Hari River

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (Retd.)

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Marghab-Hari-Rud-Kabul-Amu-Darya-River-Basins

Hari River is a river flowing 1100 kilometers from the mountains of central Afghanistan to Turkmenistan, where it disappears in the Kara-Kum desert. Rud means "river" in Pashto. The Areius River flows through the land of the Areians after which the country of the Areians is named. The Areius is now called Heri-rud.

Variants of name

• Harirud/Hari rud/Hari-Rud (Pashto: هری‌رود‎ Harī Rūd)
• Heri-rud
• Areius
• Arius (by Pliny)
• Heri river
• Heri-Rud
• Haroyu (हरोयु): or Haraiva [old Persian} or Areia {Greek} is the region comprising the valley of the river Harirud. Haroyu corresponds to Indian Sarayu (सरयू). The famous province and city Herat. This is famous for its fruits production with principal town Heart, a town of antiquity.

Jat clan

• Hari - Need further research

Course of River

The river originates in the Baba mountain range, part of the Hindu Kush system, and follows a relatively straight course to the west.

In western Afghanistan the Hari River flows to the south of Herat. After Herat, the river turns northwest, then north, forming the northern part of the border between Afghanistan and Iran.

In Turkmenistan it is known as the Tejen or Tedzhen river and passes close to the city of Tedzhen. In Latin, it was known as the Tarius.

Ancient References

The Rigveda records the Harirud as River Sarayu. The river Horayu is also mentioned in the Avesta. A Buddhist monastery hand-carved in the bluff of the river Harirud existed in the early centuries during the prevalence of Buddhism. The artificial caves revealed testimony of daily life of the Buddhist monks.

Hari name

Hari is also a name for Lord Vishnu, please see Hari.

References

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