How Many Rivers Are There In Punjab?

The state of Punjab is also called the land of five rivers because the five main rivers are flowing in this state. These five rivers are the most significant for geographical features and work like farming and also many living creatures depend upon it for water needs. Due to these five rivers, the name of this land became Punjab which is 'Punj' means Five + 'Aab' means Water. The names of these five main rivers of the state of Punjab are Satluj, Ravi, Chenab, Beas and Jhelum. All these five rivers are parts of the Indus river and mixed them together to form the Panjnad river. The Indus river then goes into the Arabian Sea beside Karachi city in Pakistan. All these five rivers together are considered a piece of the Indus Valley River System.

This area of land is known as Pancha-nada in the Puranas and in the Mahabharata which means the land of five rivers also. In ancient times, the Greeks knew this region by the name Pentapotamia, which means a delta or an island of five rivers. So it means that these rivers have been flowing through this land since ancient times. But today, only the three rivers Ravi, Satluj, and Beas are flowing from the Punjab state of India. Ravi flows in Punjab but flows at the international border between India and Pakistan and then goes to Pakistan. The left other two rivers named Chenab and Jhelum are flowing in the Punjab state of Pakistan.

History Of Name 'Punjab'

In old times, the state of Punjab was known by the name of 'Sapta Sindhu' which means the land of seven rivers. Then after many years, it came to be known as 'Pancha Aapah' which means the land of five rivers. These both names are in the Sanskrit language. When the Mughals came to India they replaced the Sanskrit word Aapah with the Persian word Aab. Hence, the Persian word Aab also came from the Sanskrit word Aapah which means water. And after that Pancha was changed to Punj. Then they both combined and the word Punjab was made.

The Five Rivers of Punjab

There are five rivers in Punjab which are as follows :

• Ravi
• Satluj
• Jhelum
• Beas
• Chenab

All details of the five rivers of Punjab like the place of origin, the path flowing, regions of each river, merging into which rivers or ocean and some other significant information are given below :

• Ravi

Purushini is the Vedic age name of the river Ravi and Iravati is the Sanskrit name of the Ravi river. This river rises in the district namely Kangra of Himachal Pradesh state and enters the Pathankot district in the state of Punjab. This river flows within the international boundary of two countries India and Pakistan and also divides the districts named Gurdaspur and Amritsar of Punjab from Pakistan. The total length of the Ravi river is around 720 km. Many dams have been built on this river which contains both major and minor dams. Some of the major dams on the Ravi river are the Ranjit Sagar dam or Thein Dam, Chamera dam, Kaushalya dam, Karcham dam and Shahpur Kandi dam. The Ravi river ends by merging with the Chenab river in Pakistan near Ahmadpur Sial Town.

• Satluj

The Satluj river is the east branch of the Indus river and the Sanskrit name of the Satluj river is Shatadru. The longest river in Punjab is the Satluj river. The origin source of the Satluj river is Rakshastal Lake which is situated in Tibet. However, some geologists believed the Mansarovar lake is the original source of the Satluj river which is also located in Tibet. The Mansarovar lake and Rakshastal lake both are close to each other. The Satluj river enters India in Himachal Pradesh state and then flows to the Ropar district of Punjab state. This river merges with the river Beas at Harike in the Tarn Taran district of Punjab. After this, it merges with the Chenab river near the Uch Sharif in Pakistan and formed the river Panjnad. The Panjnad river mixed into the Indus river at a 100 km distance from Bahawalpur city of Pakistan. The Satluj river has a total length of 1500 km. One of the biggest dams in India is Bhakra Nangal Dam built on this river and the second largest reservoir in India Gobind Sagar Lake in terms of water capacity is built on this river. Some other main dams built on this river are Karcham Wangtoo Dam, Nathpa Jhakri Dam, and Nangal Dam.

• Jhelum

The Jhelum river is also known by the name Vitasta in Sanskrit and Vedic languages. In ancient Greeks, this was also known as Hydaspes. The source of origin of the Jhelum river is Verinag Spring which is located in the Jammu and Kashmir state. The place where this river arises is located in Verinag far about 80 Km from Srinagar. This river is located on the western side of the five rivers of Punjab and it is a branch of the Chenab river. The Jhelum river enters Punjab state in Pakistan after flowing through the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. The Jhelum river never flows through the state of Punjab in India and never touches even the boundary of Punjab at any place. This river terminates into the Chenab river near Trimmu in the Jhang district and this river is about 725 km long. The famous battle between Alexander the great and the great King Porus was fought at the banks of the Jhelum river and this battle was known as the Battle of Hydaspes.

• Beas

The Sanskrit name of the Beas river is Vipasa and in Vedas, its name is prescribed as Arjinkya. The origin of the Beas river is Vyas Kund which is also known as Beas Kund in the Himalayan mountains located in Himachal Pradesh. This river flows in the Hoshiarpur district in Punjab state. The Beas river's total length is around 470 Km and this river ends by merging with the Sutlej river at Harike in the Tarn Taran district of Punjab state. The two main dams built on the Beas river are Pandoh Dam and Pong Dam. The Maharana Partap Sagar also known as Pong Dam is situated in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh state and the Pandoh dam is used to divert the flow from the Beas river to the Sutlej river.

• Chenab

The Chenab river is known by the name of Askani in Vedas and in the Sanskrit language, it is known as Chandrabahga. This river rises in the upper Himalayas in the district of Lahaul and Spiti of Himachal Pradesh. The Chenab river flows through the Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir state and goes into Punjab state in Pakistan. This river never passes through the state of Punjab in India. The Chenab river is off about a total length of 960 Km. The river Jhelum emerges in it at Trimmu and the river Ravi meets this river near the Ahmedpur Sial. After that, it merges with the Sutlej river to form the Panjnad river. The Panjnad river then meets the Indus river which ends by flowing into the Arabian Sea.

Doab Regions In Punjab

The small area left between the two rivers is known as Doab which means the area of land between two rivers. The term, Doab is an addition of two Persian words "Do" which means two and "Aab" which means water or river. Hence, due to the rivers flowing in these regions, the area is divided into different Doabs. These doabs are named according to the name of those rivers between whom that particular doab forms. The names of various Doab regions are discussed as below :

• Bist Doab -

The area between the river Beas and the Sutlej rivers is called Bist Doab and is also known as Jullundhar Doab. This name is on behalf of the major city named Jalandhar in Punjab. The Punjabi language is the commonly spoken language of this area so this is also called Doaba or Doabi in the Punjabi accent. In terms of language and culture, the state of Punjab is divided into three different regions that are Malwa, Doaba and Majha.

• Bari Doab -

The area closed between the Beas river and the Ravi river is known as Bari doab. This region is a part of the Majha region of Punjab state. The most spoken language of this region is the Majhi region of the Punjabi language.

• Jech Doab -

The region enclosed between the Jhelum river and the Chenab river is called Jech Doab. The Jech Doab area is also a part of the Majha region. It is named as the combination of names of both rivers between which this doab is formed.

• Rechna Doab -

The area enclosed between the rivers Ravi and Chenab is called Rechna Doab. This area is a part of Punjab but it is now located in Pakistan

This is also a part of the Majha region of Punjab state.

• Sind Sagar Doab -

The area enclosed between the Jhelum river and the Indus river or Sind river is known as Sind Sagar Doab. This region is named upon the combined name of these two rivers.

Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)

Most of the rivers of the Indus Valley River System pass through India and after that these rivers enter Pakistan. A treaty was made for sharing the waters of all these rivers between both countries and was signed by both India and Pakistan at Karachi in 1960. The name of this treaty is Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). This treaty was brokered by the World Bank and it was signed by both the Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru and the president of Pakistan, Ayub Khan. As per the Indus Water Treaty, the waters of the three easternmost rivers that are Beas, Sutlej and Ravi are given to India and the waters of the three westernmost rivers that are Chenab, Indus and Jehlum are given to Pakistan.