The Beas River (Sanskrit: विपाशा or Vipasha) is a river in north India.^[1] The river rises in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows for some 470 kilometres (290 mi) to the Sutlej River in the Indian state of Punjab.^[2] Its total length is 470 kilometres (290 mi) and its drainage basin is 20,303 square kilometres (7,839 sq mi) large.^[3]

As of 2017 the river is home to a tiny isolated population of the Indus dolphin.^[4]

Etymology[edit]

Veda Vyasa is the eponym of the river Beas, the author of Indian epic Mahabharata; he is said to have created it from its source lake, the Vyas Kund.^[5]

Before Veda Vyasa, the Vipasa river was known as Saraswathi. Rishi Vashishta, the Great Grandfather of Vyasa tried to jump into this river from an overlooking hillock, to sacrifice his soul. However, the river altered form to become a sandbed, saving him. On account of this incident, the great Rishi opted to settle near the river, and made it a residence for some years. Thereby, it became known as Vashisht (after Vashishta). We can find Vashishta Brahmarishi Temple in this village.

Vashistha, at that time, already had his lineage through his son Shakti, who in turn was the father of Parashar Rishi. Parashar is considered the father of Hindu Jyothisha (astrology) vide his authorship of Parashar Hora Shashtra. Veda Vyasa is the son of Parashar.

After settling near the river, Rishi Vashishta sired a different branch of descendants. He worshiped Lord Shiva at this place, giving rise to the name of “Rajeshwar” for Lord Shiva in the region.

Rig-veda calls the river Vipāś, which means unfettered,^[6] in later Sanskrit texts it’s been called Vipāśā, Yāska identifies it with Argrikiya^[6]

Ancient Greeks called it Hyphasis (Greek: Ύφασης),^[7] Plinius called it Hypasis, an approximation to the vedic Vipāś. Other classical names are Hynais, Bipasis, Bibasis.^[6]

In modern times it’s also been called Bias or Bejah.^[6]

History[edit]

 

Beas River in Himachal Pradesh

 

Beas River in Pathankot

The Beas River marks the easternmost border of Alexander the Great‘s conquests in 326 BCE. It was one of the rivers which created problems in Alexander’s invasion of India. His troops mutinied here in 326 BCE, refusing to go any further; they had been away from home for eight years. Alexander shut himself in his tent for three days, but when his men did not change their desires he gave in, raising twelve colossal altars to mark the limit and glory of his expedition.^[8][9]

According to the Kavyamimansa ^[10] of Rajasekhara, the kingdom-territories of the Gurjara-Pratihara monarch Mahipala I extended as far as the upper course of the river Beas in the north-west.^[11]

In the 20th century, the river was developed under the Beas Project for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation purposes.^[12] The second-phase Pong Dam was completed in 1974 followed by the first-phase 140 kilometres (87 mi) upstream, Pandoh Dam in 1977. The Pong Dam served initially to primarily provide irrigation below Talwara but was soon developed as well for power generation; its power station has a 360 MW installed capacity. The Pandoh Dam diverts the river through a system of tunnels and channels to the 990 MW Dehar Power Station on the Sutlej River, connecting both rivers.^[13][14]

The Shahnehar canal takes off from the Shahnehar barrage/headwork which is located just downstream of Pong dam to supply water for irrigation needs and four cascading power houses at the canal drops before releasing water further downstream in the Beas river. These power stations, named Mukerian hydel (12 units), has 207 MW total generating capacity.^[15] At the confluence with the Sutlej river, Harike barrage was constructed to divert the combined water flows of both rivers to irrigation canals to serve Rajasthan and Punjab areas.

Course[edit]

The river rises 4,361 metres (14,308 ft) above sea-level on the southern face of Rohtang Pass in Kullu. It traverses the Mandi District and enters the Kangra District at Sandhol, 590 metres (1,940 ft) above sea-level. During its lower course the Beas is crossed by numerous ferries, many of which consist of inflated skins (darais). Near Reh in Kangra District it divides into three channels, which reunite after passing Mirthal, 300 metres (980 ft) above sea-level. On meeting the Sivalik Hills in Hoshiarpur, the river sweeps sharply northward, forming the boundary with Kangra District. Then bending round the base of the Sivalik Hills, it takes the southerly direction, separating the districts of Gurdaspur and Hoshiapur. After touching the Jalandhar district for a short distance, the river forms the boundary between Amritsar and Kapurthala. Finally the Beas joins the river Sutlej at the south-western boundary of Kapurthala district of Punjab after a total course of 470 kilometres (290 mi). The chief tributaries are Bain, Banganga, Luni and Uhal. The Sutlej continues into Pakistani Punjab and joins the Chenab River at Uch near Bahawalpur to form the Panjnad River; the latter in turn joins the Indus River at Mithankot.

The water of the Beas river is allocated to India under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan.^[16] The mean annual flow is 14.203 million acre feet (MAF).^[17]

Beas River विपाशा नदी
The Beas River in Himachal Pradesh
The Beas river flows into the Satluj and feeds into the Indus ([1])
Native name	विपाशा नदी
Location
Country	India
State	Himachal Pradesh, Punjab
Municipality	of the Indus
Physical characteristics
Source	Beas Kund
⁃ location	Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh
⁃ coordinates	32°21′59″N 77°05′08″E
Mouth	Sutlej River
⁃ location	Punjab
⁃ coordinates	31°09′16″N 74°58′31″ECoordinates: 31°09′16″N 74°58′31″E
Length	470 km (290 mi)
Basin size	20.303 km2 (7.839 sq mi)
Discharge
⁃ location	Mandi Plain
⁃ average	499.2 m3/s (17,630 cu ft/s)