9. The river Chenāb or Asiknī and its present status

Asiknī river is also mentioned in the Veda. Asiknī means black. The name of this river is mentioned in some mantra Ṛgvedasaṃhitā.^[1] In the Purāṇa this river is known as Chandrabhāgā. But in modern time, it is known as Chenāb. The Viṣṇupurāṇa refers to it as having come out from the Himalayas.^[2]

The Chenāb originates from near the Bara Lacha Pass in the Lahul-Spiti part of the Zaskar Range. Two small streams on opposite sides of the pass, namely Chandra and Bhāgā, form its headwaters at an altitude of 4,900m. The united stream, called the Chandrabhāgā flows in the north-west direction through the Pangi valley, parallel to the Pir Panjal range, and enters Jammu and Kashmir as the Chenāb river at an elevation of 1.838 m. Near kistwar, it cuts a deep gorge, sometimes 1,000 on deep. Here, it flows for 290 km between steep cliffs of high mountains and turns southwards and flows in this direction for a short distance. Further, it turns to the west and enters the plain area near Akhnur in Jammu and Kashmir after traversing a distance of about 330 km. From here it swings to the south west through the plains of Pakistani Punjab for a distance of 644 km to reach Panchnad where it joins the Sutlej after receiving the waters of Jhelum and Ravi rivers. The total length of the river is 1,180 km. Its catchment area up to the Indo-Pakistan border is 26.155 sq km. Its annual flow at Marala is 29,000 million cubic metres.