Thar in ancient literature[edit]

The position of Thar desert (orange colour) in Iron Age Vedic India.

The Indian epics describe this region as Lavanasagara (Salt-ocean). The Ramayana mentions

Lavanasagara (the Salt-ocean) when Rama goes to attack Lanka with the army of vanaras. Rama uses his

agneyashtra-amogha to dry up the sea named drumakulya situated on north of Lavanasagara. A fresh

water source named Pushkar surrounded by Marukantara was created.[5]

According to Jain cosmology, Jambdvpa is at the centre of Madhyaloka, or the middle part of the

universe, where the humans reside. Jambdvpaprajapti or the treatise on the island of Roseapple tree

contains a description of Jambdvpa and life biographies of abha and King Bharata. Jambdvpa

continent is surrounded by ocean Lavanoda (Salt-ocean

The Thar Desert

(Rajasthani:

, Hindi:

, Sindhi: , Urdu:

also known as the Great Indian Desert) is a large,

arid region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent and forms a natural boundary running

along the border between India and Pakistan. With an area of more than 259,000 km2 (100,000 sq mi),

within the Indian state of Rajasthan, covering the districts of Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bikaner and Jodhpur,

and some region of the states of Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat.[1] it is the world's 9th largest subtropical

desert.[2]