I still have a recollection of my Geographic Question answering in my standard VIII, -Name one of the rivers flowing through India and Pakistan and I answered as Jhelum. Later once I read about Rig Veda, I learnt Jhelum has a reference in it.
It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District. It is a tributary of the Chenab River and has a total length of about 774 kilometres.
2.Reference in Srimaha Bhagavatham
The river Jhelum is called Vitastâ in the Rigveda and Hydaspes by the ancient Greeks. The Vitasta is mentioned as one of the major rivers by the holy scriptures of the Indo-Aryans — the Rigveda. It has been speculated that the Vitastâ must have been one of the seven rivers (sapta-sindhu) mentioned so many times in the Rigveda. The name survives as Vyeth in Kashmiri. According to the Srimaha Bhagavatam, the Vitastâ is one of the many transcendental rivers flowing through the land of Bharata, or ancient India.
3. Historical references
The river was regarded as a God by the ancient Greeks. They called it Hydaspes a Titan descended God. It is not clear whether they named the river after the god, or whether the god Hydaspes was named after the river.
Alexander the Great and his army crossed the Jhelum in BC 326 at the Battle of the Hydaspes River where he defeated the Indian king, Porus. According to Arrian (Anabasis, 29), Alexander built a city "on the spot whence he started to cross the river Hydaspes", which he named Bukephala to honour his famous horse Bukephalus. It is thought that ancient Bukephala was near the site of modern Jhelum City.
4. Sage Kashyapa and Verinag city in Kashimir
Verinag is situated at a distance of approximately 80 km from Srinagar in Kashmir. Reached through the link road, it is located at a height of 1,876 m. It is believed that the Verinag spring in Kashmir is the chief source of the river Jhelum. There is an octagonal base at the spring, surrounded by a covered passage.
Considered to be the chief source of the River Jhelum, often Verinag is termed as the lifeline of the province of Jammu and Kashmir; the beautiful region of Verinag is indeed one of the best options of a weekend getaway from Srinagar. A tour to Verinag reveals the secret of the source of the River Jhelum, a spring after which the region itself has been named.
The Verinag Spring is named after Nila Nag, the son of sage Kashyapa, to whom, goes the credit of establishing the territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The spring, which was originally shaped in a circular form was given a change of shape during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir in 1620, when he gave orders to renovate the spring in the Mughal traditional shape of an octagon. Today, picturesque in its settings and surrounded by tall Pine trees, the Verinag Spring is characterized by waters, which are calm and sparklingly clear. Besides a glimpse of the Verinag Spring, a tour to Verinag is made even more special by the sight of several varieties of colourful flowers, gently swaying to the rhythm of the cool, mountain air.
The easiest way of reaching Verinag is by air. The nearest airport is at the Badgam District around 80 kms away from the village of Verinag. The nearest railhead to Verinag is at Jammu from where it takes an approximate time of around an hour to reach Verinag. Verinag is well connected to a number of other regions of Jammu and Kashmir. There are a number of well-maintained roads, which lead to Verinag.
5. Course of Jhelum River
The river Jhelum rises from a spring at Verinag situated at the foot of the Pir Panjal in the southeastern part of the valley of Kashmir in India. It flows through Srinagar and the Wular Lake before entering Pakistan through a deep narrow gorge.
The Kishenganga (Neelum) River, the largest tributary of the Jhelum, joins it, at Domel Muzaffarabad.
Another tributary to Jhelum River is the Kunhar River of the Kaghan valley. Kunhar River also connects with Pakistan and Pakistan-held Kashmir on Kohala Bridge east of Circle Bakote.
Jhelum is then joined by another tributary the Poonch River, and flows into the Mangla Dam reservoir in the district of Mirpur. The Jhelum enters the Punjab in the Jhelum District. From there, it flows through the plains of Pakistan's Punjab, forming the boundary between the Chaj and Sindh Sagar Doabs. It ends in a confluence with the river Chenab at Trimmu in District Jhang. The Chenab merges with the Sutlej to form the Panjnad River, which joins the Indus River at Mithankot. (Dear friends, I am adding all these details so that at one time any friend refers to these places, it will not be totally unfamiliar)
6. Dams, canals and barrages.
The waters of the Jhelum are allocated to Pakistan under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty. Water control structures are being built as a result of the Indus Basin Project, including the following:
Mangla Dam, completed in 1967, is one of the largest earth fill dams in the world, with a storage capacity of 5.9 million acre-feet (7.3 km³)
Rasul Barrage, constructed in 1967, has a maximum flow of 850,000 ft³/s (24,000 m³/s).
Trimmu Barrage, constructed in 1939 some 90 km from Mari Shah Sakhira town, at the confluence with the Chenab, has maximum discharge capacity of 645,000 ft³/s (18,000 m³/s).
The Upper Jhelum Canal runs from Mangla to the Chenab. Another The Rasul-Qadirabad Link Canal runs from the Rasul barrage to the Chenab.
The Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal runs from the Chashma Barrage on the Indus River to the Jhelum river downstream of Rasul Barrage. This is 40 km away from Mari Shah Sakhira town.
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Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
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Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God
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