Beas River

{{Short description|River in India}} {{Other uses|Beas (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}} {{Use Indian English|date=April 2017}} {{Infobox river | name = Beas River | image = Beas_River_at_Kullu,_Himachal_Pradesh.jpg | image_size = | image_caption = The Beas River in Himachal Pradesh | mapframe = yes | map_size = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption =  | subdivision_type1 = Country | subdivision_name1 = India | subdivision_type2 = State | subdivision_name2 = Himachal Pradesh, Punjab | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 =  | length_km = 470 | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location = Mandi Plain | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = {{convert|499.2|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}} | discharge1_max = | source1 = Beas Kund | source1_location = Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh | source1_coordinates = {{coord|32|21|59|N|77|05|08|E|display=inline}} | source1_elevation = | mouth = Sutlej River | mouth_location = Harike, Harike Wetland, Tarn Taran district, Punjab | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|31|09|16|N|74|58|31|E|display=inline,title}} | mouth_elevation = | progression = | river_system = | basin_size_km2 = 20,303 | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra = | other_name = Vyas River }} The '''Beas River'''{{efn|{{IPA|pa|be.jäːsᵊ}}; {{IPA|hns|bjɑːs}}}} is a river in northwestern India, flowing through the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, and is the smallest of the five major rivers of the Punjab region.<ref>''The Panjab, North-West Frontier Province and Kashmir''. Sir James McCrone Douie. 1916, p. 25</ref> Rising in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh, the river flows for approximately {{convert|470|km}} into the Sutlej River in Punjab.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://gurdaspur.nic.in/html/profile.htm#river|title= About District|access-date= 17 May 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050802074716/http://gurdaspur.nic.in/html/profile.htm#river|archive-date= 2 August 2005|url-status= dead}}</ref> Its total length is {{convert|470|km}} and its drainage basin is {{convert|20,303|km2|sqmi|0}} large.<ref name="JainAgarwal2007">{{cite book|last1=Jain|first1=Sharad K.|last2=Agarwal|first2=Pushpendra K.|last3=Singh|first3=Vijay P.|title=Hydrology and water resources of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZKs1gBhJSWIC&pg=PA481|access-date=15 May 2011|date=5 March 2007|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-4020-5179-1|page=481}}</ref>

As of 2017, the river is home to a tiny isolated population of the Indus dolphin.<ref>{{cite web|title=Signs of hope as population of endangered Indus River dolphin jumps in Pakistan |publisher=WWF |url=http://wwf.panda.org/?318636/Signs-of-hope-as-population-of-endangered-Indus-River-dolphin-jumps-in-Pakistan&utm_ |access-date=2017-12-17 }}</ref>

==Etymology== Rig-veda calls the river ''Vipāś'', which means unfettered,<ref name=r1> Müller, Max. [https://ia601600.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/1/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.276610/2015.276610.India-What_jp2.zip&file=2015.276610.India-What_jp2/2015.276610.India-What_0179.jp2&scale=4&rotate=0 ''India: what Can it Teach Us?: A Course of Lectures Delivered Before the University of Cambridge''] (1883) </ref> in later Sanskrit texts it's been called ''Vipāśā'' विपाशा. Yāska identifies it with Argrikiya.<ref name=r1/>

According to legends,Veda Vyasa, the author of the Indian epic ''Mahabharata'', is the eponym of the river Beas; he is said to have created it from its source lake, the Beas Kund.<ref>{{cite book | last = Wasini Pandey | first = Bindhy | title = Geoenvironmental hazards in Himalaya | work = Pg.58 | date = 23 August 2023 | publisher = Mittal Publications | isbn = 9788170998648 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QqVcAEfQrjIC&q=Beas+Vyas&pg=PA58 | access-date = 2009-05-29}}</ref>

According to other legends, before Veda Vyasa, the Vipasa river was known as Saraswati. Rishi Vashishta, the great-grandfather of Vyasa, tried to jump into this river from an overlooking hillock, to sacrifice his soul. He tied himself with several cords to drown himself{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}. However, the river altered form to become a sandbed, saving him. And in this course, the cords got broken, so Vashishta named the river Vipasa, which means cord-breaker.<ref>Pratap Chandra Roy Mahabharata Adi Parva Page 407.</ref> 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.

Ancient Greeks called it ''Hyphasis'' ({{langx|el|Ύφασης}}).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 7, page 138 – Imperial Gazetteer of India – Digital South Asia Library |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V07_144.gif |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=dsal.uchicago.edu}}</ref> Plinius called it Hypasis, an approximation to the Vedic ''Vipāś''. Other classical names are Hynais, Bipasis, Bibasis.<ref name=r1/>

In modern times, the river has also been called Bias or Bejah.<ref name=r1/>

==History== The Beas River marks the easternmost border of Alexander the Great's conquests in 326 BC. It was one of the rivers that created problems in Alexander's invasion of India. His troops mutinied here in 326 BC, refusing to go any further in Mukerian. Alexander shut himself in his tent for three days, but when the mutiny did not cease he gave in, raising twelve colossal altars to mark the limit and glory of his expedition.<ref>''Travels into Bokhara'', Lieut. Alex. Burnes FRS, London, John Murray, 1834, page 6</ref><ref name="WDL">{{cite web |url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11738/ |title = The Empire and Expeditions of Alexander the Great |website = World Digital Library |date = 1833 |access-date = 2013-07-26 }}</ref> The exact location and fate of these altars are unknown, although one historian has suggested that they were later reused to create some of the Pillars of Ashoka.<ref name="Pal2006">{{cite journal | last=Pal | first=Ranajit | title=An altar of Alexander now standing near Delhi | journal=Scholia| volume=15 | issue=1 | date=2006 | doi=10.10520/EJC100294 | pages=78–101 | url=https://journals.co.za/doi/abs/10.10520/EJC100294 | access-date=2025-10-17}}</ref>

According to the ''Kavyamimansa''<ref>Kavyamimansa of Rajasekhara, ch. XVII, P. 94</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|title=History of Kanauj: To the Moslem Conquest|author=Rama Shankar Tripathi|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ|year=1989|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Tnh2QjGhMQC&pg=PA262|pages=262–264|isbn=812080404X}}</ref> thumb|250x250px|Beas River in 2022 May 2014 Beas River Tragedy occurred when 24 engineering students and one tour operator drowned when the flood gates of the Larji dam were opened.

During 2023 monsoon, flooding in Beas caused substantial damages in the state of Himachal Pradesh.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-09 |title=At least 9 dead as heavy rains wreak havoc in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/himachal-pradesh-rain-landslide-kullu-manali-shimla-river-flood-live-updates-8820198/ |access-date=2023-07-11 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> Damage to the state is estimated to be $1B, the loss of life is over 400, and little government relief is available to assist with social costs and recovery.<ref>Srishti Jaswal. (25 September 2023). "‘Climate change killed my family’: Unusual monsoon hammers India’s Himachal". [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/25/climate-change-killed-my-family-unusual-monsoon-hammers-indias-himachal Al Jazeera English website] Retrieved 25 September 2023.</ref>

==Course== left|thumb|200px|Beas River near Manali

=== Present course === The river rises {{convert|4361|m}} above sea-level on the southern face of Rohtang Pass in Kullu. It traverses the Mandi District and enters the Kangra District at Sandhol, {{convert|590|m}} 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, {{convert|300|m}} above sea-level. On meeting the Sivalik Hills in Mukerian, 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 {{convert|470|km}}. 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTSOUTHASIA/Resources/223497-1105737253588/IndusWatersTreaty1960.pdf |title=The Indus Waters Treaty 1960 |website=World Bank |access-date=26 September 2016}}</ref> The mean annual flow is 14.203 million acre feet (MAF).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cwc.gov.in/sites/default/files/Ravi-%20Beas%20Waters%20Tribunal%20Report%201987.pdf|access-date=15 February 2020|publisher=Central Water Commission|title= Pages 261 and 291, The Ravi- Beas Water Tribunal Report (1987)}}</ref>

=== Historical course === Historically, the Beas River has flowed from its present-day junction with the Sutlej to Lahore and Montgomery districts, after which it joined with the Chenab near Shujabad before the Chenab turns westward.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Krishnan |first=M. S. |title=Geology of India and Burma |publisher=Higginbothams |year=1956 |edition=3rd |pages=22–25 |chapter=The Indus System}}</ref> By 1245, the Beas river occupied the former bed of the Chenab river that passed by Dipalpur.<ref name=":0" /> The Beas River used to run from Kasur to Chunian and then Shergarh in Okara.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mahmood |first=Amjad |date=19 April 2021 |title=The tuber territory of Okara |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1618941/the-tuber-territory-of-okara |access-date=5 August 2025 |work=Dawn |quote=A central ridge marking the old bed of River Beas passes through the district bifurcating it into two. Descending from Kasur, the crest goes all the way to Chunian, and then Shergarh in Okara. On the west of the ridge into Okara and Renala Khurd tehsils, the subsoil water is brackish and the area depends on canals for irrigation. But, on the eastern side of the ridge, Depalpur tehsil area, the subsoil water is sweet and good for agriculture.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Agriculture (Flora & Fauna) |url=https://okara.punjab.gov.pk/agriculture |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220108230115/https://okara.punjab.gov.pk/agriculture |archive-date=8 January 2022 |access-date=5 August 2025 |website=District Okara, Government of The Punjab, Pakistan |quote=There is a central ridge, in the centre of Okara District, which marks the old river bed of the Beas, and the boundary b/w the eastern and western half of the district. The ridge descends from Kasur, all the way to Chunian, and then Shergarh in Okara. As you go west of the ridge, into Okara & Renala Khurd, the subsoil water is brackish, therefore the area is dependent on canals for irrigation. However, after you cross the ridge east into Depalpur Tehsil, the subsoil water is sweet and good for agriculture.}}</ref> The old Beas river flowed south of the site of Harappa.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Prehistory |date=Dec 6, 2012 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=9781461500230 |editor-last=Peregrine |editor-first=Peter N. |volume=8: South and Southwest Asia |quote=The ancient bed of the Ravi river cuts into the northern part of the site [Harappa], and to the south is the old bed of the ancient Beas river. |editor-last2=Ember |editor-first2=Melvin}}</ref> The flow of the Beas river, which ran through the high-bar of the Bari Doab, shifted between 1750 and 1800, with it being captured by the Sutlej river, after many previous changes to its flow throughout the preceding centuries.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gilmartin |first=David |title=Blood and Water: The Indus River Basin in Modern History |date=Apr 14, 2020 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520355538 |pages=15 |quote=More recent evidence can be found in the still-visible evidence of old river beds, such as the old bed of the Beas running through the high bar of the Bari Doab in the Punjab, which was abandoned by the river when its flow was captured by the Sutlej in the second half of the eighteenth century, after many changes in course over the previous centuries.}}</ref>

==Dams== {{see also | Indus_River#Barrages,_bridges,_levees_and_dams | l1 = Dams on Indus | Jhelum_River#Dams | l2= Dams on Jhelum | Chenab_River#Dams | l3= Dams on Chenab | Ravi_River#Dams | l4= Dams on Ravi | Sutlej_River#Dams | l5= Dams on Sutlej}}

In the 20th century, the river was developed under the Beas Project for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation purposes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Infrastructure built in the post independence period |publisher=Govt of Punjab |url=http://irrigation.punjab.gov.in/OldVersion/canal_administration_postindependance.html |access-date=17 February 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Listed upstream to downstream:

* Pandoh Dam (Beas Satluj Link Project I), 990 MW, 41 MCM, in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, diverts Beas River water to the Sutlej River through a system of tunnels and channels, connecting the two rivers for power generation.<ref name=beadam1>{{cite web|title=Developmental History of Beas Project|url=http://bhakra.nic.in/english/history_bsl_development.asp|publisher=Bhakra Beas Management Board|access-date=27 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426005156/http://bhakra.nic.in/english/history_bsl_development.asp|archive-date=26 April 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=India: National Register of Large Dams 2009 |url=http://www.cwc.nic.in/main/downloads/National%20Register%20of%20Large%20Dams%202009.pdf |publisher=Central Water Commission |access-date=22 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721165130/http://www.cwc.nic.in/main/downloads/National%20Register%20of%20Large%20Dams%202009.pdf |archive-date=21 July 2011 }}</ref> * Pong Dam (Beas Dam / Maharana Pratap Sagar), 396 MW, 8570 MCM, in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, is an earth-fill dam built for water storage, irrigation, and hydroelectric power generation, completed in 1974.<ref name=beadam1/> * Shahnehar Barrage/Headwork, 207 MW, 4.64 MCM live capacity, just downstream of Pong Dam in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh was completed in 1983.<ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356745394_Status-quo_of_the_different_canal_systems_of_Punjab_India Status quo of different canal systems of punjab], researchgate, accessed 19 May 2025.</ref> ** Shahnehar Canal takes off from the Shahnehar barrage to supply water for irrigation needs and four cascading power houses at the canal drops before releasing water further downstream in the Beas river.<ref>{{cite web |title=Water Resources Projects in Indus Basin |url=http://117.252.14.242/rbis/india_information/iNDUS_PROJECTS.htm |access-date=17 February 2020 |archive-date=18 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218001755/http://117.252.14.242/rbis/india_information/iNDUS_PROJECTS.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> * Harike Barrage, 45 km northeast of Ferozepur in Ferozepur district of Punjab near Pakistan border, is located at the confluence of the Beas and Sutlej rivers for diverting water into nearby canals for irrigation in Rajasthan and Punjab. ** Indira Gandhi Canal ** Ganga Canal (Rajasthan)

== Pollution ==

On 17 May 2018, countless number of fish and other aquatic animals were found dead in Beas river due to a discharge of molasses from a sugar mill situated on its shore at Kiri Afgana village in Gurdaspur district.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-05-17 |title=Molasses leak from sugar factory kills thousands of fish in Beas |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/amritsar/molasses-leakage-kills-thousands-of-fishes/articleshow/64209879.cms |access-date=2023-08-12 |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> Locals have noted that the river color has changed to rust brown and dead fishes were floating in the river. Punjab Pollution Control Board have ordered the closure of the factory and an enquiry has been initiated. The sugar mill has been charged a fine of Rs. 25 lakh for negligence.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://swachhindia.ndtv.com/punjabs-beas-river-hundreds-of-fish-found-dead-probe-ordered-19924/|title=Water Pollution: In Punjab's Beas River, Hundreds Of Fish Die Due To Fluid Released From A Sugar Mill {{!}} News|date=2018-05-19|work=NDTV-Dettol Banega Swachh India|access-date=2018-06-23|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Gallery== <gallery> File:Delay on the road - Upper Beas River near Manali.jpg|Delay on the road — Upper Beas River near Manali, Himachal Pradesh, Manali. File:Beasriverhp.jpg|Beas River in Himachal Pradesh File:Beas River at Pathankot 6069.jpg|Beas River in Pathankot File:Bridge across the Beas River, south of Dharamsala.jpg|Bridge across the Beas River, south of Dharamsala File:View from top of Kangra Fort overlooking Beas river.jpg|View from top of Kangra Fort overlooking Baner Khad. File:Beas River at Nehru Kund, Manali (2).jpg|Beas River seen from Nehru Kund, Manali </gallery>

== Notes == {{notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Five rivers of the Punjab}} {{Hydrography of Himachal Pradesh}} {{Hydrography of Punjab, India}} {{Waters of South Asia}} {{PunjabGeography}}

Category:Rigvedic rivers Category:Rivers of Punjab, India Category:Tributaries of the Indus River Category:Rivers of Himachal Pradesh Category:Indus basin Category:Rivers in Buddhism