When we speak of the northernmost point of sacred India, we refer not to Kashmir but to Uttarakhand, source of the major sacred rivers of India: Ganga and Yamuna. When Adi Shankaracharya established his four centres, the northernmost point was not Kashmir, which he had visited, but Uttarakhand.
Thus reminds us of the importance given to the central Himalayas in the context of sacredness to Hindus.
Kashmir and Himachal, though important, are linked to the Indus river basin. This was important in the early Rig Vedic period, but in mainstream Hinduism, the most sacred river is Ganga, and so the mountain from where it originates has become the northernmost point of Arya-varta.
So important is this land that there are temples calling themselves Kedarnath in the far south, in Karnataka and Odisha. Almost every temple in India mimics the geography of Uttarakhand. The conical roof of a Hindu temple represents Mount Meru/Kailas, and on the doorways are carved images of the river-goddesses.
The Vedas value rivers more than mountains. Mountains are linked to demons like Vritra and Vala that Indra has to fight. But in the Mahabharata, the Himalayas is a place of refuge, where kings like the Pandava brothers can hide, where they encounter magical beings like gandharvas, kimpurushas, kinaras, vidyadharas, and the magical realm of the gods.
It is from these mountains, we are told, that they are able to enter swarga, the abode of the gods. In the valleys of these mountains, one finds shrines even for Duryodhana and Karna and other Mahabharata heroes. Here, Pandavani performances bring the epic alive.
Alongside the source of sacred rivers, Uttarakhand has the Mana Pass that connects India to Tibet. It is from Tibet that we get the famous yak-tail fly whisk (chamar) used in every Hindu temple. Tibet is where gold was obtained – it is where Yudhishtira goes to get treasures to perform his Ashwamedha yagna.
The first king of Tibet was a king named Rupati, who fought on the side of the Kauravas, and escaped there following defeat. Tibet is the land of Pipilika gold-digging ants mentioned by Herodotus, probably the mongoose-like Himalayan marmot that digs holes in the ground pushing up gold dust.
It is from Tibet that we get borax that is used to soften gold. Borax makes gold softer, brighter and shinier. Thus, borax is called suhaga, giving rise to the phrase “sone pe suhaga”.
Uttarakhand is also where elephants were caught. At Khalsi, Uttarakhand, we find one of Ashoka’s inscriptions (Major Rock Edict 13) with the image of an elephant, mentioning Greek kings as well as Chola kings of the south, indicating the extent of Ashoka’s empire 2,300 years ago.
At Purola, archeologists have found a massive Vedic altar, the only one of its kind, which is probably 1,900 years old. This is the first undisputed Hindu monument here.
Devdutt Pattanaik is an Indian physician turned leadership consultant, mythologist, author and communicator whose works focus largely on the areas of myth, religion, mythology, and management.
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