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Manimahesh Lake

Manimahesh Jheel (मणिमहेश झील) in Hindi

Also known as: Manimahesh Dal, Mani Mahesh Lake, Dal Lake at Manimahesh

Bharmour, India
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Religions: Hinduism | Place Type: Pilgrimage site | Region: Asia

Overview

Manimahesh Lake is a glacial lake at about 4,190 meters (13,750 feet) in Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh, India. It is located at the foot of Manimahesh Kailash, a peak of 5,656 meters (18,556 feet). Hindus regard the peak as an abode of the god Shiva and the lake as the place where he bathes. The lake is an active pilgrimage site. Each year in August or September, pilgrims take part in The Manimahesh Yatra and bathe in its water.

Present

Manimahesh Lake is managed as a pilgrimage site by the Chamba district administration. The Shri Manimahesh Trust, chaired by the Deputy Commissioner of Chamba and based at Bharmour, organizes the annual pilgrimage together with the district administration and the Additional District Magistrate at Bharmour. The Trust also oversees the Manimahesh temple and the Chaurasi temple complex in Bharmour. Hindu priests from the Bharmour area conduct the rites at the lake. The main religious activity is the ritual bath taken by pilgrims in the lake during the two weeks between the festivals of Janmashtami and Radhashtami, followed by a threefold clockwise circuit of the shore and offerings at a marble image of Shiva on the bank. A formal procession from Chamba town carrying a holy mace regarded as an emblem of Shiva reaches the lake on the eve of Radhashtami, and the pilgrimage closes with a rite at the lake on that day. The lake is frozen for much of the year.

Religious Significance

Manimahesh Lake is a Hindu pilgrimage site connected with Shiva, the god of destruction and renewal in the Hindu trinity. Hindus venerate several Himalayan peaks as forms of Mount Kailash, Shiva's home in Tibet, and Manimahesh Kailash is one of them. Hindus regard the lake at its foot as Shiva's bathing place. Hindu tradition holds that a jewel on Shiva's crown rests on the summit, seen by pilgrims in the flash of light from the snow. The central practice is a bath in the lake, taken as the first sunlight falls on the peak and its reflection appears in the water. Pilgrims then walk around the lake three times clockwise and pray toward the summit with flowers and lamps. Below the lake are two pools where pilgrims bathe first: Gauri Kund (the pool of Gauri, a name of Parvati) for women, and Shiv Karotri (Shiva's bathing place) for men. The Gaddi, the pastoral community of the Bharmour area, are devotees of Shiva. Gaddi tradition holds that Shiva created the Gaddi, and they regard Manimahesh Kailash as his seat in a region they call Shiv Bhumi, the land of Shiva.

History & Structure

Manimahesh Lake is linked to Bharmour, the town 26 kilometers to the west, which is the base of its pilgrimage. Bharmour was the capital of the kingdom of Chamba until the 10th century, when the capital moved to Chamba town. The Chaurasi temple complex in Bharmour dates to the 7th century, and its central temple is dedicated to Shiva as Manimahesh. Hindu tradition in Chamba holds that the annual procession from Chamba town to the lake was instituted by the king who founded the town in the 10th century. The lake itself is a small glacial lake in a shallow basin in the Pir Panjal range. Its shores are lined with sand, gravel and scattered boulders with little vegetation. Manimahesh Kailash rises directly above it, and a snowfield at the base of the peak is known as Shiva's Chaugan, Shiva's playground. The lake feeds the Manimahesh Ganga, a stream that flows down to the Budhil River. The roadhead at Hadsar is 13 kilometers below the lake. A marble image of Shiva is located at one corner of the lake, and the bathing pools of Gauri Kund and Shiv Karotri lie a short distance below it on the pilgrim path.

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