हिमवान्

हिमवान्

/

HIMAVĀN.

(

THE

HIMĀLAYAS

).1

)

General.

The

great

mountain

on

the

northern

borders

of

india.

In

the

literature

and

the

religious

thought

of

india

the

Himālayas

occupy

a

position

of

universal

respect

and

adulation.

The

Indian

belief

is

that

the

mountain

has

got

a

divine

soul.

(

e.g.

it

is

referred

to

as

“devatātmā”

in

Kālidāsa's

Kumārasaṁbhava

).

The

Himālayas

are

referred

to

very

often

in

the

Purāṇas

and

epics.2

)

Other

information

from

mahābhārata.

(

1

)

The

bālakhilyas

had

performed

tapas

on

the

Himālayas.

(

Ādi

Parva,

Chapter

30,

Verse

3

).(

2

)

The

nāga

named

śeṣa

once

resided

there

to

practise

control

of

the

mind

in

solitude.

(

Ādi

Parva,

Chapter

36,

Verse

3

).(

3

)

vyāsa

performed

tapas

there.

(

Ādi

Parva,

Chapter

114,

Verse

24

).(

4

)

pāṇḍu,

father

of

the

pāṇḍavas

had

to

cross

the

kālakūṭa

mountain

and

the

Himālayas

to

reach

gandhamādana.

(

Ādi

Parva,

Chapter

148,

Verse

48

).(

5

)

bhārgava

women

hid

themselves

in

the

Himālayas

at

the

time

when

the

Kṣatriyas

were

hunting

out

people

of

the

bhṛgu

dynasty.

(

Ādi

Parva,

Chapter

177,

Verse

20

).(

6

)

The

whole

fire

of

the

yajña

conducted

by

sage

Parāś,

ara

to

annihilate

the

Rākṣasas

was

deposited

in

the

extensive

forest

near

the

Himālayas,

(

Ādi

ParvaChapter

180,

Verse

22

).

(

7

)

arjuna

once

sojourned

on

the

Himālayas.

(

Ādi

Parva,

Chapter

214,

Verse

1

).(

8

)

The

Devatā

of

the

mountain

worships

kubera

in

his

assembly.

(

Sabhā

Parva,

Chapter

10,

Verse

31

).(

9

)

As

suggested

by

sūrya,

once

nārada

did

penance

for

1000

years

on

the

peaks

of

the

Himālayas

so

that

he

might

see

Indra's

assembly.

(

Sabhā

Parva,

Chapter

11,

Verse

8

).(

10

)

arjuna

once

crossed

the

Himālayas

and

encamped

at

dhavalagiri.

(

Sabhā

Parva,

Chapter

27,

Verse

29

).(

11

)

Bhīmasena

once

stopped

for

a

short

time

near

the

Himālayas

imagining

himself

to

be

emperor

of

the

whole

world.

(

Sabhā

Parva,

Chapter

30,

Verse

4

).(

12

)

It

was

at

the

Himālayas

that

merusāvarṇi

imparted

advice

to

yudhiṣṭhira.

(

Sabhā

Parva,

Chapter

78,

Verse

14

).(

13

)

bhagīratha

performed

tapas

on

the

Himālayas.

(

Vana

Parva,

Chapter

108,

Verse

3

).(

14

)

The

kingdom

of

subāhu,

King

of

Kalinda

was

on

the

plains

of

the

Himālayas.

The

pāṇḍavas

stopped

there

for

a

night

and

left

for

the

Himālayas

the

next

day.

(

Vana

Parva,

Chapter

140,

Verse

24

).(

15

)

The

pāṇḍavas,

on

the

seventeenth

day

of

their

life

in

exile

in

the

forest

came

to

the

top

of

the

Himālayas,

and

visited

the

āśrama

of

Vṛṣaparvan

there.

(

Vana

Paṛva,

Chapter

18

).(

16

)

It

was

while

Bhīmasena

was

hunting

in

the

Hiṁālayas

and

appreciating

the

beauties

there

that

a

python

caught

him

by

the

leg.

(

Vana

Parva,

Chapter

178

).(

17

)

Sage

mārkaṇḍeya

once

saw

in

the

stomach

of

child

kṛṣṇa

mountains

like

the

Himālayas,

hemakūṭa

etc.

(

Vana

Parva,

Chapter

188,

Verse

112

).(

18

)

Much

anterior

to

sage

mārkaṇḍeya

an

owl

called

prāvārakarṇa

had

lived

on

the

Himālayas.

(

Vana

Parva,

Chapter

199,

Verse

4

).(

19

)

karṇa

conquered

all

the

kingdoms

on

the

Himālayas

and

collected

taxes

from

them

all.

(

Vana

Parva,

Chapter

254,

Verse

4

).(

20

)

On

the

northern

heights

of

the

Himālayas

live

śiva

and

pārvatī

for

ever.

(

Udyoga

Parva,

Chapter

115,

Verse

5

).(

21

)

himavān

is

one

of

the

six

rain-producing

mountains

stretching

from

the

east

to

the

west.

(

bhīṣma

Parva,

Chapter

6,

Verse

3

).(

22

)

arjuna

during

his

tour

of

kailāsa

in

dream

with

śrī

kṛṣṇa

saw

all

the

peaks

of

himavān.

(

droṇa

parva,

Chapter

80,

Verse

23

).(

23

)

When

śiva

burnt

to

ashes

the

Tripuras,

himavān

and

vindhya

served

as

the

axles

of

Śiva's

chariot.

(

karṇa

Parva,

Chapter

34,

Verse

22

).(

24

)

The

River

gaṅgā

deposited

Śiva's

semen

on

a

high

peak

of

himavān

and

subrahmaṇya

was

born

from

it.

(

karṇa

Parva,

Chapter

44,

Verse

9

).(

25

)

himavān,

the

Devatā

of

the

mountain,

also

was

present

at

the

installation

of

subrahmaṇya

as

chief

of

the

army.

(

śalya

Parva,

Chapter

45,

Verse

14

).(

26

)

himavān

presented

to

subrahmaṇya

two

attendants

called

suvarcas

and

ativarcas.

(

śalya

Parva,

Chapter

45,

Verse

46

).(

27

)

śrī

kṛṣṇa

once

performed

tapas

on

himavān,

and

as

a

result

of

it

was

born

his

son

pradyumna

from

rukmiṇī.

(

Sauptika

Parva,

Chapter

12,

Verse

30

).(

28

)

himavān

presented

inexhaustible

wealth

to

emperor

pṛthu.

(

śānti

Parva,

Chapter

59,

Verse

113

).

(

29

)

The

peaks

of

himavān

have

an

area

of

100

yojanas

brahmā

once

conducted

a

yajña

there.

(

śānti

Parva,

Chapter

166,

Verse

32

).(

30

)

Dakṣaprajāpati

once

conducted

a

yajña

at

the

place

called

gaṅgādvāra

on

the

slopes

of

himavān.

(

śānti

Parva,

Chapter

284,

Verse

3

).(

31

)

In

Chapter

327

of

the

śānti

Parva

the

following

statement

occurs

about

himavān.

According

to

the

advice

of

King

janaka

śuka

brahmarṣi

mounted

the

Himālayas.

siddha-cāraṇas

lived

on

the

mountain.

Celestial

women

walked

all

over

the

place.

The

mountain

always

reverberated

with

the

noise

of

different

varieties

of

living

beings.

The

noise

produced

by

kinnaras,

peacocks

and

many

other

birds

could

always

be

heard

there.

himavān

was

the

permanent

abode

of

garuḍa.

The

aṣṭadikpālakas

also

lived

there.(

32

)

When

śuka

moved

up

to

the

world

above

it

appeared

as

though

the

himavān

was

being

cut

open.

He

saw

two

divine

peaks

of

mountains

on

the

two

sides

of

the

path

one

of

them

was

the

peak

of

the

mahāmeru

and

the

other

that

of

himavān.

Both

the

peaks

gave

way

to

śuka.

(

śānti

Parva,

Chapter

333

).(

33

)

śiva

desired

to

secure

umā,

the

daughter

of

himavān

as

his

wife.

Meantime

sage

bhṛgu

demanded

that

umā

be

wedded

to

him.

When

himavān

told

the

sage

that

it

had

already

been

decided

to

gave

umā

in

marriage

to

śiva,

the

Sage

cursed

that

there

would

not

be,

in

future,

gems

in

the

himavān.

(

śānti

Parva,

Chapter

342,

Verse

62

).(

34

)

viṣṇu

and

śiva

once

fought

with

each

other

on

the

himavān,

and

then

it

seemed

as

though

the

mountain

was

being

cleft

into

pieces.

(

śānti

Parva,

Chapter

342,

Verse

122

).(

35

)

nārada

had

his

āśrama

there,

on

the

himavān.

(

śānti

Parva,

Chapter

346,

Verse

3

).(

36

)

śrī

kṛṣṇa

once

visited

the

āśrama

of

upamanyu

on

the

himavān.

(

anuśāsana

parva,

Chapter

14,

Verse

43

).(

37

)

King

marutta

performed

a

yajña

on

the

Himālayas

and

brahmins

went

away

leaving

a

lot

of

wealth

there.

(

Āśvamedhika

Parva,

Chapter

3,

Verse

20

).(

38

)

sañjaya

left

for

the

Himālayas

after

dhṛtarāṣṭra

and

gāndhārī

were

burnt

to

death

in

a

wild

fire.

(

āśramavāsika

parva,

Chapter

37,

Verse

33

).(

39

)

During

their

mahāprasthāna

(

great

journey

)

the

pāṇḍavas

travelled

by

the

Himālayas

and

dharmaputra

ascended

to

heaven

from

the

top

of

the

Himālayan

peak.

(

Mahāprāsthānika

Parva,

Chapter

2,

Verse

1

).

हिमवान्,

[

त्

]

पुंलिङ्गम्

(

हिममस्यास्तीति

।

हिम

+मतुप्

।

मस्य

वः

।

)

हिमालयपर्व्वतः

।

इत्य-मरः

।

२

।

३

।

३

॥

तत्कन्या

गङ्गा

।

यथा,

--“गङ्गा

हिमवतो

जज्ञे

सर्व्वलोकैकपावनी

।स्वयोगाग्निबलाद्देवी

लेभे

पुत्त्रीं

महेश्वरीम्

॥

”इति

देवीपुराणे

१२

अध्यायः

॥

हिमविशिष्टे,

त्रि

॥