SAYAN-ARA

Long, long, long time ago in Nauti village of Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, a beautiful girl Devi was married to a grand lord. As per tradition she had to leave her father’s abode for the husband’s home in the upper regions of the hills. As they were on their way home, Devi felt thirsty and the powerful lord with his immense powers created a lake with cold clean water to drink. Later Devi wanted to freshen up and the good lord created another beautiful lake. And then the couple reached home.

The beautiful girl was Goddess Parvati also known as Nanda Devi , the grand lord was the Lord of Lords, Shiva, their home was at Homkund, the first lake he created with his powerful Trishul was Benikund and the next to freshen up was Roopkund.

ROOPKUND

The story next unveils around 800 AD when Rani Balampa, who was the queen of King Jasdhaval of Kanauj, was expecting a child. The priest of Kanauj recommended a pilgrimage to Homkund to pay homage to Nanda Devi. The raja with a huge entourage of servants and dancers along with the royal family and most of his kingdom started on the pilgrimage. It is said that the Goddess Nanda Devi was not impressed with the king coming for a pilgrimage with dancers and entertainers. The Goddess appeared and cursed the advancing party with a hailstorm and most of the people were vanquished. And this mayhem happened near the Roopkund Lake. The king and the queen sought for the forgiveness from the angry Goddess who calmed down and ordered them to do a pilgrimage every twelve years. This is called the Raj Jat Yatra and is undertaken till date.

THE REMAINS

In 1942 Nanda Devi Park Ranger, Hari Kishan Madhwal, found skeletons floating in Roopkund 16000 feet above sea level. These were initially thought to be Japanese soldiers, part of a hidden invasion force of World War II, but later scientists and teams from National Geographic worked on the skeletons which were visible in clear water of the shallow lake during one month when the ice melts. Along with the skeletons, wooden artefacts, iron spearheads, slippers and rings were also found. Radio carbon dating proved that the skeletons were of two periods- one of 8^th century AD and the other of 19^th century AD. The studies of the skeletons revealed a common cause of death: blows to the back of the head, caused by round objects falling from above. The researchers concluded that the victims had been caught in a sudden hailstorm, just as described in the local legends and songs. Added to this coincidence is a campsite on way to Roopkund named Pathar Nachuni or the ‘stone dancer’…the place the Goddess is said to have cursed the dancers of King Jasdhaval  almost eleven hundred years ago!

The second set of more recent skeletons are said to be belonging to either people from the Mediterranean and or Konkanastha Brahmins (Chitpavans) from Maharashtra. What were these people doing up there so long ago? One theory states that these skeletons belonged to people who were in the region to collect ‘Keeda Jadi’ (insect plant) or the medicinal mushroom that grows in the region. Every spring hordes of people flock brave the inclement conditions and high altitudes to the regions where the caterpillar fungus is found. This magical mutant is believed to have medicinal properties to be used as aphrodisiac. And how did this group meet its end, in all probability, is a sudden hailstorm again…hail some as big as cricket balls and some the size of TT balls.

NANDA DEVI

After reading the myths, magic and mystery, you must be wondering why I chose the name for the blog which sounds like Sayonara which in Japanese means good bye. Bengali weddings have been a hotbed of PNPC which in vernacular reads Para Ninda Para Charcha…in short the folks at the gathering enjoy gossiping and talking ill about others. Fortunately for us, when we had wedding at our home recently, the guests who came in were either too old or too diverse to really keep this wonderful Bong tradition alive. Among the guests was a young man who had travelled afar including many a trek to the high mountains. Once the ceremonies got over, he started chatting and one such fascinating tale was about Roopkund. His name was Sayan and so his tale is what I share with you today. Among the other myths associated with the Lake of Skeletons shared by the traveller were:

Bedni Bughiyal is the alpine meadows from where people generally start the Nanda Devi trek. It is said that the four Vedas were written here. There is a lake there called Bednikund and it is said that Ma Durga killed the demon Mahisasur here. A little distance away from Pathar Nachuni is Kalu Vinayak Pass. It is said that Lord Vinayak stood guard as Goddess Parvati took bath in Roopkund. Further down the path is Bhaguabhasa which translates to ‘abode of the tiger.’ It is here that Goddess Parvati left her tiger to go for her bath in the lake.

THE RAM

The most fascinating of all the tales is about the four horned ram.  A year before the Raj Jat Yatra that takes place every twelve years, the priests from Nauti assemble to pray for the birth of a four horned ram and if the ram is not born, the yatra does not take place. The ram should be preferably black and should be born around Basant Panchami. The ram is Goddess Nanda Devi’s escort as she returns to her husband Lord Shiva’s abode after a brief visit to her parental home. The ram, bedecked with garlands and jewellery, leads the procession through the hilly terrain for nineteen days and it is said that the two extra horns, like our modern day GPS, help the ram to choose the right and ideal path as it carries the Goddess back home. At the end of the pilgrimage, the ram is left to walk off in wilderness as the procession returns after its last stop at Homkund. This four horned creature is never seen again.

Incredible India and you need many more Sayans to walk the paths and tell the tales.

Sayonara.

SS

PS. source and pictures from the internet, myths, folk tales and travelogues.