GOSAINKUNDA

Introduction
A country where myriad deities, religions and cultural traditions blend with unique language defines this beautiful Nepal . And when it comes to holy places, Nepalese should really be proud of it. Each holy place is considered revered and chaste and each of them carries its own story and history. ‘Gosainkund’ of Rasuwa is one masterpiece holy heaven for Hindus and Buddhists pilgrims that embraces magnificent natural heritages since time immoral. Janai Purnima and Dashara of Jestha are two D-Days when this place is visited the most.

The ‘Gosainkund’ lies in Lang tang National Park of Rasuwa district of Bagmati Zone at the height of around 4380m from sea level. The place, being located East of headquarter Dhunchhe, can be reached through Ghattekhola, Dhimsa, Chandanbari,Cholangpati, Lauribinayak, Ganesh Gaunda or Sundarijal. However the mesmerizing natural beauty is common to both the routes.

The panoramic view of the mountains like Annapurna II, Hiunchuli, Manaslu, Ganesh, Langtang, Lirung makes and visitor forget about the strenuous trek under the wide blue sky. Not just as a holy place this is equally famous for adventure lovers and flora and fauna researchers. Many unprecedented aromas can be expected en route to the place, but some strong and pungent odors could prove pernicious to heath for some. They could render headache, vomit and eye burn sensation. Some consider it a bad omen and some find it difficult to proceed owing to this. If somehow you proceed, the rare Red Panda and Assamese monkeys among others could be not-to-be-missed sites.

How it got the name
The name ‘Gosainkund’ is derived from Sanskrit word ‘Goswani’ that later distorted to ‘Gosai’ where Go = Cow and Swami = Master or a person with many cows. Also, Go means ‘Indriya’ where master is ‘Jitendriya’. Gods, ascetics and saints fall under this category ‘Jitendriya’, and the most powerful one is Shiva or Shankar.
Kunda is the other name for lake or pond which when added with Gosain makes ‘Gosainkund’. So this word is seen relevant to saints, ascetics and jogis. Shiva is said to have built this pond and so it may also be called “Nilkantha kund” or “Shivakund”.

Gosainkund and holy books
The origin and importance of this pond can be noticed in Bhagavatgita, Vishnu Puran and Mahabharat. These all books talk about “Samundra Manthan”, which discusses mainly the origin of the pond, how the Kalkut venom was born and how the Shiva’s neck got bluish when he consumed it. Since then Shivaji is greeted as Nilkantha. After the venom got intolerable, he went towards North with his Trishul on the shoulder thinking Gauri’s Himalayan lay there. Even then the pain did not pacify, so he struck the foot of the Dharmapat with his colossal Trishul which made the water come out from the mountain. Then he relieved the pain with that water and slept there. The three currents that originated were called Triganga consisting of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra.

The water that came from Triganga later rendered a pond in the valley. Lord Shiva is still believed to be present at the middle of this pond as Nilkanta Shiva. Later Parbati is said to have gone on deep meditation in a beautiful pond that lies west to Gosainkund. This pond is surrounded by many other ponds like Nagkund, Riverkund, Ganeshkund, Suryakund, Bhairavkund and so on amounting to around 108 kunds or ponds. People still believe the Bhairav and Saraswati kunds should not be looked at after the bath at Gosainkund.Articles claim that the places en route to Gosainkind got their names when Shivaji went on his first visit to Kalkut, Gosainkund, while some others believe that when Shivaji beheaded Lord Brahma, the sin rendered him leprosy and for penance he went towards Gosainkund and on his way the places were named as per his deeds.

Tradition of Gosainkund voyage
Just like the people, the Kings are also said to have done voyages to Gosainkund. The extant history papers reveal that Yakshya Malla went on his voyage in 1503 BS (567 NS). According to the inscription at Rani Pokhari, Pratap Malla the builder in reverence of his Queen also brought sacred water from here among other holy places.

In 1737 BS, Pathibendra Malla and Mahibatindra Malla also went to Gosainkund. Prithvi Narayan Shah after his victory over Nuwakot also went for the bath. He established a trust for the food and shelter of the pilgrims. Amar Singh Thapa, the patriot, after getting dissatisfied about the Sugauli Treaty in 1826 AD, went to Gosainkund for salvation.

Tamangs and the Gosainkund
Ancient culture creates a long-lasting impression on a society. It can be easily realized in ours where the hearsays and fables from the ancient time still mark a strong presence. One of these is that Tamangs (Golo) do not like to go to Gosainkund.A Tamang used to be an ardent devotee of Devi, in Satya Yug, at the place possessed by Gosainkund now. Day in, day out he used to worship. Once he thought of making monastery, so he went to a sea cobra for help. Finally a deal was made among them which said that the serpent would help him by providing all the materials for the construction, but at last, after the construction is done, Tamang would have to be the food for the serpent. The work started and the Tamang informed everyone that no one would come to the monastery before it was ready and no one would disturb him. On the other hand, the snake on the suspicion that the priest would take to flight, encircled himself around the monastery and inserted his head inside the door to eat him. But the priest Tamang with the help of his Tantra gulped down the snake until someone entered the monastery. The Tamang retorted by releasing the tail of the snake. The snake of this tail is still believed to be waiting for the offspring of the priest Tamang. So, they prefer not to go to the Gosainkund.

Another fable says that during the Satya Yug, a sorcerer Tamang thought of fighting with the snake in the pond. He said to his wife, “Let me go inside the pond. I will fight with the snake and bring him out while you wait here at the edge and play the drum. When I return, just sprinkle this Akshyata over me and keep playing the drum”. But after a heavy scuffle, when the Tamang came out rolled with the snake, the wife, thinking that his husband was defeated, fled leaving the drum and the Akshyata. Then the snake killed the Tamang inside the pond. So, the Tamangs do not go inside the pond for the bath.

Gosainkund in tickets
The places, names that appear in postal tickets are the nation’s identity and the things of pride. Gosainkund follows that same trend for appearing in the tickets. In 1970 June 11 (2027 BS, Jestha 29), the picture of Gosainkund by artist K.K.Karmacharya was published of dimension 36x25.5 mm and of denomination 5 paisa. 1,00,000 copies were printed by the Government Printing Bureau, Tokyo .

Nepali literature and Gosainkund
Literature and nature have a very swathing relationship. Nature is like an essential element in literature without which it looks insipid. This epitome has been an inspiration for many writers and Laureates. Many articles, documentaries have been surmised owing to this treasure trove. A lot of them must be on their way. People must be craving to know a lot about it. Thanks to literature, people got bound to it.

Other aspects of Gosainkund
It is still believed that pure water form the pond flows to the Kumbheshwar Temple of Patan from Gosainkund. So a grand mela is organized at the temple, just like in Gosainkund, on the day of Janai Purnima.Lord Shiva of Pashupatinath is believed to go to Gosainkund on the eve of Janai Purnima. So the temple remains closed on this day.A small pond in the hills of Mahadev Pokhari Hill of Dhulikhel is also worshipped as Gosainsthan.

The pilgrims of Gosainkund are dubbed as Shilu Pilgrims in the Newar community. They believe that the husband and the wife should not go to the pond together. The famous “Shilu Tirth” folk song can be treated as the reference on this regard. The song beautifully portrays the religious, social and political conditions of the time. In this song, when a man doesn’t tend to go with the wife to Gosainkund, he is somehow forced to take her. The wife is kidnapped on the way by the king. Then the husband becomes a saint (jogi) while the wife becomes the queen. On a feast for the jogis, she comes to see him and then takes to flight with him in the disguise of a saint herself with the husband. Plus, the song also binds the religious places with it. On the basis of this story, a movie “Shilu” has also been made.

The thrust
Gosainkund is an astounding place, an emblem of beauty and faith. But it is far form the eyes of most of us. The programs for development and preservation of the place should not just be limited to files and folders but should come forward. The offerings of the pilgrims should be made transparent and utilized properly. Awareness is to be created for the betterment of the place. A system of tax is to be made into practice and the money from the tax should be utilized for its protection and development. A Trust just like that of Prithvi Narayan Shah, if established, could enliven the history once again. The study and research of the inscriptions in Rasuwa could help to find more facts about the pond. With the use of the latest technologies, the place could be unveiled to the whole world and tourism could be boosted. Documentaries, films, articles could show the place to many new eyes and be made known to lot others. A picture speaks thousand words; imagine what a movie will do.