The Beas River (Hindi: ब्यास, Punjabi: ਬਿਆਸ, Sanskrit: विपाशा) is a river in the northern part of India. The river rises in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows for some 470 km (290 miles) to the Sutlej River in the Indian state of Punjab.
Its total length is 460 kilometres (290 mi) and its drainage basin is 20,303 square kilometres (7,839 sq mi) large.[1]
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The river was also known as Arjikuja of the Vedas or Vipasa to the ancient Indians and the Hyphasis to the Ancient Greeks.[2]
The present name Beas is thought to be a corruption of the older name and original name Vipasha in Sanskrit. The river got this name, Vi-pasha, the one who removed the bondage or pasha in Sanskrit), according to ancient texts, the river was named after sage Vasistha. Vasistha, tried to end his life due to the death of his 100 sons, by jumping into this river and tying himself. But as soon as the sage fell into the river, all the knots got untied and he did not die. The river is also referred to as Vipasha in Himachal, especially by the scholars.
It is said that Beas is a misnomer for Vayasa (exchange of B with V and always truncation of the last vowel is common in North Indian languages) and is named after Veda Vyasa, the presiding patron of the river, he is said to have created it from its source lake, the Vyas Kund.[3]
The Beas River marks the eastern-most border of Alexander's conquests in 326 BC. It was also one of the rivers which created problem in Alexander's invasion towards Bharat (ancient Indian name). His trooped mutinied here in 326 BCE, refusing to go any further; they had been away from home for 8 years. Alexander shut himself in his tent for three days, but when his men did not change their desires he gave in. According to Kavyamimansa [4] of Rajasekhara, the kingdom-territories of Gurjara-Pratihara monarch Mahipala I was extended till the upper course of the river Bias in the north-west.[5]
In the 20th Century, the river was developed under the Beas Project for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation purposes. The second-phase Pong Dam was completed in 1974 followed by the first-phase 140 km (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.[6][7]
The Beas River originates at an elevation of 3,960 metres (12,990 ft) in Rohtang Pass in the Punjab Himalayas of Himachal Pradesh. It flows south past Manali and through the Kullu Valley before entering the Punjab plains. It meets the Sutlej River near the Harike Wetland south of Amritsar.[1] 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 waters of the Beas (Vipasha) and Sutlej (also known as Shathadru) rivers are allocated to India under the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan.
The Beas river is one of India's roughest rivers. Villagers in local towns accidentally slip into the river quite often, never making it back up due to the rough waters, rocks, and undertows. It is also extremely polluted, and in some areas it gives off an unpleasant odour.
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