Water is one of the fundamental elements of the universe from which early life originated millions of years ago on earth. Every life on earth is primarily dependent on water which hosts innumerable aquatic species from single cell creatures to gigantic blue whales. As the evolution of human took place, civilized human settled down on the fertile river banks. In other words, river banks are the motherhood for civilized human and most of the civilization around the world. These river or lake banks gave water for drinking and also for cropping along with mineral rich soil. Civilized men knew the importance of water and respected these water bodies. These people worshipped those elements of the nature which were powerful and were capable of destruction. Any realy civilization worshipped Sun - the God of Light, Fire – as God Agni, Wind – as God Vaayu and Rain (Water) as God Varuna. The oldest ever known Indian mythology also worshipped the nature as Pancha Bhutas (Five fundamental elements) viz. Agni (Fire), Vaayu (Wind), Varuna (Water or Rain), Bhoomi (Soil or Mother Earth) and Akaash (Space). The importance of water and environment are often discussed in Vedas and Puranas, which are the oldest literatures of the human history.

Vedas and Purans mainly deal with the cosmic energy and the ultimate salvation of the material body. These literatures emphasize about the nature and worshipping nature in the form of Pancha Bhutaas, which is also a way of conserving its serenity. For example, water being, both a divinity and a daily consumable to Vedic Indians helped them build up stronger trust on and more sensible familiarity with it.

The geographical information retrievable from the Vedas reveal that, in addition to rain, rivers, lakes, fountains and other reservoirs are the major source of water [1], which were accurately recognized and named according to their characteristics, location and people’s impression. Righvedha mentions about thirty rivers in varying frequency, including the famous saptasindhu (seven rivers) and pañca-āp (five-waters) which covered the area now known as Punjab.  [2, 3,4,5].

It can be noted that almost all rivers in the Vedas have feminine names ending with elongated vowels which alludes to, their beauty, gait and motherly qualities [4, 5].
Vedic Indians also had explored the scientific aspects of rain and water knowing the importance of lakes, tanks and ponds. Agni Purana highlights about the design and formalities to be followed in the construction of tank/lake/kere, which states that a rectangular or octagonal or circular pole should be erected at the centre of the tank, prior to which gold and fruits are placed at its base. For a tank, 20 hand-lengths should be dug and 25 hand-lengths for a pond at the point where this pole is placed along with chanting of hymns.

Further significance of constructing tanks and lakes is highlighted though “a person who constructs a tank attains 100 million times more excellence than those who perform the ritual of Ashwa medhayaaga  and goes directly to heaven in a fine chariot. Furthermore, since cattle and other animals drink water from the tank, the person who builds a tank is absolved of any sin in life. Gifting water through construction of a reliable water source was also considered to be worthy and more important than having 1000 children.

Early civilization had the knowledge about medicinal aspects of particular rivers due to the origin and flow regime. Water elixir of life  evident from,

Gange cha Yamune chaiva Godavari Saraswati,
Narmade Sindhu Kaveri jalesmin sannidhim kuru.

In this water, I invoke the presence of holy waters from the rivers Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri.
Unfortunately, all of these so called ‘Holy Rivers’ are severely polluted in many places today. A river in Uttara Kannada district, whose mythical antiquity is as old as Ganga, known as Aghanaashini, which means ‘the one who destroys all sin’. This also illustrates the how essential it is to keep the status of the water body in pristine state. Rivers are revered in vedas and other ancient literatures. Rig Veda (RV) says, once water is released from clouds and reaches the earth, rivers become both the receptacles and carriers of that priceless divinity. There many hymns addressing rivers with immense respect and gratitude for their generous and purifying nature. For instance, to the river Sarasvatī as a purifier (RV. 1.3.10), granter of vitality (RV. 10.30.12), progeny (RV. 2.41.17), wealth and nourishment (RV. 7.95.2; 8.21.17; 9.67.32; 10.17.8, 9) is applied the epithet subhagā which has a number of positive distinctions.

In addition to direct addresses such as 'waters are our mothers' (āpo asmān mātaraḥ) [7], there are implication on water's role in parentage of life on the earth. The river Sarasvatī which contains and carries motherly waters is also addressed as ‘mother (ambā)’ [8].
Water is revered as a panacea [9] with medicinal properties prevents and eliminates all diseases [10]. As in the Atharva Veda replete with bheṣajya sūkta or medicine hymns, water treatment cures a number of internal diseases/ discomforts including kṣetriya (heredity disease) [11], āsrāva (excessive bodily discharges) [12] , rapas (frailty), amīvā (pain or distress) [13], yakṣma (disease in general) [14] and āhruta (dislocation of limbs) [15] and diseases related to the heart, eyes or limbs [17,18]. Chandogya Upanishad also upholds the importance of water in first place, one of the shlokas as follows:

Water is greater than food. Therefore if there is not sufficient rain, living beings fail from fear that there will be less food. But if there is sufficient rain, they become happy because there will be much food. This water, by assuming different forms, becomes this earth, sky, heaven, mountains, gods and men, cattle, birds, herbs and trees, all beasts down to worms, midges, and ants. Water itself assumes all these forms. Meditate on water.

-Chandogya Upanishad 7.10.1

Water bodies were cherished in every society and empire. Arthashastra, a legendary book on, laws and social strategies written by Chanakya (Kautilya) about 300 BC also endorses the importance of water conservation and tanks in the region. It has specified that a king must build a water source that does not dry up during the year. If he is not able to do so, as an alternative, he should provide the land and other essential materials to the one who voluntarily offers to build a tank. Further, it lays down that the natural flow of water from a higher tank to a lower one should not be stopped unless the lower tank has been rendered useless for three consecutive years. Those who indulge in such a practice should be punished. Laws regarding maintenance of water bodies can also be found in such literatures, as Gautama Dharma Sutra, says that people should not defecate in these waters nor should they enter the water wearing footwear.

Throughout the evolution of modern era, water has been worshipped, protected and respected in the same time used as required for the livelihood. Every religion believed that water is the starting of life on the earth. Qur’an says, water is the origin of all life on earth, the substance from which God created man (Qur’an 25:54). The Qur’an emphasizes its centrality: "We made from water every living thing"(Qur’an 21:30). Further it highlights that, water is the primary element that existed even before the heavens and the earth did: "And it is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and his Throne was upon water" (Qur’an 11:7). Stringent rules on water usage were present in Arab countries. The Arabic word for Islamic Law "Shari`ah" is closely related to water. It is included in early Arab dictionaries and originally meant “the place from which one descends to water.” Before the advent of Islam in Arabia, the shari`ah was, a series of rules about water use: the shir`at al-maa’ were the permits that gave right to drinking water [19]. The word ‘water’ is mentioned 722 times in the scriptures of Holy Bible, which is many more times than ‘prayer’ or even ‘worship’.

References

1. The term samudra (Rigveda. 6.17.12; 7.6.7; 8.3.4; 9.2.5; 10.45.3 etc.) is often used in the sense 'water reservoir' or 'ocean' which does not flow. There are more terms referring to water bodies that are not rivers such as ‘arna, arnava, udadhi, vistap, saras, hrada’ etc. Macdonell (1897) 59 thinks arna should be rendered as ‘streams’ rather than rain or deluge. Arnava, which means 'ocean' in classical Sanskrit, may however suggest, due its semantic proximity, arna is a term for ‘mass collection’ of water. Macdonell, Arthur Anthony (1897). Vedic mythology. Grundriss der indo-arischen Philologie und Altertumskunde Series, 3. Bd., 1. ft. A. trassburg: K. . Tr bner.
2. See RV. 10.75, 3.33; Thomas (1883) 357 - 377 gives us an excellent account of rivers as in the RV and how they were related to Aryans’ migratory life)Thomas, Edward (1883). The rivers of the Vedas, and how the Aryans entered India. The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, New Series, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Oct., 1883). 357-386.
3. MacLagan, R. (1885). The rivers of the Punjab. Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography, New Monthly Series, Vol. 7, No. 11. 705 - 719.
4. Wilkins (1901) 468 mentions about two ‘male’ rivers, i.e. Soṇa & Brahmaputra.Wilkins, W.J. (1901). Hindu mythology, Vedic and Purānic. 2nd edition. London: Thacker, Spink & Co.
5. Mahānārāyana Upanisad 1.62
6. Rigveda. 10.17.10; cf. Rigveda. 1.23.16; 10.9.2, 6.50.7; Taittirīya Samhitā. 1.2.1.1; Atharvaveda Śaunakīya. 6.51.2; Atharvaveda Paippalāda. 6.3.4; Vājasaneyī Samhitā. 4.2; Kāthaka Samhitā. 2.1; Maitrāyanī Samhitā. 1.2.1; 10.1; 3.6.2: 61.7; Śatapatha Brāhmana. 3.1.2.11
7. Rigveda. 2.41.16; Note that saras+vat +ī > Sarasvatī literally means ‘who possesses waters’. Cf. Sarasvat as the husband of Sarasvatī who bestows fertility, protection and plenty. Many scholars but deny his being Sarasvati's husband. Macdonell, Arthur Anthony (1897). Vedic mythology. Grundriss der indo-arischen Philologie und Altertumskunde Series, 3. Bd., 1. ft. A. trassburg: K. . Tr bner.
8. Rigveda. 10.137.6 (āpah sarvasya bhesajīh). Here sarvasya (for all) have two meanings; for all diseases and for all types of patients requiring treatment.
9. Cf. Ṛigveda. 1.23.20 (āpaś ca viśvabheṣajīḥ), Atharvaveda Śaunakīya. 6.91.3; 3.7.5, Atharvaveda Paippalāda. 5.18.9
10. Rigveda. 10.9.6 (apsu me somo abravīd antar viśvāni bheṣajā). Cf. Ṛigveda. 10.9.5; Atharvaveda Śaunakīya. 6.91.2 and Rigveda. 7.50.3 for gods being implored to remove poisonous substances in waters.
11. Atharvaveda Śaunakīya. 3.7.5; 2.10.2
12. Atharvaveda Śaunakīya. 2.3.3-5, here the spring water seeping up through holes on the ground dug by ants (upajīvika) is meant.
13. Atharvaveda Śaunakīya. 3.7.5; 6.91.3; Atharvaveda Paippalāda. 3.2.7; 5.18.9, Cf. Ṛigveda.10.137.6 (āpo amīvacātanīḥ)
14. Atharvaveda Śaunakīya.19.2.5; Atharvaveda Paippalāda. 8.8.11 (ayakṣmaṃ karaṇīr āpaḥ)
15. Atharvaveda Śaunakīya. 19.2.5, cf. Ṛigveda. 8.20.26
16. Atharvaveda Śaunakīya. 6.24.1 (hṛddyota)
17. Atharvaveda Śaunakīya. 6.24.2
18. Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa. 4.4.5.23 Max Muller, F. & Eggeling, J. (tr.) (1972). The Śatapatha-Brāhmaṇa: according to the text of the Mādhyandina school; Part. 1. Books I and II. Sacred books of the East Series (ed. by F. Max Muller), Vol. 12. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
19. http://english.islammessage.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?articleId=305