Dowsing in Veda's
Natural entities and forces, such as Sun, Earth, Rivers, Ocean, Wind, Water, etc. have been worshipped in India as Gods since time immemorial. Perhaps it is not a sheer coincidence that the King of these Gods is Indra, the God of Rain. Clearly, ancient Indians were aware of the importance of rain and other hydrologic variables for the society. The ancient Indian literature contains numerous references to hydrology and a reading of it suggests that those people knew the basic concepts of hydrological processes and measurements. Important concepts of modern hydrology are scattered in various verses of Vedas, Puranas, Meghmala, Mahabharat, Mayurchitraka, Vrhat Sanhita and other ancient Indian works.
The Vedic texts which are more than 3,000 years old contain valuable references on hydrologic cycle. The most important concepts, on which the modern science of hydrology is founded, are scattered in Vedas in various verses which are in the form of hymns and prayers addressed to various deities. Likewise, other Sanskrit literature has valuable discourses regarding hydrology.
It is very interesting to learn that Varahamihira in as early as 550 A.D. presented a simple
method for obtaining potable water from a contaminated source of water. Various plant materials along with solar heating, aeration, quenching of water with fire heated stones, gold, silver, iron or sand were suggested for this purpose. The change in the quality of water with the months of year and suitability of water from different sources for various uses were described.
