It takes two days to complete the 54-kilometre long parikrama (circumambulation) of Kailas -- 24 hours of immersing yourself in the spirituality that envelops this abode of Shiva, God of Gods. To the south of Kailas is Lake Manasarovar, whose circumference of 90 kilometres can be circumambulated in two days. The Tibetans call the lake Tso Mapham or Tso Mawang.
To the south of Manas is the Gurla Mandhata mountain named after Mandhata, a great king of yore who reportedly did penance here. The region finds numerous mentions in Indian scriptures, in the Ramayan and Mahabharat. The great poet Kalidasa beautifully described Kailas and Manasarovar in his masterpiece Kumarsambhavam: 'In the northern part there is a mighty mountain by name Himalaya -- the abode of perpetual snow -- fittingly called the Lord of mountains, animated by Divinity as its soul and internal spirit; spanning the wide land from the eastern to the western sea, it stands, as it were, like the measuring rod of the earth. At the direction of King Prithu, the selfsame mountain was used as a calf by all other mountains, while Mount Meru (Kailas) stood as an expert milker of cows and milched from Mother Earth the milk of shining gems and medicinal herbs of wonderful virtue and supreme efficacy.'
Image: Pilgrims on yaks make the two-day parikrama of Mount Kailas.
Also see: Lord Jagannath's Rath Yatra in New York
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