Hemkund
Encyclopedia
Hemkunt Sahib or Hemkund Sahib is a pilgrimage site for Sikhs in Chamoli district
Chamoli District
Chamoli district is a district of Uttarakhand state of India. It is bounded by the Tibet region to the north, and by the Uttarakhand districts of Pithoragarh and Bageshwar to the east, Almora to the south, Garhwal to the southwest, Rudraprayag to the west, and Uttarkashi to the northwest...

, Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. With a setting of a glacial lake surrounded by seven mountain peaks and each peak is adorned by a Nishan Sahib
Nishan Sahib
The Nishan Sahib is a Sikh holy triangular flag made of cotton or silk cloth, with a tassel at its end. The word, Nishan means symbol, and the flag is hoisted on a tall flagpole, outside most Gurudwaras. The flagpole itself covered with fabric, ends with a two-edged dagger on top...

 on its cliff, it is located in the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...

 at an elevation of 15,200 ft as per the Survey of India. It is accessible only by foot from Gobindghat on the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway.

Hemkunt Sahib is famous for the Sikh worship-place Gurudwara, known as Gurudwara Sri Hemkunt Sahib
Sri Hemkunt Sahib
In the Indian epic and Puranic literature, Himalayan landscapes are described as the dwelling places of gods and goddesses. Pilgrimage shrines mark the places where the landforms themselves - mountains, rivers, forests, and lakes - are said to have acquired sacred qualities...

 Ji, devoted to Guru Gobind Singh Ji (1666–1708), the tenth Sikh Guru, which finds mention in Dasam Granth
Dasam Granth
Dasven Patshah Da Granth or Dasam Granth , often called Sri Dasam Granth Sahib with respect, is a scripture of Sikhism, containing some of the texts attributed to 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Although the Dasam Granth is commonly confused with the Guru Granth Sahib, there is no overlap in...

, a piece of work narrated by Guru Gobind Singh Ji,Himself. The lake also has a Lakhmana hut on its shore which was later built into proper small shrine by the Sikhs.

Etymology

Hemkund is a Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 name derived from Hem ("Snow") and Kund ("bowl"). Dasam Granth
Dasam Granth
Dasven Patshah Da Granth or Dasam Granth , often called Sri Dasam Granth Sahib with respect, is a scripture of Sikhism, containing some of the texts attributed to 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Although the Dasam Granth is commonly confused with the Guru Granth Sahib, there is no overlap in...

 says this is the place where Pandu Raja practiced Yoga.

History

Bachitira Natak is an autobiographical account of incarnated life of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji as a powerful youth who was called into existence during Sat Yug, the 'era of truth' (the first of four ages according to Hindu mythology) to do battle with fierce demons that terrorized mortals and gods including Hindu deities and gods. When they had been destroyed, the youth, known as Dusht Daman, the 'destroyer of evil', was instructed to go to Hemkunt Sapatsring to meditate until he was called upon by God. Guru Gobind Singh's own account in Bachitra Natak completes this story. After realizing his oneness with God through meditation and austere discipline, he was reborn in Kal Yug, the 'age of darkness', as the son of the ninth Guru and his wife. Later, after his father's martyrdom, he became the tenth and final living Guru of the Sikhs

ਅਬ ਮੈ ਅਪਨੀ ਕਥਾ ਬਖਾਨੋ ॥ ਤਪ ਸਾਧਤ ਜਿਹ ਬਿਧਿ ਮੁਹਿ ਆਨੋ ॥
अब मै अपनी कथा बखानो ॥ तप साधत जिह बिधि मुहि आनो ॥
Now I relate my own story as to how I was brought here, while I was absorbed in deep meditation.

ਹੇਮ ਕੁੰਟ ਪਰਬਤ ਹੈ ਜਹਾਂ ॥ ਸਪਤ ਸ੍ਰਿੰਗ ਸੋਭਿਤ ਹੈ ਤਹਾਂ ॥੧॥
हेम कुंट परबत है जहां ॥ सपत स्रिंग सोभित है तहां ॥१॥
The site was the mountain named Hemkunt, with seven peaks and looks there very impressive.1.

ਸਪਤ ਸ੍ਰਿੰਗ ਤਿਹ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਹਾਵਾ ॥ ਪੰਡੁ ਰਾਜ ਜਹ ਜੋਗੁ ਕਮਾਵਾ ॥
सपत स्रिंग तिह नामु कहावा ॥ पंडु राज जह जोगु कमावा ॥
That mountain is called Sapt Shring (seven-peaked mountain), where the Pandavas Practised Yoga.

ਤਹ ਹਮ ਅਧਿਕ ਤਪਸਿਆ ਸਾਧੀ ॥ ਮਹਾਕਾਲ ਕਾਲਿਕਾ ਅਰਾਧੀ ॥੨॥
तह हम अधिक तपसिआ साधी ॥ महाकाल कालिका अराधी ॥२॥
There I was absorbed in deep meditation on the Primal Power, the Supreme KAL.2.

ਇਹ ਬਿਧਿ ਕਰਤ ਤਪਿਸਆ ਭਯੋ ॥ ਦ੍ਵੈ ਤੇ ਏਕ ਰੂਪ ਹ੍ਵੈ ਗਯੋ ॥
इह बिधि करत तपिसआ भयो ॥ द्वै ते एक रूप ह्वै गयो ॥
In this way, my meditation reached its zenith and I became One with the Omnipotent Lord.

In the above verses, the Guru Ji tells of His origins. He describes the place Hemkunt Parbat Sapat Sring, the "lake of ice" "mountains" adorned with "seven peaks", as the same place where King Pandu, the forefather of the five Pandava brothers of Mahabharata fame, practiced yoga. There, the Guru Ji did intense meditation and austerities until He merged with God. Because His earthly parents had served God, God was pleased with them and gave a commandment that the Guru Ji to be born to them. In the mortal world He would carry out a mission to teach the true religion and rid people of evil ways. He was reluctant to leave his state of union with the creator, but God compelled Him. In this way the Guru Ji took birth into the world.

The search for and discovery of Hemkunt Sahib came out of the desire of the Sikhs to erect shrines to honour places consecrated by the visit of the tenth Guru during his lifetime or, in the case of Hemkunt Sahib, during his previous lifetime. Although Bachitra Natak was included in the Dasam Granth some time in the 1730s, Sikhs apparently did not consider looking for Hemkunt Sapatsring until the late nineteenth century. It did not become a place of pilgrimage until the twentieth century.
Pandit Tara Singh Narotam, a nineteenth century Nirmala scholar, was the first Sikh to trace the geographical location of Hemkunt. He wrote of Hemkunt Sahib as one among the 508 Sikh shrines he described in Sri Gur Tirath Sangrah (first published in 1884). Much later, renowned Sikh scholar Bhai Vir Singh was instrumental in developing Hemkunt Sahib after it had been, in a sense, re-discovered by another Sikh in search of the Guru's tap asthan.

Sohan Singh was a retired granthi from the Indian army who was working in a gurdwara (Sikh temple) in Tehri Garhwal. In 1932, he read the description of Hemkunt Sahib in Bhai Vir Singh's Sri Kalgidhar Chamatkar (1929). This account of the place and the meditation of a great yogi there was based on the tale of Guru Gobind Singh's life and previous life as told in Bachitra Natak and the Suraj [Prakash] Granth.

In 1930, Sant Sohan Singh, a retired granthi
Granthi
Granthi is any person of either gender, who performs the reading of the Guru Granth Sahib at congregational occasions, however this task can be performed by any individual who is part of the congregation...

 from the Indian Army, claimed to have found Hemkunt Sahib as stated in Bachitra Natak. To some extent he was financed by Bhai Vir Singh, a romantic poet of Punjab, belonging to landed gentry. Bachitra Natak was somehow able to capture the imagination of Sikhs, largely because of the beautiful poetry, and songs and verses that resonated to their sentiments and music. Sohan Singh, who died around 1937, was assisted by a Sikh soldier, Havildar
Havildar
Havildar ) was the Military 'In Charge' of a Fort during the times of Maratha Empire. In the British Indian Army it was equivalent rank to Sergeant, next above Naik, and is still used in the modern Indian Army and Pakistan Army. The cavalry equivalent is Daffadar...

 Modan Singh of the Bengal Sappers and Miners, who then laid the foundation of the first building and opened access to the public through Govindghat
Govindghat
Govindghat , a town in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India, it is the roadhead and the starting point for trekking to Hemkund Sahib and Valley of Flowers. Located on the confluence of the Alaknanda and Lakshman Ganga rivers, it is roughly 22 km from Joshimath on NH58 at an altitude of 6000 feet...

. Later, he went on to live here and stayed until his death in 1960. The Sikh religious organizations designated Hemkunt Sahib as a special place for worship.

Travel

Hemkund is inaccessible because of snow from October through April. Each year the first Sikh pilgrims arrive in May and set to work to repair the damage to the path over the winter. This Sikh tradition is called kar seva ("work service"), a concept which forms an important tenet of the Sikh faith of belonging to and contributing to the community.

The take-off point for Hemkunt Sahib is the town of Govindghat
Govindghat
Govindghat , a town in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India, it is the roadhead and the starting point for trekking to Hemkund Sahib and Valley of Flowers. Located on the confluence of the Alaknanda and Lakshman Ganga rivers, it is roughly 22 km from Joshimath on NH58 at an altitude of 6000 feet...

 about 275 kilometres (170.9 mi) from Rishikesh. The 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) trek is along a reasonably well maintained path to the village of Ghangaria
Ghangaria
Ghangaria is a small village on the way to Hemkund Sahib, and a popular pilgrimage site for Sikhs about 6 km from here and the Valley of Flowers, a national park known for its variety of flowers about 3 km from here. It is located in the northern Himalayan ranges at an altitude of 3049...

. There is another Gurudwara where pilgrims can spend the night. In addition there are a few hotels and a campground with tents and mattresses. A 1100 metres (3,608.9 ft)climb on a 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) of stone paved path leads Hemkund. There are no sleeping arrangements at Hemkunt Sahib so it is necessary to leave by 2 pm to make it back to Govindghat by nightfall.

From Delhi, tourists take the train to Haridwar
Haridwar
Haridwar is an important pilgrimage city and municipality in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India...

 and then travel by bus to Govindghat via Rishikesh. It is also possible to drive from Delhi to Govindghat, about 500 km and takes about 18 hours. The main town near Govindghat is Joshimath.

Present Gurudwara

Design and construction of the present gurudwara was started in the mid-1960s, after Major General Harkirat Singh, Engineer-in-Chief, Indian Army visited the gurudwara. Major General Harkirat Singh selected Architect Siali to head the design and construction effort. Thereafter, Architect Siali made annual trips to Hemkunt Sahib and organized and supervised the very complex construction process.

This year [2011], there has been a live telecast of kirtan from the gurudwara sahib on MH1 Channel every morning from 10 AM to 1 PM.

Nature

The tributaries of the Ganges merge along the way and the towns at the confluences carry the suffix prayag ("confluence").

At all major prayags there are Hindu temples precisely in the V of the confluence, and it is generally possible to walk down to these temples and watch the water up close.

Valley of Flowers

About 3 km from Gobinddham is the 5 km long Valley of Flowers. The Indian Government has declared this valley a national park. It is situated in Nanda Devi Bio Reserve
Nanda Devi National Park
The Nanda Devi National Park is a national park situated around the peak of Nanda Devi, , in the state of Uttarakhand in northern India. It was established as national park in 1982. Along with the adjoining Valley of Flowers National Park to the northwest, it was inscribed a World Heritage Site by...

, and all activities are carefully regulated to preserve the valley in pristine condition. The best months to visit are July and August, during the monsoons. The valley can be closed to visitors if the weather is totally inclement. Legend has it that a flower called Brahma-Kamal blossoms here every 12 years.

The trek to the valley is relatively easy and is a popular second destination for pilgrims visiting Hemkunt Sahib.

External links

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