, in three different directions, and it is a most sacred place. The branch which goes towards the right is the famous Saraswati; and Ptolemy says that it flows into the Kambyson mouth, or the mouth of the ‘Jelassor river, called in the Sanskrit Saktimati, , synonymous with Kambu or Kamboj, or the river of shells. This communication does not exist, but it was believed to exist, till the country was surveyed. This branch sends another branch, says our author, which affords a passage into the great mouth, or that of the Bhagirathi or Ganges. This supposed branch os the Rupanarayana, which, if the Saraswati ever flowed into the Kambyson mouth, must of course have sprung from it, and it was then natural to suppose that it did so. M. D’Anville has brought the Saraswati into the Jelasor river in his maps, and supposed that the communication took place a little above a village called Danton, and if we look into the Bengal Atlas, we shall perceive that during the rains, at least, it is possible to go by water, from Hughli, through Saraswati, and many other rivers, to within a few miles of Danton, and Jelasor river. The river, which according to Ptolemy branches out towards the east, or the left, and goes into the Kambarikon mouth  is Jumna, called in Bengal Jubuna. For the Ganges, the Jumna and the Saraswati, unite at the northern Triveni or Allahabad , and part afterwards at the Triveni near Hughli. … called in the spoken dialects Terboni. Though the Jumna falls into the Kambarikon mouth, it does by no means form it; for it obviously derives its name from the Kambadara or Kambaraka river, as I observed before. Ptolemy says that the Ganges sends arm towards the east or to the left, directly to the false mouth or Harnaghatta. From it springs another branch to Antibole, which of course is the Dhakka branch called the Padma or the Puddaganga. This is a mistake, but of no great consequence, as the outlines remain the same. It is Pudda or the Dhakka branch.  which sends an arm into the Harighatta. The branching out is near Kasti  and Komarkalli, and under various appellations it goes into the Harighatta mouth’.

Diamouna has been recognised with Yamuna, passing through Delhi, Mathura, Agra and other places and joins the Ganges at the Allahabad. Arrian, as scholars point out, has omitted this as an affluent of the Ganges, but subsequently mention name of Jobares which many observes same as Yamuna which passes through country of Sourasenoi, an Indian tribe possessing two cities like Methura and Kleisobara. Pliny says that(lib VI,c.xix) says Jomanes flows into the Ganges  through the Palibothri, between the towns of Methora and Chrysobara. The Gnages at its junction with the Jamna and the third but imaginary river called Saraswati, which is supposed to join underground is called the Triveni’

Similarly wrong views persist on all branch rivers of the Ganges. Sarabos river, which identifies the Kingdom of Kosala, has been made as same as the river Saraju. Even the river Solamatis has been made same as this river. It is observed that the geographical situation of the city of Saravati is unknown. But while some scholars see it as same as Sravasti, others take it as Saketa, same as Sha-chi or Shanxi of pilgrims’ accounts.

River Soa is again seen as identical to river Sona(Sonos of Arrian) which falls into the Ganges, as scholars point out, 16 miles above Patna. It rises in Gondwana in the territory of Nagpur, at Amarakantka, about four or five miles east of Narmada. Gondwana is considered as a lost continent; so scholars are of the view that ‘it would appear that in former times, it joined the Ganges in the neighbourhood of Patna, the modern representative of Paliborhta, or Palimbothra of classical writers’.

Palibothra never represents Patna of Bihar, and ancient Gaya, similarly, does not represent its present counterpart. That is the reason why there is a great difference of more than six degrees in latitude of the source as observed by Ptolemy and as observed by scholars. The latitude of its present source at Gangotri, in the district of Garhwal, is 30⁰ 54’, or more than 6⁰ further south than its position given by Ptolemy.

The whole problem arises because the authors who penned the history of the rivers in India concentrated their scholarship on the present river Ganges. They do not know that river Ganges’s source was in the Lake Manasarovara which is no more there today. It identifies the Anavatapta of the Pali texts, or Anarta desha of Indian purans where Naga Kings like Mani and Manaseeh were ruling from its banks.

Buddha arrived here after his Great Flight from Kapilavastu and reached at the Mango groves of the Malla country in Anavatapta. It was a place only twelve miles from the city of Kapilavastu which was then on the bank of the river Saraswati.

The five mouths of the river Ganges as mentioned by Ptolemy are Kambyson (First Mouth, most western), Mega (Second Mouth), Kamberikon(Third Mouth), Pseudostomon (Fourth Mouth), and Antibole(Fifth Mouth).  Without understanding the ‘five mouths’ of this river, and their ancient descriptions as noted in various ancient texts including the Pali texts, most of the authors of Ptolemy’s Geography, as usual find mistakes with him.

Kambyson identifies ancient Kamboj, same as Champa, and also same as Kubera or Cyprus.  Mega mouth represents the place of hermitage of Sage Magha and the settlements of Meghas; this identifies Gangadwara or Gangotri itself. As Periplus says, ‘a place, a port, and a dynasty in the name of ‘Ganga’ are situated at one place. It was a place near the seashore and was very close to the Manasarovara Lake. History of Ganga dynasty as written, and as explained by scholars have  not taken into account either the ‘five mouths’ of Ptolemy, or as Periplus observes this dynasty attached to the source of the river Ganges. Even Alexander’s invasion history has been wrongly interpreted with respect to the term ‘barber’. Gargis derived their name from this river Ganga; they were living then on bank of this river. Gaga of the Bible depicts this river only, bit biblical scholars shifted this river and made it to pronounce as ‘Gaza’.  

Kamberikon mouth of the Ganges again is identical with Champaran, a lake in Champa. As all mouth seated very close to each other around the Lake Manasarovara, Pseudo-stomon should be seen same as Sidon on the northern side of this lake. Antibole represents Anabatapata on the bank of the Lake. River Ganges should be seen as a river flowing very close to the ancient Jerusalem. Today this river is no more to be seen.

But the river Bhagirathi flows in its ancient course through Puri district; it joins the river Luna, a branch of the Indus, and the Ratnachira river,(Yamuna of some of the ancient texts, or the Achiravati) and the Soan to form the Triveni. Yamuna is not only the name of a river, it is also name of a place near the ancient Pateli, or Patalene which was then situated not on the bank of the river Ganges as suggested, but on the bank of the river Yamuna. Palibothra of the Greeks is Pulathipura of the Pali texts, It identifies the Greek Polis near Attalia and Pali Sri( of the Skanda purana) which marks the birthplace of Alexander.