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Kailash and Mansarovar

by Deb Mukharji

Through millennia, Kailash and Manas have influenced and excited the imagination of the people of India, Nepal, Tibet and lands far away. Kailash has been identified over time with Meru, the mythical mountain, which was the center of the universe, the axis mundi round which the world revolved. It is the abode of Shiva, the lord of destruction who resides there with his consort Parvati. Kang Rinpoche and Tise to Buddhists and Bons, the crystal mountains is the abode of Heruka Chakrasamhara who, like Shiva, is adorned by the crescent moon. Rishavadeva, the first tirthankara, has been associated with Kailash by the Jains and many of the figures in Hindu and Buddhist mythology and history have paid their homage here. Manas, one of the four great mahasovar of mythology, and the only extant one, has had a deep spiritual influence on the minds of the people of the region. Hindus and Buddhists have considered Kailash and Manas to be the ultimate pilgrimage. 'Visions of the Infinite' weaves together the different strands of faith and mythology associated with Kailash and Manas underlines the enormous and multi-faceted influence which the region has wielded on lands and people near and far. It recounts the experience and observations of pilgrims and visitors over the centuries and some of the geographical controversies associated with the region. The text is accompanied by over two hundred photographs taken in a course of three visits in a span of twenty one years. Besides Kailash and Manas, they portray the journey from India and across Tibet from Nepal.

Book details

Genre
Travelogue
Language
English
Format
Hardcover
Published
2009
Deb Mukharji

About the author

Deb Mukharji

"Whoever touches his body with the earth of Manasarovar and bathes in its waters will attain to the paradise of Brahma, and whoever drinks its waters will attain to the heaven of Shiva and will be washed clean of the sins of a hundred incarnations, and even the animals which bear the name of Manasarovar will enter into Brahma's paradise. The water of the lake is like pearls. There are no mountains that can compare with the Himalaya, for in them are Kailash and Manasarovar. As the dew is dried up by the morning sun, so are the sins of men blotted out at the sight of the Himalaya".

View all books by Deb Mukharji