[1] It also forms the name of Samudradeva (Sanskrit: समुद्रदेव; IAST: samudrá-deva), the Hindu god of the ocean.
Griffith): The precise semantic field of the Vedic word is difficult to establish, and has been much debated, in particular in relation to the question whether the bearers of the Rigvedic culture had direct knowledge of the ocean.
[2] And indeed there are symbolic identifications of small quantities of water with mythical oceans, for example in the famous hymn to Varuna, emphasizing Varuna's omnipresence in every drop of water (AVS 4.16.3 cd) The oldest vedic commentators like the Brihaddevata of Shaunaka, Nighantu and the Nirukta of Yaska interpret the term Samudra as "ocean".
The Marutas "uplift from the ocean the rain, and fraught with vaporous moisture pour the torrents down" in RV 5.55.5.
[4] In RV 1.116.4 the Asvins rescued Bhujyu by carrying him for three days and three nights to the sea's farther shore.
There are many other verses in the Rig Veda which refer to this tale (e.g. RV 1.118.6; VI 62, 6; VII 69, 7; VIII 5, 22), and where consequently Samudra could be identified with the ocean as well.
In this view the "lowlands" of Kashmir and Kuruksetra were samudra, but the sea in which the Ganga fell is a sagara.
The Rigveda narrates that Indra slew the dragon which released the seven rivers and caused them to enter the ocean.
[14] RV 9.33.6 says: 'From every side, O Soma, for our profit, pour thou forth four seas filled with a thousand-fold riches."
Another term, as mentioned above, is "Sagara" (सअगर), which likewise is also found in modern Indo-Aryan languages and languages influenced by Sanskrit as an alternative for "Samudra", some even having it more common to use than the latter term, including Balinese, Sundanese, and Javanese.