Template:Infobox body of water
Kausar Nag, also called Konsarnag, is a high-altitude oligotrophic lake located at an elevation of Template:Convert above sea level.[1] Kausar Nag is located in the Pir Panjal mountain range in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The lake is roughly Template:Cvt long and Template:Cvt at the widest point.[2] The lake is the primary source of the Veshaw River, a tributary of Jhelum.
Etymology and names
The lake was originally known as Kramasaras in Sanskrit.[3]
Legends
According to the Nilamata Purana, after the great flood, the boat of Manu that carried the Vedas and the Saptarishi was stuck in the mountains above the lake.[4] According to another belief, the lake was created by Vishnu by stamping with his foot, and thus it is also referred to as Vishnu Pad.[5] Sultan Zain ul Abedin is said to have visited the lake, as a symbolic gesture to persuade the exiled Hindus of Kashmir to return.[6][7] Visits to the lake by Hindus for ablution were also recorded in the late 1830s.[5]
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Yatra
There are two routes traditionally used for Hindu pilgrimages (called yatra) to the lake, one through Kulgam in the Kashmir Valley and the other via Reasi in the Jammu region.[8] The Kashmir Valley route, used by Kashmiri Pandits, was abandoned during the 1990s militancy in the region. Plans to revive this route in 2014 failed after stiff opposition and protests from separatists.[9] The Reasi route continues to be used for the pilgrimage.[8]
Access
The Kausar Nag Lake is accessible during the summer and can be reached from its trail-head Aharbal, by a 36 km hiking trail. Aharbal is connected with Srinagar, a 70 km motorable road passing through the towns of Shopian and Pulwama.[10] The lake can also be reached through a tougher alternate trail from the south, primarily used by pilgrims.[9]
See also
References
- ↑ Kashīr, being a history of Kashmīr from the earliest times to our own, Volume 1{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. University of Michigan(2006)
- ↑ VAM :: Vertical Amble Mountaineering: Kausar Nag Trek Information. Verticalamble.in. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
- ↑ Landscape in translation: Kashmir of Zain Al-Abidin. Journal of Landscape Architecture({Template:Year).
- ↑ The Brahmins of Kashmir(September 1991).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 [{{{url}}} Travels in Kashmir, Ladak, Iskardo, the countries adjoining the mountain-course of the Indus, and the Himalaya, north of the Panjab]. Henry Colburn London.
- ↑ [{{{url}}} Kashmir: behind the vale]. Penguin Books India.
- ↑ Monster Of Kausar Nag(2023-02-25). Retrieved 2024-02-19.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 4-day Kousar Nag yatra kicks off(7 July 2018). Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Omar's latest worry: Kausar Nag Yatra row takes on Muslims Vs Pandits narrative, Yasir, Sameer(4 August 2014). Retrieved 1 April 2023.
- ↑ Aharbal Kounsarnag Trek. Kashmir Treks. Retrieved 2023-03-06.