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Lake Manasarovar (Sanskrit: मानसरोवर), also called Mapam Yutso (;) locally, is a high altitude freshwater
lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
fed by the Kailash Glaciers near
Mount Kailash Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It has an altitude of ...
in
Burang County Purang County or Burang County (; ) is an administrative division of Ngari Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region (''TAR'') of China. The county seat is Purang Town, known as ''Taklakot'' in Nepali. The county covers an area of , and has a p ...
,
Ngari Prefecture Ngari Prefecture () or Ali Prefecture () is a prefecture of China's Tibet Autonomous Region covering Western Tibet, whose traditional name is Ngari Khorsum. Its administrative centre and largest settlement is the town of Shiquanhe. History Nga ...
,
Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of ...
, China. The lake along with Mount Kailash to its north are sacred sites in four religions: Bön,
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
,
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
and
Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...
.


Etymology

The Sanskrit word "''Manasarovar''" (मानसरोवर) is a combination of two Sanskrit words; "''Mānas''" (मानस्) meaning "mind (in its widest sense as applied to all the mental powers), intellect, intelligence, understanding, perception, sense, conscience''" while "''sarovara''" (सरोवर) means "''a lake or a large pond deep enough for a lotus''".


Geography

It is located about 50 kilometers to the northwest of
Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
, about 100 kilometers east of
Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
, and in the southwest region of Tibet. The lake lies at above mean sea level, a relatively high elevation for a large freshwater lake on the mostly saline lake-studded
Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the ...
. It freezes in the winter. According to Brockman, it is one of the highest freshwater lakes in Asia (with the highest being the
Tilicho Lake Tilicho Lake () is a lake located in the Manang district of Nepal, as the crow flies from the city of Pokhara. It is situated at an elevation of in the Annapurna range of the Himalayas. Another source lists the elevation of Lake Tilicho as bein ...
in Nepal at altitude of 4919 m). Lake Manasarovar is relatively round in shape with the circumference of . Its depth reaches a maximum of and its surface area is . It is connected to nearby
Lake Rakshastal Lake Rakshastal (;Sanskrit: राक्षसताल; ) is a saltwater lake in Tibet Autonomous Region, China, lying just west of Lake Manasarovar and south of Mount Kailash. The Sutlej River (also known by the Tibetan name Langqen Za ...
by the natural
Ganga Chhu Ganga Chhu is a river in the Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China ...
channel. Lake Manasarovar is near the source of the Sutlej, which is the easternmost large tributary of the Indus. Nearby are the sources of the Brahmaputra River, the Indus River, and the Karnali, an important tributary of the
Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
. Lake Manasarovar overflows into Lake Rakshastal which is a salt-water
endorheic lake An endorheic lake (also called a sink lake or terminal lake) is a collection of water within an endorheic basin, or sink, with no evident outlet. Endorheic lakes are generally saline as a result of being unable to get rid of solutes left in the l ...
. When the level of Lake Rakshastal matched that of Lake Manasarovar, these (very narrowly) combined lakes overflowed into the Sutlej basin. Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash are visible from the Lapcha La pass, located above the Limi valley in district Humla, Nepal. In May 2020, India inaugurated a new 80 km long motorable road from
Dharchula Dharchula is a town in Pithoragarh district in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, situated at an elevation of 940 m above sea level, surrounded by peaks from all sides and Kali river cutting through the middle, dividing the area in ...
to
Lipulekh Pass Lipulekh () is a Himalayan pass in Kalapani territory is on the border of India, Nepal and China. It is one of the routes for the pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Mansarovar in Tibet, China. Tourism This pass links the Byans valley of Uttarakh ...
along the
India-China border The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment o ...
under the geostrategic India-China Border Roads project to the
Kailas Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It has an altitude of ...
-
Manasarovar Lake Manasarovar (Sanskrit: मानसरोवर), also called Mapam Yutso (;) locally, is a high altitude freshwater lake fed by the Kailash Glaciers near Mount Kailash in Burang County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. The ...
in Tibet.Suhasini Haidar,
New road to Kailash Mansarovar runs into diplomatic trouble
The Hindu, 9 May 2020.


Climate


Access

Lake Manasarovar lies near Mount Kailash, and is an integral part of a Kailash-Manasarovar pilgrimage.


History and texts

There is no mention of the lake (or its location) in Vedic literature or ancient Sanskrit and Prakrit texts. Though colonial era and modern texts state Manasarovar to be among the most sacred sites of Indian religions, particularly Hinduism, this status is not found in early Indian texts prior to texts authored in the 1st millennium CE.Alex McKay (2015), Kailas Histories, Brill Academic, pp. 375–379 with footnotes Instead, the early Buddhist, Hindu and Jain texts mention a mythical Mount Meru and lake ''Manasa''. The mythical ''Manasa'' lake is described as one created through the mind of
Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
as the preferred abode of his vahana ''
hamsa The ''hamsa'' ( ar, خمسة, khamsa) is a palm-shaped amulet popular throughout North Africa and in the Middle East and commonly used in jewellery and wall hangings.Bernasek et al., 2008p. 12Sonbol, 2005pp. 355–359 Depicting the open right h ...
''. While there is no explicit mention of this lake or the nearby mountain in ancient Sanskrit texts, there is indirect mention of this region of Tibet in hymn 2.15 of the ''
Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one ...
''. There it says that Indus river keeps flowing north because of Indra's power, a geographical reality only in Tibet. This is in the context of ''Himavant'' (or the Himalayas). According to Frits Staal, a Sanskrit and Vedic studies scholar, this makes it likely that some among the ancient Vedic people had traced the Indus river route and had seen the valley near Mount Kailash. However, there is no mention of this lake or it being a ''tirtha'' (pilgrimage site). Typically, major historic pilgrimage sites that were frequented by Buddhists, Hindus and Jains attracted a discussion in their respective texts and the construction of infrastructure by wealthy patrons or kings. In Hinduism, these were the ''mahatmya'' chapters in the ''Puranas'', and the infrastructure include temples, dharmasalas, ashrams and pilgrimage facilities. At least until the 1930s, there is no evidence of such structures in the Kailash-Manasarovar region.Alex McKay (2013). Pilgrimage in Tibet. Taylor and Francis, , pp. 165–168 The earliest verifiable reports that confirm that this lake site attracted pilgrims are those of the Buddhists. According to Luciano Petech, Tibetan records confirm that Buddhists considered the region now identified as Kailasa and Manasarovar to be their sacred geography by late 12th-century, with many reports of Buddhist monks meditating in the Go-zul cave of Kailash and circumambulating the mountain. According to Alex McKay, the possible synthesis of esoteric Buddhism and Shaivism in Nepal, Tibet and eastern region of India may have expanded and brought Kailash and lake Manasarovar into the shared sacred geography for both Buddhists and Hindus. The 13th-century text ''Mahanirvana Tantra'' dedicates it first chapter to Kailash and Manasarovar lake as a pilgrimage site. This may have been coupled with the re-discovery of its importance to major rivers on the subcontinent. Between 1901 and 1905, southern Tibet became strategically important to the British Empire. The colonial era officials decided to encourage and assist religious pilgrimage to this lake and Kailash with comments such as "a devotee will be the pioneer of trade". By 1907, about 150 pilgrims a year visited this site, a number significantly higher than those in the 19th century. The number of Indian pilgrims grew to 730 by 1930. Pilgrimage road and facilities to this lake and Kailash were constructed by Indians, in cooperation with Tibetan monks and officials, along the route after 1930.


Religious significance


In Hinduism

Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash are believed to be the abode of Shiva. This is where the holy river the Ganges is believed to be tamed by Shiva and sent to nourish the fertile valleys below the Himalayas. It is sometimes conflated with Meru. For the Khas Hindu shamans of the nearby region of
Humla Humla District ( ne, हुम्ला जिल्ला), a part of Karnali Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Simikot as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has population of 50,858 a ...
(northwest
Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
), a ritual bath in Lake Manasarovar is an important step in gaining their shamanic powers.


In the Bon religion

The
Bon ''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in t ...
religion is also associated with the holy place of Zhang Zhung Meri sacred deity. When
Tonpa Shenrab Tonpa Shenrab ( "Teacher Shenrab") or Shenrab Miwo ()—also called the Buddha Shenrab, Guru Shenrab and a number of other titles—is the legendary founder of the Bon tradition of Tibet. The story of Tonpa Shenrab was revealed in a fourtee ...
, the founder of the Bon religion, visited Tibet for the first time and bathed in the lake.


In Buddhism

Buddhists associate the lake as the mother principle, with Kailash as the father principle. The Yamantaka shrine here is one of the eight guardian deities, who is shown in the act of a sexual embrace to unite compassion and wisdom. A traditional 32-mile circuit around the mountain, called ''kora'', is believed to be particularly holy walk. The lake has a few
monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
on its shores, the most notable of which is the ancient Chiu Monastery built on a steep hill, looking as if it has been carved right out of the rock.


In Jainism

In
Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...
, Lake Manasarovar is associated with the first
Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a ' ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the '' dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable pass ...
,
Rishabha Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain co ...
. As per Jain scriptures, the first Tirthankar, Bhagwan Rishabhdev, had attained
nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
on the Ashtapad Mountain. The son of Bhagwan Rishabhdev, Chakravati Bharat, had built a palace adorned with gems on the Ashtapad Mountain located in the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
. There are many stories related to Ashtapad Maha Tirth like Kumar and Sagar's sons, Tapas Kher Parna, Ravan and Mandodri Bhakti, among many others.


Gallery

File:Mountains yaks Manasarovar pilgrimage trail.jpg, The trail to Manasarovar lake File:Manasarovar with small temples.jpg, Small temples and stupa near the lake File:ManasarovarKailashPrayerFlags.jpg, Buddhist
Prayer flag A Tibetan prayer flag is a colorful rectangular cloth, often found strung along trails and peaks high in the Himalayas. They are used to bless the surrounding countryside and for other purposes. Prayer flags are believed to have originated withi ...
s on the shore File:Kailash stupa and temples, Manasarovar pilgrimage trail.jpg, Monuments and Mount Kailash near the lake File:Mount Kailash sunset from Manasarovar lake.jpg, Mount Kailash sunset


See also

*
Mount Kailash Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It has an altitude of ...
*
Adi Kailash Adi Kailash (Kumaoni language, Kumaoni: आदि कैलाश), also known as Shiva Kailash, Chota Kailash, Baba Kailash or Jonglingkong Peak, is a mountain located in the Himalayan mountain range in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand ...
*
Char Dham The Char Dham (meaning: ''four abodes'') is a set of four pilgrimage sites in India. It is believed that visiting these sites helps achieve moksha (salvation). The four Dhams are, Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameswaram. It is believed that ev ...
*
Hindu pilgrimage sites in India In Hinduism, the yatra (pilgrimage) to the tirthas (sacred places) has special significance for earning the punya (spiritual merit) needed to attain the moksha (salvation) by performing the darśana (viewing of deity), the parikrama (circumamb ...
*
Kalapani territory The Kalapani territory is an area under Indian administration as part of Pithoragarh district in the Kumaon Division of the Uttarakhand state, K. C. SharadKalapani's new ‘line of control’ Nepali Times, 10 September 2004, p. 6 but it i ...
* Rakshas Tal *
Yatra ( sa, यात्रा, 'journey', 'procession'), in Indian-origin religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, generally means a pilgrimage to holy places such as confluences of sacred rivers, sacred mountains, places associated ...


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manasarovar Lakes of Tibet Sacred lakes Indus basin Hindu temples Buddhist temples Brahmaputra River Ganges basin