BEAS RIVER

also spelled Bias, ancient (Greek) Hyphasis, Sanskrit Vipasa river in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab states, northwestern India. It is one of the five rivers that give the Punjab ("Five Rivers") its name. It rises at an elevation of 14,308 feet (4,361 m) in the Rohtang Pass in the Punjab Himalayas, in central Himachal Pradesh. From there it flows south through the Kulu valley, receiving tributaries from the flanking mountains, and then turns west to flow past Mandi into the Kangra valley. After crossing the valley, the Beas enters Punjab state and veers south and then southwest to its confluence with the Sutlej River at Harike after a course of about 290 miles (470 km). The Beas River was the approximate eastern limit of Alexander the Great's invasion of India in 326 BC.