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| Mansarovar Lake |
Derived from the words “Manas”
meaning the mind and “Sarovar” the lake, Manasarovar does imbibe peace in those
determined enough to have gone close to it. It is not only the Hindus who
revere it; Buddhists, Jains and some local communities too share religious
beliefs about the lake and have entire legends devoted to it.
Situated at the foothills to the
south of the revered Mount Kailash or Meru, Manasarovar along with Rakshas
Tal or Ravan Harda form the reservoir of one of the biggest watersheds in Asia
and is home to some of the biggest river systems known like the Indus, Satluj
and the Brahmaputra. Located on a high plateau with the backdrop of mountains including
the Mt Kailash, Manasarovar is the embodiment of beauty and tranquility. Its
bluish-green hue adds to the aura of mystique.
Legend has it that Brahma (of the Hindu trinity of gods) created it for his progeny to cleanse themselves when the latter visited these parts to pay obeisance to Shiva and his consort Parvati. Another mentions its connect with the Nagas who resided in the lake and ate from the Jambu tree growing therein. It is said that fruits of the Jambul tree turned into gold when they fell into the lake! Coincidentally, there is an unused gold mine close-by! This also happens to be the final resting place of some of the mortal remains of the one we call the Father of our Nation, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
In times gone by, surrounding the
lake were eight Buddhist gompas of Trugo, Gotsuk (Gossul), Chiu, Cherkip,
Langpona, Bönri, Seralung, and Yerngo representative in Buddhism of the spokes
in the Wheel of Life with the lake itself being the hub. The circumference
of the lake is about 54 miles though for Buddhist pilgrims visiting the eight
shrines, it stretches to 64. For the Buddhists, the lake is also a
representation of the Lake Anotta where the Buddha’s mother bathed and had a
vision of him appearing from the direction of Mt Kailash on a white elephant
before he was born.
Being close to 4600 meters from mean sea level, getting there is
anything but easy. Besides the arduous walk over varied and often challenging
terrain, the altitude makes it a strict no-no for most faint-hearted sedentary folks.
This then is the stuff for the tough who may include seasoned trekkers, soul
searchers and die-hard pilgrims and yogis.
If you think you have it in you, this is the place to
be at least once in this lifetime. Be warned, this is no idyllic picnic spot or
carefully preserved garden. This is the modern equivalent of tapasya where
nothing other than hardships comes easy.
Sources :-
1) Wikipedia
2) University of Colorado Boulder
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Please feel free to post your comments below.
About Author :- Amit Kulkarni is the founder of Raghukul Holidays.
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