A holy lake in the Himalayas
This journey was to the high-altitude lake of Manimahesh in the
Himalayas, above Chamba at the headwater of the River Ravi. Manimahesh
is one the sakti
pithas – the sites sacred to the Devi, the Great Goddess, and
above it rises Mount Kailash, home of Lord Shiva and the south Himalayan
rival to the other now more famous Kailash in Tibet.
The story goes that Lord Shiva was not invited to his own wedding feast by his father-in-law, and his wife Sati, shamed by the deliberate rudeness to her spouse, jumped into the wedding fire and incinerated herself. Her distraught husband danced in grief across the heavens clinging on to her charred body until the body disintegrated, and piece by piece fell to earth. One part of her yoni – or vagina – landed in Manimahesh. Shiva later took up residence on the peak above the lake with Sati’s reincarnation, the Goddess Parvati. There the two made love for long eternities.
The mountain is said to remain unclimbed – legend has it that anyone who attempts to do so is turned to stone – but the lake at its foot is a major place of pilgrimage and, every autumn, wild-looking shepherds from the Gaddi caste gather from all over the Himalayas to make their way to this remote and beautiful spot to pray and take an icy dip in the lake’s sacred waters.
Towards the end of September, the Gaddis begin to gather at the
ancient temple town of Bramhaur, recovering from their journey over the
high passes to the Chamba Valley, and preparing their strength for the
arduous trek up to the lake. The festival is held at the end of the
summer pasturing season, just before the winter snows begin to fall, as
the shepherds are preparing to take their flocks down to the plains for
winter. Over two days they then head up the mountain, camping for the
night in the pilgrim’s rest houses that dot the route.
I tried to do the whole journey in one day, and that was a mistake: I arrived at the top at 11 at night, frozen and dropping with exhaustion; but it is still one the most extraordinary journeys I have ever made, to a high-altitude wasteland, populated only by Gaddis and holy men, who camp there to perform lakeside exorcisms and build ice lingams in devotion to Lord Shiva.
Enjoy...
planetCare@live.com
Visit sushil's profile on Pinterest.
I’ve always had a thing about holy mountains. This year both my most
interesting journeys were to holy sites in the hills,
The story goes that Lord Shiva was not invited to his own wedding feast by his father-in-law, and his wife Sati, shamed by the deliberate rudeness to her spouse, jumped into the wedding fire and incinerated herself. Her distraught husband danced in grief across the heavens clinging on to her charred body until the body disintegrated, and piece by piece fell to earth. One part of her yoni – or vagina – landed in Manimahesh. Shiva later took up residence on the peak above the lake with Sati’s reincarnation, the Goddess Parvati. There the two made love for long eternities.
The mountain is said to remain unclimbed – legend has it that anyone who attempts to do so is turned to stone – but the lake at its foot is a major place of pilgrimage and, every autumn, wild-looking shepherds from the Gaddi caste gather from all over the Himalayas to make their way to this remote and beautiful spot to pray and take an icy dip in the lake’s sacred waters.
Towards the end of September, the Gaddis begin to gather at the
ancient temple town of Bramhaur, recovering from their journey over the
high passes to the Chamba Valley, and preparing their strength for the
arduous trek up to the lake. The festival is held at the end of the
summer pasturing season, just before the winter snows begin to fall, as
the shepherds are preparing to take their flocks down to the plains for
winter. Over two days they then head up the mountain, camping for the
night in the pilgrim’s rest houses that dot the route.I tried to do the whole journey in one day, and that was a mistake: I arrived at the top at 11 at night, frozen and dropping with exhaustion; but it is still one the most extraordinary journeys I have ever made, to a high-altitude wasteland, populated only by Gaddis and holy men, who camp there to perform lakeside exorcisms and build ice lingams in devotion to Lord Shiva.
For details on visiting the region, see the state tourist board website himachaltourism.gov.in
Thank you.Enjoy...
planetCare@live.com
Visit sushil's profile on Pinterest.
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