The Chenab River is a major river in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, the Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

in the Lahaul region of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

, India. The Chenab flows then through the

Jammu region The Jammu division (; ) is a revenue and administrative division of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kash ...

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

, India into the plains of

, Pakistan, where it joins the

Sutlej River The Sutlej River or the Satluj River is a major river in Asia, flowing through China, India and Pakistan, and is the longest of the five major rivers of the Punjab region. It is also known as ''Satadru''; and is the easternmost tributary of th ...

to form the

Panjnad The Panjnad River ( Punjabi and ) is a river at the extreme end of the Bahawalpur district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The name ''Panjnad'' is derived from Persian ''panj'' ("five") and Sanskrit ''nadī́'' ("river") which means "five r ...

, which ultimately flows into the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

Mithankot Mithankot ( Punjabi / ) also known as Kot Mithan, is a city in Rajanpur District in Punjab, Pakistan. Mithankot is located on the west bank of the Indus River, a short distance downstream from its junction with Panjnad River. Most of its inhabita ...

. The waters of the Chenab were allocated to Pakistan under the terms of the

Indus Waters Treaty The Indus Water Treaty (IWT) is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, arranged and negotiated by the World Bank, to use the water available in the Indus River and its tributaries. It was signed in Karachi on 19 September 196 ...

. India is allowed non-consumptive uses such as power generation. The Chenab River is extensively used in Pakistan for irrigation. Its waters are also transferred to the channel of the

Ravi River The Ravi River is a transboundary river in South Asia, flowing through northwestern India and eastern Pakistan, and is one of five major rivers of the Punjab region. Under the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960, the waters of the Ravi and two oth ...

via numerous link canals.

Name

The Chenab river was called ' () in the

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...

(VIII.20.25, X.75.5). The name meant that it was seen to have dark-coloured waters. The term Krishana is also found in the

Atharvaveda The Atharvaveda or Atharva Veda (, , from ''wikt:अथर्वन्, अथर्वन्'', "priest" and ''wikt:वेद, वेद'', "knowledge") or is the "knowledge storehouse of ''wikt:अथर्वन्, atharvans'', the proced ...

. A later form of Askikni was ' () and the Greek form was – ''Akesínes''; Latinized to ''Acesines''. In the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

, the common name of the river was ''Chandrabhaga'' () because the river is formed from the confluence of the Chandra and the Bhaga rivers. This name was also known to the Ancient Greeks, who Hellenised it in various forms such as ''Sandrophagos'', ''Sandabaga'' and ''Cantabra''. The simplification of Chandrabhaga to 'Chenab', with evident Persianate influence, probably occurred in early medieval times and is witnessed in

Alberuni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (; ; 973after 1050), known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously "Father of Comparative Religion", "Father of modern ...

Course

Confluence Chandra Bhaga Lahaul Oct22 A7C 03346

The river is formed by the confluence of two rivers, Chandra and Bhaga, at Tandi, southwest of

Keylong Kyelang (also spelled Keylong) is a town and the administrative centre of the Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, north of Manali via Atal Tunnel and from the Indo-Tibetan border. It is located along the Mana ...

, in the

Lahaul and Spiti district The Lahaul and Spiti district is a high-altitude district in Himachal Pradesh, north India. This entirely mountainous district consists of two geographically distinct as well as formerly separate political-administrative units, called Lahaul ( ...

of the

n state of

. The Bhaga river originates from

Surya taal Surya ( ; , ) is the Sun Dalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a means t ...

lake, which is situated a few kilometers west of the

Bara-lacha la Bara-lacha la also known as Bara-lacha Pass, or Bārā Lācha La, (el. ) is a high mountain pass in the Zanskar range of Northern-India, connecting Lahaul district in Himachal Pradesh to Leh district in Ladakh. Rail-cum-road tunnels are being ...

pass in Himachal Pradesh. The Chandra river originates from glaciers east of the same pass (near

Chandra Taal Chandra Taal () is a lake in the upper Chandra valley of the Lahul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, India. This pass also acts as a water-divide between these two rivers. The Chandra river transverses while the Bhaga river transverses through narrow gorges before their confluence at Tandi. Trimmu_Head_where_Jhelum_and_Chenab_meet_in_Jhang

Trimmu_Head_where_Jhelum_and_Chenab_meet_in_Jhang

The Chandra-Bhaga then flows through the pangi valley of

Chamba district Chamba district is the northwestern district of Himachal Pradesh, in India, with its headquarters in Chamba town. The towns of Dalhousie, Khajjhiar and Churah Valley are popular hill stations and vacation spots for the people from the plains ...

in Himachal Pradesh before entering the Jammu division of Jammu and Kashmir, where it flows through the

Kishtwar Kishtwar is a town, municipality and administrative headquarter of the Kishtwar district in the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. The district was carved out of the Doda district in 2007. and is located in the Jammu division. The town ...

, Doda, Ramban,

Reasi Reasi is a town and a notified area committee and tehsil in Reasi district of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Situated on the bank of River Chenab, It is the headquarters of the Reasi district. In the eighth century, Reasi ...

and

Jammu district Jammu district is an administrative district of the Jammu division of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kash ...

s. It enters Pakistan and flows through the Punjab province before emptying into the Sutlej, forming the

Panjnad river The Panjnad River ( Punjabi and ) is a river at the extreme end of the Bahawalpur district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The name ''Panjnad'' is derived from Persian ''panj'' ("five") and Sanskrit ''nadī́'' ("river") which means "five r ...

History

The river was known to Indians in the Vedic period. In 325 BCE,

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

allegedly founded the town of

Alexandria on the Indus Alexandria on the Indus (, likely modern Uch, Pakistan) was a city founded by Alexander the Great at the junction of the Indus and the Acesines river. Arrian tells that colonists, mainly Thracian veterans and natives, were settled there. Th ...

(present-day Uch Sharif or Mithankot or Chacharan in Pakistan) at the confluence of the Indus and the combined streams of Punjab rivers (currently known as the

Panjnad River The Panjnad River ( Punjabi and ) is a river at the extreme end of the Bahawalpur district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The name ''Panjnad'' is derived from Persian ''panj'' ("five") and Sanskrit ''nadī́'' ("river") which means "five r ...

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; ; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher of the Roman period. '' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of ...

, in the

Anabasis of Alexander The ''Anabasis of Alexander'' (, ''Alexándrou Anábasis''; ) was composed by Arrian of Nicomedia in the second century AD, most probably during the reign of Hadrian. The ''Anabasis'' (which survives complete in seven books) is a history of th ...

, quotes the eyewitness

Ptolemy Lagides Ptolemy I Soter (; , ''Ptolemaîos Sōtḗr'', "Ptolemy the Savior"; 367 BC – January 282 BC) was a Macedonian Greek general, historian, and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to found the Ptolemaic Kingdom centered on Egypt. Pto ...

as writing that the river was 2 miles wide where Alexander crossed it. The Battle of Chenab was fought between

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

and

Afghans Afghans (; ) are the citizens and nationals of Afghanistan, as well as their descendants in the Afghan diaspora. The country is made up of various ethnic groups, of which Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks are the largest. The three main lan ...

on the bank of the river.

Dams

The river has rich power generation potential in India. There are many dams built, under construction or proposed to be built on the Chenab for the purpose of hydroelectric power generation in the country, including: Sunset at Head Marala

All of these are "

run-of-the-river Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amou ...

" projects as per the

Indus Water Treaty The Indus Water Treaty (IWT) is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, arranged and negotiated by the World Bank, to use the water available in the Indus River and its tributaries. It was signed in Karachi on 19 September 196 ...

of 1960. The Treaty allocates the waters of Chenab to Pakistan. India can use its water for domestic and agricultural uses or for "non-consumptive" uses such as

hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...

. India is entitled to store up to of water in its projects. The three projects completed , Salal, Baglihar and Dul Hasti, have a combined storage capacity of . Pakistan has four headworks on the Chenab:

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

{{Authority control Rivers of Himachal Pradesh Rigvedic rivers Rivers of Jammu and Kashmir Indus basin International rivers of Asia Rivers of Punjab, Pakistan Rivers in Buddhism Rivers of Pakistan