For thousands of years, followers of Vedic Sanatana Dharma, Jainism and Buddhism have been performing the world’s most ancient and inaccessible Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. This journey is also mentioned in Mahabharata.
The place of Nirvana of the first Jain Tirthankar Rishabhdev is at a place called Ashtapada, which is at the foot point of Mount Kailash. Neelkanth Varni, the founder of Swaminarayan sect, came on Kailash Yatra in February 1793. Guru Nanak also went on this journey. Gurdwara Pathar Saheb near Leh, associated with the visit of Guru Nanak, is under the care of the Indian Army.
There was a time when those going on Kailash Yatra used to perform their Shraddha-tarpan before leaving because there was no belief that they would return. For this reason in Marathi, the word ‘Kailashvasi’ is used for the heavenly resident. Before the Chinese invasion of 1962, there were more than 10 routes for Kailash Yatra from India – namely from Leh via Demchok, via Shipki La in Himachal, beyond Badrinath via Vasudhara, from Munshyari via Milam Glacier route and Dharchula-Lipu Lekh route and from Sikkim via Nathu La.
Travel through Indian routes was stopped by China after the 1962 war, which restarted in 1981 due to the efforts of Atal ji, which remained closed for two years after the Chinese attack in Galwan in the current decade and restarted this year. The journey that has been going on for over thousands of years is now under the control of an ‘unfriendly’ country – which has now for the first time banned bathing in Manasarovar (in the name of preventing pollution) and has allowed only 10 liters of water to be brought from there. It is like banning bathing in Haridwar or Prayag Sangam in the name of pollution.
Mentioned in every book
The description of Manasarovar is found in our ancient scriptures. It has a beautiful description in Ramayana, Mahabharata, all the Puranas – especially Skandapurana. It also has beautiful descriptions in Banabhatta’s Kadambari, Kalidasa’s Raghuvansh and Kumarasambhavam, Sanskrit and Pali Buddhist texts. In Buddhist texts it has been called Anotatta or Anavatapta, which is beyond heat and suffering. In Jain texts it has been called Padmasar. Kailash is in the north, Gurla Mandhata in the south and Rakshas Tal in the west.
The waves of Mansarovar are very strong but the water is so pure that the stones at the bottom shine clearly. Famous monk scientist Swami Pranavanand went on Kailash Yatra 21 times with the help of the then Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Dr. Sampurnanand, measured the depth of Mansarovar through a special boat and proved that the origin of Ganga is also in Mansarovar and its undercurrent originates in Gaumukh.
This journey is indescribable, beyond words – Hindus wait for this journey for many years. Kailash Mansarovar is the largest watershed area in the world – Sutlej, Karnali, Indus, Mekong (East Asian tributary of Ganga), Brahmaputra originate from here. It is an unlimited storehouse of minerals and medicinal herbs. During the severe winter season (December to March), Vedic monks have been seen walking on the snow-covered Manasarovar and performing meditation there in just one cloth. A large number of passengers also travel via Nepal route and now China has built Gunsa Airport near Mansarovar, from where many passengers come from abroad via Beijing-Lhasa.
Unforgettable opportunity written in lottery
Each traveler has to trek approximately 200 kilometers on the Lipulekh route (total 27 days) and 35 kilometers on foot on the Nathu La route (total 12 days) – even in the middle route, health check-up of the travelers is done and many a times travelers found unwell are sent back midway. Every year in May, applications are submitted to the Ministry of External Affairs – the name selection process is done by lottery. Then the applications are accepted only after the health checkup is correct by ITBP in Delhi. Only 750 passengers are allowed through both the routes – 250 from Uttarakhand and the remaining 500 from the Nathu La route. Shafi Ul Rabi, Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, has been the facilitator in charge of this visit for many years. When I first went in 1992, the total expenditure was Rs 25,000 (including Chinese visa and arrangement fees), which has now increased to Rs 2.5 to 3 lakh per passenger. Some states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu also provide grants to Kailash Yatris of their state. The Delhi Government provides accommodation facilities to the applicant travelers during their stay in Delhi (this was started by the then Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma during the Prime Ministership of Atal ji).
The journey is completed by the grace of Shiva
Reaching the darshan of Mount Kailash seems like a dream. Till date, no state authority has given permission to climb Mount Kailash as a mark of religious devotion. Tibetan Buddhists are the epitome of devotion who circumambulate Kailash and Manasarovar in obeisance. Bholenath blesses you for this extremely difficult parikrama. The climb to Dolma La Pass seems no less than Sagarmatha. A highly tantric ritual of Tara Devi also takes place on this mountain peak. From here onwards one can have divine darshan of Gauri Kund. On the way back from Kailash Parikrama towards Mansarovar-Tarchen, the cave of the great Yogi Milarepa of Tibet also comes but there is no permission to go there. Somehow we had come to visit there. Indus River, an essential part of the Indus Saraswati civilization, originates in this region. Between two hills is a crystal clear dark blue colored reservoir called Rakshas Tal, which is also called Ravana-Hrid. Its water is not considered suitable for bathing or bathing and no worship is done here.
Yes, after taking bath in Mansarovar, there is a tradition of arghya to the Sun and chanting Gayatri Mantra and Mahamrityunjaya Mantra. Just in front is an iceberg shaped like a Shivalinga of light. Blue sky – nothing around, only that supreme form of Shiva – Mount Kailash, the lighted form of the Lord with white aura, is visible. When we went, the first sight left us speechless. There was silence everywhere. Everyone remained silent after paying obeisance. They came back running and hugged each other. My shoulders became wet with his love tears – I couldn’t say anything – my throat was choked. This experience was no less than seeing God in person. Like a conversation with Shiva in person!
Realm of Three Heavens
Tibet has been a companion of Indian wisdom and spirituality since ancient times. Its name is derived from the Sanskrit ‘Trivishtap’ – which is said to mean three heavens. Trivishtap is mentioned in Rigveda. The language of Tibet originated from Bhot-Prakrit and Pali and the medical system there is pure Ayurveda. Buddhism was propagated in Tibet by Guru Padmasambhava and Acharya Shanta Rakshit in the seventh century. China tried to erase the entire heritage of the revered Dalai Lama by annexing Tibet, Sinicized the names of the villages there and changed the population balance by resettling millions of Han people from the mainland to Tibet.
Shiva meets in three ways
Kailash Mansarovar is the most beautiful and most difficult pilgrimage in the world. This area, about 865 kilometers away from Delhi, has a very beautiful, indescribable natural path, from where Om Parvat can also be seen. This journey is completed in 27 days passing through Dharchula, Gabyang, Gunji, Lipulekh of Uttarakhand. The second route goes through Nathu La (Sikkim). This entire route can be covered by vehicles. Whereas the first route is half on foot and half by vehicles. There is also a journey through Nepal – in which from Kathmandu to Lhasa by air and then by Pajero vehicles/from Kathmandu to Kailash by helicopter or by road. Ahead of Dharchula on the yatra route, there is milky magic of hundreds of waterfalls, thousand forms of greenery and in Nabi Dhang, on the shining mountain peak like Om Parvat, there is a glacier which is exactly in the shape of Om. Travelers remain mesmerized by this sight!
(Former Rajya Sabha MP and author of the book ‘Kailas Manasarovar Yatra: Dialogue with Shiva in person’)