Wednesday, October 28, 2009

The Beas, The Sutlej and The Saraswati

The Beas (Sanskrit name: Vipasa or Argikiya) It rises on the southern face of the Rohtang Pass in Kulu Hills not far from the source of the Ravi at a height of 4000 m. Barely 10 km from its source it passes through a gorge at Koti, which is a chasm about 6 m wide and 275 m long. It cuts through the Dhauladhar range by another gorge near Larji and then flows through Kulu, Mandi and Kangra. It finally passes Kapurthala and Amritsar and joins the ~utlej in the south-west corner of Kapurthala. It has a total length of 470 km and drains an area of 25,900 sq km.

The Sutlej (Sanskrit name: Satadru or Satudri) The most important of the Indus tributaries in India, the Sutlej rises from the Rakas lake in Tibet at a height of 4,630 m. Its name in Tibet is Langchen Khambab and it rises in the glacial springs of Dulchu Khambab, 35 km west of Parkha which is an important trading centre between Kailas and Mansarovar. In Tibet it has a very narrow basin .between the Giri river on the east and the Beas on the west whose beds are however at' an elevation of 180 m to 215 m above the level of the Sutlej. The main tributary of the Sutlej is the Spiti river which drains a large area beyond the Central Himalayan Range. It also cuts deep into the rocks in the regions of Himachal Pradesh through which it flows. Even the Sutlej crosses the Dhauladhar range near Rampur through a narrow gorge. The river joins the Beas in the south-west corner of Kapurthala and the combined river joins the Indus near Mithankot. The total length of the Sutlej is about 1,050 km in India. The area drained by the river in India is 24,087 sq km.

The Saraswati The Saraswati rises in the Siwalik Hills of Sirmur on the borders of the Ambala district and enters the plains of Adhbadri. It disappears in the sands after passing by Bhawanipur and Balchhapar but reappears after a short distance, flowing through Karnal. The Ghaggar which also rises in the same region joins it at Rasula in Patiala after a course of 175 km. Farther on, the river is called the Hakra or Sotar. The Saraswati has been described in Vedic literature as a river greater even than the Indus and the Ganges.

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