Gosainkunda, at an elevation of about 4,450m above sea level is one of the most revered pilgrimage and tourist sites in the country owing to its great religious importance and amazing natural beauty. People in their thousands throng to Gosainkunda every year on two occasions: Dashahara or Jeshtha Shukla Dashamee and Janai Poornima or Rishi Panchamee.
The first event is the tenth day (dashamee) of the bright (shukla) fortnight (paksha) in the month of Jeshtha that falls in June. The belief that taking a bath in a holy river or pond and offering pooja (worship) on this day relieves a person from certain ten sins, is also popularly known as Dashahara.
Janai Poornima is named as such because it is on this full-moon, falling in the last part of the month of Shraavan (mid-August), that adult males of the janai (sacred thread) wearing classes (Brahmin and Chhetris) replace their janai with a fresh one with blessings from a priest and hand over dakshina (money) to him. Also performed on the same day in the same way is Raksha Bandhan, or tying the cotton thread around the wrist for protection. The day is also recognised as Rishi Tarpanee as people show their respect (tarpan) to rishis (sages) for their holy deeds. Devotees fast in the early part of the day and eat a vegetarian meal later. Gosainkunda remains their first choice of destination for such events. For persons unable to reach Gosainkunda, Kumbheshwar in the middle of Lalitpur is the alternative.
Reportedly, Gosainkunda draws a greater number of visitors in Janai Poornima than in Dashahara. Hindu pilgrims largely from Nepal and substantially from India make it to the former festival and those visiting in the Dashahara are from other neighbouring countries. During this year’s Janai Poornima an estimated total of about 8,000 people visited Gosainkunda.
Quite a few of such events had gone by before I decided to set out for the pilgrimage to Gosainkunda for this year’s Janai Poornima. I nearly missed the opportunity because of the bus operators manipulating the seat reservation. But luckily I managed to get my seat back. After leaving from Kathmandu at 8 in the morning, we reached Dhunche at around 5p.m. And the following evening at about 6p.m our pilgrimage started from Dhunche. I had started my journey alone but naturally came in contact with many fellow pilgrims on the way. However, going in a pre-arranged suitable group is more advisable.
Soon afterwards, the process of seperation among individuals and groups based on the ability to walk began to show itself. Some managed to reach Gosainkunda by evening, some halted at Laureebina, and many still remained far behind. The trail was fairly wide but the steep course was unexpectedly lengthy and excessively tiring. Unable to continue the walk, a few people gave up the final upward journey and turned back, some fell sick but recovered and completed the trip. There was also a rumour that one young man died of altitude sickness. Apart from such few unfortunate and tragic incidents, the overall journey did not seem too severe. Taking various sorts of precautions and care while going uphill was, however, extremely necessary. Surprisingly, the comfortable composure and pace of some elderly people (a few of them close to their eighties) seemed to instill strength and spirit into many.
The problems caused by the notorious leeches were almost fully nullified most probably due to the dilution caused by the excessively large number of their preys, the travellers. But clearly, some effective measures are urgently needed to rectify the largely unfair dealings of some of the lodge owners and the reckless outdoor defecation.
Overall, a pilgrimage to Gosainkunda is an enchanting, enthralling and enduring experience with several important facets. For a Hindu devotee, taking a dip in the water of Gosainkunda (kunda meaning lake) and performing a religious rite there mean both salvation and virtue. The scenic splendour, the geo-morphological, biological and climatic diversities and the social and anthropological dimensions also appeal strongly to the interests and satisfaction of a variety of other non religious visitors. After all, the kund and its surroundings were, according to legend, created by Lord Shiva himself in order to eventually soothe out the burning sensation caused by the poison that stuck in his throat when he tried to swallow it to save all creatures.
Gosainkunda’s source is the Trishuldhaaraa, which is believed to have emerged when Lord Shiva struck his trishul into the huge boulder lying a little above the kunda so as to make the entrapped snow-melt water flow out. Being fed with this water the Trishuli river has also derived its name thus. Although the number of pools around the Gosainkunda area said to be 108 in total, Sooryakunda, Saraswateekunda and Bhairavkunda are the prominent ones besides Gosainkunda.