Kailash

Kailash is both a real mountain in the Tibetan Himalaya and a divine realm: the abode of Shiva, Parvati and their household. In the Puranas it is a world of its own, Shivaloka, where Shiva sits in meditation surrounded by his ganas.

The mountain

Mount Kailash (Kailasa) is a peak of the Gangdise range in western Tibet, about 6,638 metres high, with a strikingly regular, almost four-sided shape and a snow cap that is visible from far across the plateau. Near it lie the lakes Mansarovar and Rakshastal, and close by rise four great rivers of South Asia: the Indus, the Sutlej, the Brahmaputra (Yarlung Tsangpo) and the Karnali, a tributary of the Ganga. The mountain has never been climbed: out of respect for its sanctity, climbing is not permitted.

The home of Shiva

For Hindus Kailash is the home of Shiva and Parvati, with Ganesha, Kartikeya, Nandi and the hosts of ganas. It is seen as the axis of the world, likened to Mount Meru and to a natural linga. The Puranas describe Shiva sitting there in meditation on a tiger skin, and it is from Kailash that he comes down to the world in the stories.

Ravana shakes Kailash

The Uttara Kanda of the Ramayana tells how Ravana, angered when his flying chariot could not pass over Kailash, tried to lift the whole mountain. Shiva pressed it down with his toe and trapped Ravana’s arms beneath it. Ravana cried out in pain, which tradition says gave him his name, “the one who roars”, and he sang praises to Shiva for a thousand years until Shiva released him and gave him the sword Chandrahasa. The scene, called Ravananugraha, is carved at Ellora and many other temples, and the hymn Shiva Tandava Stotram is attributed to Ravana.

Pilgrimage

Pilgrims walk the 52-kilometre circuit (kora or parikrama) around the mountain, usually over three days, crossing the Dolma La pass at about 5,600 metres, and bathe in Lake Mansarovar. In India the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra is organised through the Lipulekh and Nathu La passes. Kailash is sacred also to Buddhists as the abode of Chakrasamvara, to Jains as Ashtapada, where Rishabhadeva attained liberation, and to the Bon religion of Tibet.