Rasa (rásāरसा) is the name of a western tributary of theIndus in theRigveda (verse 5.53.9). The word rasa means "moisture, humidity" inVedic Sanskrit.
InRV 9.41.6,RV 10.108 and in theNirukta ofYaska, it is the name of a mythical stream supposed to flow around the Earth and the atmosphere (compareOceanus), also referring to the underworld in theMahabharata and thePuranas (compareStyx).
The corresponding term inAvestan isRanha/Raŋhā. In theVendidad, Ranha is mentioned just afterHapta-Həṇdu, and may possibly refer to the ocean.[1]
Witzel makes the case that the verse is a remembrance of distant emigration and denotes the riverVolga in the steppe homeland of the aryans :- "IIr. river *Raså corresponds in name to the Vedic Raså (RV, JB), the E.Ir. (Avest.) Raŋhå, and the N.Ir. *Rahå that ispreserved in Greek as Rhå and designates the R. Volga".[2][3]
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