sindhu

Sindhu is the Sanskrit name for the Indus River, one of the longest rivers in Asia. The river originates on the Tibetan Plateau near Lake Manasarovar and flows through the Ladakh region, then into Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan’s Punjab and Sindh provinces before draining into the Arabian Sea near Karachi. Its major tributaries in the broader Indus system include the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers, which together with the Indus form a crucial watershed for parts of the northwestern Indian subcontinent.

Historically, Sindhu is the ancient name used in Vedic and later Indian texts for the river, and the term gave rise to the names Sindh (the Pakistani province) and, via Latin and Greek adaptations, India. The Indus Valley Civilization, one of the world’s earliest urban cultures, developed along the river’s banks in what is now Pakistan and western India.

Today Sindhu is also used as a given name in South Asia, reflecting the river’s cultural significance. As a geographical term, it remains central to discussions of the Indus river system, regional geography, and South Asian history.