Panjnad

Also called: Panchnad · Topic: Drainage System of India: Rivers, Basins and Patterns · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 3 "Drainage System"

Meaning

Panjnad (also Panchnad, "five rivers") is the group of five eastern tributaries of the Indus: the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Satluj. They give Punjab its name. They merge into one stream, and that stream joins the Indus on its left bank, a little above Mithankot in Pakistan. The Indus itself is not one of the five.

It matters because these five rivers water the plains of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan through big canal systems. They are also the rivers that the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960 divides between India and Pakistan [4].

Explanation

How the five rivers become one stream

• The rivers join one by one in the plains.
• The Jhelum joins the Chenab near Jhang in Pakistan.
• The Ravi joins the Chenab near Sarai Sidhu in Pakistan.
• The Beas joins the Satluj at Harike in Punjab (India).

• The Satluj (now carrying Beas water) flows into the Chenab–Panjnad system in Pakistan.

• Result: one combined stream, the Panjnad. It joins the Indus on the left (east) bank a little above Mithankot.

• The Chenab is the backbone. It is the largest tributary of the Indus, and three of the other rivers join it before the Indus.

The five parts (west to east: J–C–R–B–S)

• Jhelum:
• It rises at a spring at Verinag, at the foot of the Pir Panjal range, in the south-east of the Kashmir valley.
• It flows through Srinagar and Wular lake (a freshwater lake in Kashmir).

• It enters Pakistan through a deep, narrow gorge.

• Chenab:

• Two streams, the Chandra and the Bhaga, meet at Tandi near Keylong (Himachal Pradesh). That is why it is also called the Chandrabhaga.

• It flows 1,180 km before it enters Pakistan.

• Ravi:

• It rises west of the Rohtang pass, in the Kullu hills.
• It flows through the Chamba valley, which lies between the Pir Panjal and Dhauladhar ranges.

• It enters Pakistan below Madhopur.

• Beas:

• It rises at Beas Kund, near the Rohtang pass, at about 4,000 m.
• It flows through the Kullu valley and cuts gorges at Kati and Largi in the Dhauladhar range.

• It is the only Panjnad river that lies wholly in India.

• Satluj:

• It rises at Rakas Tal, near Mansarovar lake in Tibet, at 4,555 m. There it is called the Langchen Khambab.
• It flows almost parallel to the Indus for about 400 km.
• It enters India at Shipki La (a pass on the Himachal–Tibet border).

Features that shape these rivers

• They are Himalayan rivers. They rise in the Pir Panjal, Lahul, Kullu hills and Tibet, and they are fed by snow and glaciers, so they keep flowing all year.
• The Satluj is an antecedent river. This means it is older than the Himalaya.
• As the mountains slowly rose, the river kept cutting down through them.

• This left a deep gorge, which the river leaves at Rupar (Ropar) in Punjab.

• The rivers drop steeply through gorges. Steep gorges are good sites for dams and hydropower, such as the Bhakra Nangal project on the Satluj.

Where it occurs

• Tibet (China): the source of the Satluj at Rakas Tal, near Mansarovar.
• Jammu and Kashmir:
• The Jhelum flows from Verinag through Srinagar and Wular lake.
• The Chenab is crossed by the Chenab Rail Bridge on the Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL). It stands 359 m above the riverbed, is the world's highest railway arch bridge, and opened in June 2025 [3].

• J&K has the largest share of the Indian Indus basin: 1,93,762 sq km [2].

• Himachal Pradesh:

• The Chenab forms at Tandi near Keylong.
• The Ravi flows through the Chamba valley, and the Beas through the Kullu valley.

• The Satluj enters India at Shipki La.

• Punjab (India):

• The Satluj comes out of its gorge at Rupar.
• The Beas meets the Satluj at Harike. The Harike barrage sends water into the Indira Gandhi Canal, which irrigates the Thar desert in Rajasthan.

• The Ravi leaves India below Madhopur.

• Pakistan:

• The Jhelum meets the Chenab near Jhang, and the Ravi meets it near Sarai Sidhu.
• The combined Panjnad joins the Indus a little above Mithankot.

Don't confuse with

• Indus river: this is the main river that receives the Panjnad. It is not one of the five, which is a common MCQ trap.
• Eastern rivers (IWT): under the treaty, only the Ravi, Beas and Satluj are the eastern rivers, and India gets full use of them. The Jhelum and Chenab are Panjnad rivers, but the treaty groups them with the Indus as western rivers [4].
• Kabul river: it joins the Indus on the right bank at Attock. The Panjnad joins on the left bank above Mithankot.
• Singi Khamban vs Langchen Khambab: Singi Khamban is the Tibetan name of the Indus (source near the Bokhar Chu glacier). Langchen Khambab is the name of the Satluj at Rakas Tal.

Prelims Hooks

• Panjnad = Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Satluj. From west to east the order is J–C–R–B–S. The Indus is not one of them.
• Largest tributary of the Indus = Chenab, formed where the Chandra and Bhaga meet at Tandi (near Keylong, HP).
• The only Panjnad river wholly in India = Beas. It joins the Satluj at Harike.
• Confluence matches: Jhelum–Chenab near Jhang. Ravi–Chenab near Sarai Sidhu. Panjnad–Indus above Mithankot (left bank).
• Satluj: it rises at Rakas Tal, enters India at Shipki La, leaves its gorge at Rupar, and is an antecedent river.
• IWT: Ravi, Beas and Satluj are eastern rivers. Ratle (on the Chenab) and Pakal Dul (on the Marusudar, a Chenab tributary) are Indian run-of-river projects on the western rivers [4].

Mains Points

• Water stress and canal irrigation (GS-III):
• The Panjnad rivers feed the Bhakra Nangal canals and the Indira Gandhi Canal (through Harike).
• About 87% of usable surface water and about 71% of groundwater in the Indian Indus basin are already used [2].

• This is why sharing water between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan causes so many disputes.

• IWT and strategic water use (GS-II/III):

• The treaty has been held in abeyance since 23 April 2025, after the Pahalgam attack [5].
• India can now push faster on run-of-river projects (projects where flowing water turns turbines and returns to the river, with no large storage dam) on the Jhelum and Chenab.

• Hurdles remain: high cost, fragile Himalayan geology and very little storage.

• Flood risk (GS-III, disasters):

• In the 2025 Punjab floods, the Satluj, Beas and Ravi overflowed together.
• Two causes: very heavy monsoon rain in the HP and J&K catchments, and large releases of water from reservoirs.
• The CWC has no flood-forecasting station in the Indus basin [2]. Better forecasting and clear rules for dam releases are needed.

Related concepts

• Indus river
• Shyok river
• Jhelum river
• Chenab river
• Ravi river
• Beas river
• Satluj river

Read more

• The Indus system