- published: 07 Aug 2015
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Jehlam River or Jhelum River (/ˈdʒeɪləm/) is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the westernmost 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 725 kilometres (450 mi).
The Sanskrit name of this river is Vitasta. The river got this name from the incident regarding the origin of the river as explained in Nilamata Purana. Goddess Parvati was requested by sage Kasyapa to come to Kashmir for purification of the land from evil practices and impurities of Pisachas living there. Goddess Parvati then assumed the form of a river in the Nether World. Then Lord Shiva made a stroke with his spear near the abode of Nila (Verinag Spring). By that stroke of the spear, Goddess Parvati came out of the Nether World. Shiva himself named her as Vitasta. He had excavated with the spear a ditch measuring one Vitasti(a particular measure of length defined either as a long span between the extended thumb and little finger, or as the distance between the wrist and the tip of the fingers, and said to be about 9 inches), through which the river - gone to the Nether World - had come out, so she was given the name Vitasta by him.
Coordinates: 32°55′43″N 73°43′53″E / 32.92861°N 73.73139°E / 32.92861; 73.73139
Jhelum /ˈdʒeɪləm/ (Urdu, Punjabi: جہلم) (Greek: Αλεξάνδρια Βυκεφάλους Alexandria Bucephalous) is a city on the right bank of the Jhelum River, in the district of the same name in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. Jhelum is known for providing a large number of soldiers to the British Army before independence and later to the Pakistan armed forces due to which it is also known as city of soldiers or land of martyrs and warriors. Jhelum is a few miles upstream from the site of the Battle of the Hydaspes between the armies of Alexander of Macedonia and Raja Porus. A city called Bucephala was founded nearby to commemorate the death of Alexander's horse, Bucephalus. Other notable sites nearby include the 16th-century Rohtas Fort, the Tilla Jogian complex of ancient temples, and the 16th-century Grand Trunk Road which passes through the city. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the population of Jhelum was 145,647 and in 2012 its population is 188,803. The name of the city is derived from the words Jal (pure water) and Ham (snow), as the river that flows through the river originates in the Himalayas. There are a number of industries in and around Jhelum city, including a tobacco factory, wood, marble, glass and flour mills.