Were Dṛṣadvati and Āpayā mentioned in the Rig Veda physical rivers?

 

In Rig Veda, we can find frequent mention of three females, ie., Iḻā, Sarasvatī and Mahī/Bhāratī.

Many get confused them with physical rivers, but they were called by rishis in Rig Veda as tisro devī - three (3) female divinities/ENERGIES.

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Rig Veda 5.5.8

iḻā sarasvatī mahī tisro devīr mayobhuvaḥ | barhiḥ sīdantv asridhaḥ ||

Shri Aurobindo’s translation

She (iḻā) of the vision of knowledge, she (sarasvatī) of its flowing inspiration, she (mahī or Bhāratī) of its vastness, three goddesses who give birth to the Bliss, they who stumble not, may they take their seats at the altar strewn of the Sacrifice in Rig Veda.

Iḻā is described as functioning in the Earthly sphere, while Saraswati's function is in the antariksha - mid space ( between Earth and Heaven), and Mahī or Bhāratī is described as pervading or functioning in the Heaven and beyond.

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As AGNI was referred to in Rig Veda by different names, viz., Jātavedas, Vaiśvānara, and Tanūnapāt, etc, similarly, the three (3) female divinities Iḻā, Sarasvatī and Mahī/Bhāratī were mentioned by different names.

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I) Urvaśī, and Br̥haddivā

Iḻā, Urvaśī, and Br̥haddivā were mentioned in Rig Veda 5.41.19.

The subsequent literature, due to non-comprehending the original thoughts of rishis of Rig Veda, had mentioned Urvaśī/Ūrvaśī as celestial damsel.

Urvaśī, and Br̥haddivā are none other than Sarasvatī and Bhāratī/Mahī respectively, as explained in another post.

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II) Dr̥ṣadvatī and Āpayā

Dr̥ṣadvatī and Āpayā were mentioned, along with Sarasvatī.

Rig Veda 3.23.4

नि त्वा दधे वर आ पृथिव्या इळायास्पदे सुदिनत्वे अह्नाम् । दृषद्वत्यां मानुष आपयायां सरस्वत्यां रेवदग्ने दिदीहि ॥
ni tvā dadhe vara ā pṛthivyā iḻāyās pade sudinatve ahnām | dṛṣadvatyām mānuṣa āpayāyāṃ sarasvatyāṃ revad agne didīhi ||

English translation of Stephanie W. Jamison and Joel P. Brereton:

He has installed you, Agni, here on earth’s most desirable place, in the track of the milk-libation, on the brightest day of days. As (the Agni) of Manu, shine richly upon the Dr̥ṣadvatī, on the Āpayā, and on the Sarasvatī.

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Dṛśadvatī can be understood, as follows:

Dṛśad (दृषद्) refers to "rock" or "stone."

vatī (वती) indicates "having" or "containing."

Thus, Dṛśadvatī can be interpreted as "containing rocks" or "having rocks". As this is Earthy nature, it may indicate the divinity Iḻā.

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The term Āpayā can be understood, as follows:

āpa - "water."

yā - "attaining" or "acquiring."

Thus, Āpayā can be interpreted as "acquiring" or "attaining waters".

In Rig Veda, we will come across the phrases like arresting the flow/release/flowing down of waters. Here, water indicates Wisdom/eternal BLISS. As this is the culminating stage in SPIRITUALITY, this is Heavenly in nature.

Thus, it may indicate the divinity Mahī/Bhāratī.

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Hence, according to my understanding, Dr̥ṣadvatī and Āpayā may indicate the divinities Iḻā and Mahī/Bhāratī respectively, but not physical rivers.