The Beas River is one of the "five rivers" from which the state of Punjab derives its name. The river originates in the Rohtang pass of the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh in India at a height of 13,050 feet and flows for a length of 290 miles (470 km) before uniting with the Sutlej River at Harike Pattan south of Amritsar in Punjab. Finally the river drains its water into the Arabian sea. The ancient Indians and the Hyphasis by the Ancient Greeks called the river Arjiki or Vipas. The current name Beas is probably a corruption of the word Vyas, the name of Veda Vyasa, the person behind the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata. The river is sometimes called Vipasha in Himachal, specially by the academicians.

Originating from a cave at the Rohtang pass, the Beas River is found to have different forms in different seasons. Sometimes it is a placid mountain river while during the monsoon, when the water is maximum, it may turn into a violent torrent. In actuality, the river Beas has two sources. The source to the right of the pass is the Beas Rishi. Veda Vyasa is believed to have meditated here. The second source of Beas lies to the south of the Beas Rishi and is known as the Beas Kund. At the confluence of these two streams at Palachan village, 10 km. North of Manali, originates the Beas River. The tourist resort of Manali, located on the right banks of the Beas River is famed throughout the world for its scenic beauty. After passing through Manali, this river traverses through a network of dense evergreen forests and enters the town of Kullu. After running along the hills, the river enters Punjab and then moves out from India to Pakistan.

The charming beauty of the river landscape hypnotises the visitors. The great sages Narad, Vashisht, Vishwamitra, Vyas, Prashar, Kanav and Parshuram often visited this place and meditated on the banks of this river. Their temples remain still today. The Beas River forms the beautiful valleys of Kullu and Kangra. It has played a noteworthy role in the progress of hill culture, which permeates the life of the hill people inhabiting the towns and neighboring villages from a long time. The chief settlements on the bank of the Beas River are Kullu, Mandi, Pandoh, Sujanpur Tihra, Bajaura, Nadaun and Dehra-Gopipur.

The tributaries of the Beas River include the Parbati, the Spin and Malana nala in the East; and the Solang, the Manalsu, the Sujoin, the Phojal and the Sarvati Streams in the West. In Kangra, there are the tributaries of Binwa, Neugal, Banganga, Gaj, Dehr and Chakki from North, and Kunah, Maseh, Khairan and Man from the South. Some other tributaries include Hansa, Tirthan, Bakhli, Jiuni, Suketi, Panddi, Son and Bather.

The northern and eastern tributaries of the Beas receive water from the melting snow and are perennial, whereas the southern tributaries are seasonal. Some of the most important tributaries of the river are discussed in detail.

Awa River : its source is the Dhauladhar range in the Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh. It gets water both from melting snow as well as rainfall. It flows in the southwest direction before uniting with Beas.

Banner River: Another name for this tributary is the Baner Khad. It originates on the southern slopes of the Dhauladhar range near Palampur and flows in a southwest direction through the Kangra valley.

Banganga River : Rising from the Southern slopes of the Dhauladhar range, it joins the Beas River in the Kangra valley. Snow and channels coming from springs sustain the river. Huge fertile deposits have been formed all along the river near its mouth.

Chakki River : originating from the Southern slopes of the Dhauladhar range, the river flows from the southwestern part of Himachal Pradesh and enters Punjab before joining the Beas River.

Gaj Khad : It takes off as a small stream from the snows on the Southern slopes of the Dhauladhar range in Kangra district and unites with the river a little upstream from the Pong Dam lake.

Harla River : it starts from the snows in the North Western segment of the Kullu valley and joins the river Beas near Bhuntar.

Luni River : it takes off from the South slopes of Dhauladhar in the Kangra valley and joins the river in the central part of the Kangra valley.

Manuni River : It rises from the Southern slopes of the Dhauladhar range and joins the river Beas. Steep slopes form the upper catchment of the Manuni river.There is a sharp fall in its gradient huge river terraces occur on the both sides of the river bed, which are used for cultivation extensively.

Parbati River : Taking off from the foothills of the main Himalayan range in Kullu district, it joins the river Beas at Shamshi in Kullu valley.

Patlikuhal River : it lies in the Mandi area of Kullu district. It takes off from the snowy region on the Southern slopes of the Pir Panjal range and then meets the main river upstream of Kullu.

Sainj River : It source is the water divide of the Beas and the Satluj rivers in the lower ranges of the main Himalayas to the East of Kullu. It then flows in a southwest direction to join the river.

Suketi River : It takes off from the Southern slopes of Dhauladhar range and joins the Beas in the Kangra valley. Along the banks of this tributary, there are huge terraces, which are under cultivation.

Tirthan River : Starting from the foothills of a part of the Himalayan range to the South-East of Kullu, it continues in a southwesterly direction before meeting the Beas River at Larji.

Uhl River : this tributary springs in the form of two feeder channels in the North of the Dhauladhar range in Himachal Pradesh and traverses a considerable distance before turning to the south east and uniting with the Beas near the town of Mandi.