Thar Desert Thar Desert The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is a large arid region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent that covers an area of and forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. It is the world's 17th largest desert, and the world's 9th largest subtropical desert. About 75% of the Thar Desert is located within India, with the remaining 25% in Pakistan. In India, it covers about , and the remaining of the desert is within Pakistan. The Thar desert forms approximately 5%(~4.56%) of the total geographic area of India. More than 60%
Thar Desert hymn in the Rigveda mentions the Sarasvati between the Yamuna in the east and the Sutlej in the west, and later Vedic texts like Tandya and Jaiminiya Brahmanas as well as the Mahabharata mention that the Sarasvati dried up in a desert. Most scholars agree that at least some of the references to the Sarasvati in the Rigveda refer to the Ghaggar-Hakra River. There is also a small present-day Sarasvati River ("Sarsuti") that joins the Ghaggar. The epic "Mahabharata" mentions the Kamyaka Forest situated on the western boundary of the Kuru Kingdom (Kuru Proper and Kurujangala), on the banks of