I WITH A FOREWQlRD BY StP. CHATTEfljEJZ,. M.Sc., PH,D. (!AND,), DR.DE L' UMVIUIS~, PA~IS,F.G.S. &vat& Prmev~hfad the Holy Kdrta md Manm~twrr) EXPLORATION IN TIBET SWAMI PRANAVANANDA ( OF THE HOLYKAILAS AND MANASAROVAR) WITH A FOREWORD BY S. P. CHATTERJEE, M .Sc.* PH.D. (LoND.), DR.DE L' UNIVERSITE. PARIS,F.C.S. LECTURER-IN-CHARGEOF GEOGRAPHY, CALCUTTA UNIVERSITY PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA 1939 PRINTED lN INDIA PRlNTED AND PGDI.ISHED EY BBUPENDRALAL kANERJRR Vr THE CALCUTTA UNIVERSITY PRESS, BENATR HOU6I3, CAI.CU'ITA DEDICATED To THEHON*ELE RAI BAHADUR LALA RAMA SARAN DAS, C.I.E., M.C.S., of Lahore, with Love and Admiration for the interest he has taken in 11-1e Author's tour to the HOLYKAILAS and MANASAROVAR on various occasions. CONTENTS Foreword Preface ... xvii PART I Mount Iiailas and Lalce Manasarovar CHAPTER I Mo~intIGtilas ant1 Lake ~'Ianasarovar ... 1 I<a'las - Mana8sarovar- circumference- inonnsteries, etc.-Tibetan traditions- 111cli:ln tradi tions-Tibetan mythology of (iaug;~ Clll~u-isla,nds in Raksllas Tal- clinlate i~ndwerttl~er coiiditions lcroezing of M ;III;LS:I I'OV;LI* ... 16 Terrlperntl~reI-endings--carly prenloni tio~is --aotnal freezing of tho Gke--cause of fissu rcs i 11 thc Lake-peculiar phenomena CONTENTS CHAPTER I11 PAGE bIcl t ing of Manasarovar ... ... 26 Early premonitions-final breaking of the Lakecontrast between the Manas and the Rakshas Kailas-Manas Region CHAPTER IV CHAPTER V Ninernl resources ... Gold-fields-borax, etc.--hot springs CHAPTER VI The People ... ... 40 Habitation-caves-food-dress - custom -religion--Knnj~tr and Tnnjztr-script- calendar-Om ma ni pad me hurn- Similing gonlpa - Khochar gompa - Mnhatmna 2nd Tibetan mystics-swans- pm.rnds CHAPTER VII 4grirult11rc and Economic Iiife ... ... 59 cultivation-animals, wild and domestic -sheep :I nd wool--dni rg products-trade and nla\rts-f reebooters CONTENTS 1. X CHAPTER VIII Administration ... ... 65 Government - British Tra.de Agent - Zonavar Singh-Bl~utnnesc. possessions- Currency-suggestions CHAPTER IX Miscellaneous Epi loglle PART I1 NEWLIGHT ON THE SOURCESOF THE FOUR GREATRIVERS CHAPTER I Source of the Rrahmaputrn ... CHAPTER I1 Sonrcc of the Sutlej ... e CHAPTER TI1 Source of tllc Indus ... CONTENTS CHAPTER IV Source of t,lle Iiariiali . Conclusion ... Glossary of Tibetan aild other Words . 141 Routes to the Sources of tlie Four Rivers . 145 Table I. Tarchen to the Source of the Indus by the Llle la and back by the Topcllllen la- 92 miles . 145 ,, 11. Parklia to the Sources of the I3r;~llmaputraand the Tag and back to Taklakot by the C+~~rlala-193 miles 150 7 y III. I'nrktia to the Source of the Sutlej at Dulchu Gompa -22 miles ... 157 7 9 IV. Taklakot to the Source of the I<arn;~li at Mapcl~aCllun- go-23 rniles ... .158 9 J v. AI)strac:t of Mileage between Important Places in Kailas Iil~anciaand Kedar Eillr~~lcla . ... 159 ... .. , 161 CONTENTS xi ILLUSTRATIONS Facing page Swami Prnnavcinanda . Frontispiece Nortlleril View of Mount Kailas ... 1 Sunrise on Lake Manasarovar . ... 2 Gurln Mandhnta Peaks ... ... 16 Raising of Ta~.hoclzlzc (flag-staff) near Kailas . 16 (f ourikund (Thuki Zingboo) . ... 17 Avalanche descending from Mount Kailas .. 17 Southern View of Kailas Peak ... ... 32 Tsland Li~chnto . ... 32 Swans on Lachato ... ... 33 1sl:lncl Topserma . ... 33 ('entral part of Kailas-Manasarovar region, from a Tibetan painting ... ... 48 The Governor of Taklnkot and his Secretary ... 49 Fissures in frozen Manasarovar ... ... 64 Unfissured Ice of Rakshas Tal, seen from Lachato 64 Isl~ndt,o\vards Topsermn Manasi~rovar frozen, with fissures and regular 65 bloclrs of ice piled up into emballltments due to coast:ll explosions Irregular bloclts of ice . ... 65 A Pool of water in frozen Manasarovnr ... 80 Zebra-like Tleposits of Snow on southern shores 80 of It:~lisl~nsl'nl ('rl~lci~ng,Ci~ve-villngc near Talrlakot ... 81 Om inn 11; ptrd mr hum ... ... 81 T(IIL~(I,'I'ibet:~i~ (1oin-obverse nnd reverse .. 81 Sirrliling (iornptt of l':~klr~kot ... ... 96 (~~i111i111:lMancli ... ... 96 Mo~rntT<:lil:~~ on a full-moon night ... 67 A In pi rhc , with flags, stlreanlers, mani-stones, 97 j;ik-l~orns,etlc . nc:w 'I'irCh~puri (:herni~-gungdi~~lg-pl~(:l:lciers ... 112 'I'r~r~~aholrKhnrtll~ith ('lthorten ... ... 112 CONTENTS Iflacing page 28. Tamchok Khambab Kangri Glaciers ... 113 29. Dulchu Gompa ... ... 113 30. Icnnglung Kangri Glaciers ... ... 128 31. C,hiu Hill, with Cf.iinga Chhu flowing at its foot 129 32. Singi Khambab ... ... 12:) 33. Mnpchu Chungo ... ... 120 ( At the end of the book ) 1. Vnriolls routes to the Holy Kailas and llnnasarova~ and the sources of the Sutlej, Indus, Rrahmapllt.rn, a:rd Ktlrnnli with the following insets : 1. A sketch of the island Lachato 2. A rough sketch of the island Topsernl:~ 3. How Rllanasarovar froze 4. Fissures in Manas~rovar 5. How M:ini~sarovar melted 6. The region of the Manas~rovarand the sources of the great Indian rivers as rcpreaented on the 'rn-ch'ing map (after Dritreuil de Rhins) 7. Author's sketch of the Real Source of the Brahmaputra 8. Ekai Kawnguchi's map 11. The Holy Kailav and Mnnasarovar It gives mr great pleasure to write a few lines in appreciation of this latest work of Rev. Swam1 I'mnnv~nandn-' ' Exploration in Tibet. " I had the privilege of meeting Swami Pranav%na'nda for the first time in Calcutta about a year ago, when he sllowed me sorne of his notes and jottings on the I<ailns and M:inasarorar region and asked me to r~tilizethem as hest als I could. His ardent zeal and unqncncllnl~le enthusiasm have always struck mc since tllen, drli-ing our discussions on the subject. On iny snggestion, 11e eventually agreed to write :1 connected nccol~ntof his observations relating to tho sotll-c~sof tlw t'onr great rivers--the Rral~mnputra, thc Tnclus, tile Slltlej, and the Xarnali. That paper was snl)scq~~entl~read before the Cnlc~ittnGeogrs- phicaal $ociclty, :~udwas ~~tiblislli~(11r?tl~r in tlw Cooclmph icarrl iorr rnnl of tlrc Rtog;ll Geographic2 I Socicty, Tlontloil. Tllc S~varnitllcn nlrote anotllci. pap(lr* ' ' A T\\~ttlvc-month on tlw Tdolj. Kn,ilas and ~/r~~~~~~~arov;II' " for tlic Cnlcutl;~ (:cogrnphical Soc~ict~y.:Is n ros~lltof our (tisc~issioils on tllo sl~bjccbi 11 t11c light of t11c:sr t'wo I)R,pc3rs,it was finally clt:cidi>tl to rc1-:i8t.r;~ngct11c nlattcr wit11 n view to ~Ililiiit I I oroh i 1)oolc. It is ;I rnakter ol gr;i,lilica;~ t~on lo 111~to ~rlcklltioll I~eroth;tt \vhe~i Ih. S. 1'. il/loolcc.~~j(~o,I'orrvlc\i. \'ice-Cl~n~~ccllorof tllc siv FOREWORD Calclitta TTnirersity , was nppl-onchrd for help and adricr, he so very grario~lslr.and Itindlv consented to get. it pnhlishrd 11y the f~niversit~; ind its out- come is tlre present monograph. The book consists of two parts. 111 the firsi part, the author after giving a general description of the area deals wit11 the various plrenomma that he observed during the freezing and the melting of the lalics-Minasarovar and Raltshas Tal . Tt~c crevasse, locallv known as ,wn?/zlr,along the edge of lvhich blocks of ice are piled up, is n pecn'iar slirfncr featlire of Manasarovar when it freezes. The Swami is the first explorer who st~irlied the lakes continuonsly during the \rl~oleof the winter and tlre early spring, and has given us a vivid and picturesque description of the changing surface features of the lakes during this period. His descriptions of the people and their mode of living, tlrough brief, are no less interesting. In the second part of the book, the author taken up the question of the sorirces of the four great rivers and attempts to tackle it thoronghly in an exhalls- tivc manner. Thc prohlcm of fixing the sorlrces ol rivers is n difficlilt one, especially in n region lilw Tibet, where rivcrs are continllolisly cutting bgc!i hv headwater erosion. It reqilires n dctailerl and careful stridy 1)efore anything likc a " la'st word " can be said on this point. I am glad to find that tlv. Swami is not dogmatic in lris assertions, Car less egoistic. He examines systcmat ically the different criteria which professional grograplrcrs unllally apply in the case of tllc fol~rgreat rivcrs, ant1 arrives at the conclusion tllat it wo~~ltlhe most reasonable FOREWORD XV and nearer the truth to accept tlre traditional sources. He draws the attelltioil of the render to certain in- consistencies in Dr. Sven ITedill's treatment of the subject, though I am sure, that the Swami's ndmira- tion and regard for Dr. Sven Hedin as an explorer and one of tlre greatest geographers, are in no may less than anyl~odyelse's. I am confident that this book will be \~~idely appreciated botlr ill India a,nd abroad, and I hope that it will do mrlch to start lively discussions on the four grrnt Indian rivers, and to rivet the att'en- tion of geogmp1lc1-sa11 the 117orl(l over on this inl- portant l~roblem-the sources of these rivers once again. Whatever mav he the final outcome of sllcll a searching enquirv, at tl~isstage I cannot but con- gratulate the author on his work n~hicllI am to concede is well-neigh an achievement, if it is borne in mind that he did all this single-llanded, r~nai(lr(l hv either the t8echnical knowledge of a trained surveyor like Strnclrey or Rpder, or by the sa.rt resources i11 rncn and money, like tlle great explorer Dr.