Mysteries of Himalayan Lake Manasarovar

Compiled by London Swaminathan
Date 25 June 2016
Post no 2918

Source book:- Kailas Manasarovar by Swami Pranavananda,
240 miles from Almora in UttarPradesh and 800 miles from Lhasa in Tibet stand Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar constituting one of the grandest of the Himalayan beauty spots.

The holy Manasarovar or Manasa Sarivar , the Tso Maphang or Tso Mavang of Tibetans , is the holiest, the most fascinating, the most inspiring, the most famous of all the lakes in the world and the most ancient that civilisation knows.

She is majestically calm and dignified like a bluish green emerald or a pure torquoise set between the two mighty and equally majestic silvery mountains, the Kailash on the north and the Gurla Mandhata on the south and between the sister lake Rakshas Tal or Ravana Hrada (Langake Tso) on the west and some hills on the east.

From the spiritual point of view, it has a most vibration of the supreme order that can soothe and lull even the most wandering mind into sublime serenity and can transplant it into involuntary ecstasies.

The circumference of Manasarovar is 54 miles. The vast expanse of the lake is on the Tibetan plateau,14,950 feet above the sea level. It is 300 feet deep and covers an area of 200 square miles.

There stands eight monasteries on the holy shores , wherein Buddhist monks strive all their lives to attain the sublimity of the eternal silence of Nirvana.

Two versions of Kangri Karchak – the Tibetan Kailasa Purana have been published in Tibetan.

The water of Manasarovar is as sweet as that of any river. The holy Manas provides fine caves on her shores. One comes across boulders as smooth and round as pebbles and also slabs as finely cut and shaped as slates. It is warm on Gossed sides and cold on other sides. In spite of the existence of hot springs the Chiu hill side is very cold.

From one monastery the lake presents fine view of her northern neighbour, the Kailash, and from another the Rakshas Tal is presented beautifully.

On full moon nights, with the full moon over head, the scene is simply indescribable. At sunset the whole of the Kailash range on the north becomes a fiery region all of a sudden, throwing an observer into a spell of trance, and by the time he returns to consciousness, he sees only the silvery peak in his front.

One of the wonders is snow fall from a clear blue sky. You will see a clear blue sky and bright sun above and a bed of pearl like hail and white snow on the ground. Hence the oft quoted Hindi couplet:

Manasarovar main parase
Bin basal him barse

“who can approach Manasarovar where snow falls without clouds? Such phenomena form sufficient material for the ecstatic outbursts of a poet”

At night time people see “stars” falling into the lake. Astronomers say that they are meteorites. Devotees believe that they are holy souls descending to earth.

Royal Swans
There are three varieties of aquatic birds in Manasarovar area. One type of birds go up to Chilka lake in Orissa on the east and on the west up to Surat and Malwa. Kalidasa also sang about the Himalayan swans.

Pressure and Sounds
From January first, occasional sounds and rumblings began to be heard now and then and from seventh they become more disturbing and terrible for about a monthly. When the lake is frozen during winter there appears fissures and chasms 3 to 6 feet broad, partitioning the entire lake. Within a day or two water in fissures freeze and slabs and blocks of ice pile upto six feet.

A series of peculiar phenomenon takes place on the frozen lake which is impossible to describe fully. In some places due to coastal explosions huge blocks of ice 20 to 50 cubic feet in volume get hurled and cast ashore to distances ranging upto sixty feet .

Rakshas Tal
At a distance of 2 to 5 miles to the west of Manasarovar is the Rakshas Tal, also known as Ravana Hrdda where Ravana of Lanka fame was said to have done penance to propitiate Lord Shiva . It is called Langake Tso in Tibetan. La means mountain Nga means five and Tso means lake. It means that there are five mountains drowned in it. (My opinion is that five hills were drowned during an earth quake)

Tempestuous winds we’re blowing and the paths were full of sharp stones. The water is crystal clear and swimming fishes can be seen. Brahmins ducks are seen in the lake. Kiangs are seen grazing in the nearby grass land. Holy Kailash with all its majesty and sublime serenity was reflecting in it, as if in a mirror.

The main three perennial rivers of India Ganga, Sindhu and Brahmaputra originate from this area. That is the main feeder streams are coming from this area. No wonder it is sung by poets and saints for at least 3500 years.

There are three Thermal Springs near Manasarovar.
On the shores of the lake a wonder drug called Thuma is found. It has aphrodisiac quality. Wild rats collect it and store it. It is difficult to collect even half a pound in one day.

–Subham–