Beas River

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Beas River in Himachal Pradesh

“River Beas” redirects here. For other uses, see River Beas (disambiguation).

Beas river and mountains as seen from Van Vihar, Manali

Beas in Himachal Pradesh

The Beas River is the second easternmost of the “five rivers” that give the Punjab its name. The river rises in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows for some 290 miles (470 km) to the Sutlej River in western Punjab state. The river was also known as Arjiki or Vipas to the ancient Indians and the Hyphasis to the Ancient Greeks.

The present name Beas is thought to be a corruption of the word Vyas,the name of Veda Vyasa, the author of the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. The river is sometimes also referred to as Vipasha in Himachal, especially by the scholars. The Beas River marks the eastern-most border of Alexander the Great's conquests in 326 BC.

The river begins at the Rohtang Pass in the state of Himachal Pradesh, and merges with the Sutlej at Harike Pattan south of Amritsar in Punjab, India. The Sutlej continues into Pakistani Punjab and joins the Chenab River to form the Panjnad River; the latter joins the Indus River at Mithankot. The waters of the Beas and Sutlej rivers are allocated to India under the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan.