Nanda Devi is the second-highest mountain in India , after kangchenjunga , and the highest located entirely within the country (Kangchenjunga is on the border of India and Nepal ). It is the 23rd highest peak in the world. Locals in the Garhwal and Kumaon Himalayas regard the peak—whose name means “Bliss-Giving Goddess”—as their patron goddess.
Nanda Devi holds deep spiritual importance. People consider her the daughter of the Himalayas and one of the earliest sacred peaks they worshipped in the region. Before 1808, many even believed she was the tallest mountain in the world. In 1960’s , CIA did a bunch of weird nuclear activities around the mountain .
Geography
If you focus on Uttarakhand, a line going across in the between divides the state into two parts i.e Garhwal and Kumaon.
Between the two , there is Nanda Devi National Park. And inside it, there is Nanda Devi peak. Rising 7,817 meters (25646 ft ) over sea level , Nanda devi is the highest peak of India , which is completely inside the borders of India.
यह भी पढ़े : जानिए इस बार की चार धाम की यात्रा में क्या है ।
There are two summits in the massif of Nanda Devi , western on is higher and that is Nanda Devi itself. Smaller one to the east is Sunanda Devi or Nanda Devi east , which is 7434 meters high.
A precarious two-kilometer (1.25 miles) ridge line connects the two summits. A ring of high peaks, known as the Barrier Ring, surrounds the massif beneath the summit.This ring itself had many famous peaks on it like Nanda Devi East itself , Doonagiri or Dronagiri (from which Hanuman took Sanjeevani) , Trisha (Trident) .
The interior of this ring is called Nanda Devi Sanctuary now. On the immediate north and south of Nanda Devi ,there are two glaciers . Uttari (Northern) Nanda Devi Glacier and Dakshini (Southern) Nanda Devi Glacier . These two meet other glaciers of the sanctuary , to create Rishi Ganga, whose deep really narrow ravines create a relatively easier way in to the sanctuary . Otherwise , the second way in requires crossing the walls of sanctuary, which never drop below 5,500 meters (18,000 ft). The mountains of Nanda Devi is huge .
How To Reach
By Air – The nearest airport is at Jolly Grant at Dehradun at a distance of around 295 km from the Nanda Devi National Park. There are regular flights to Delhi from this airport.
By Rail – The nearest railhead is Rishikesh at a distance of 276 km. Rishikesh is approachable by a metalled road from Joshimath.
By Road – Metalled roads are there till Joshimath from where one has to trek to reach this place. The place is inaccessible for six months of the year and it is only in summers that treks to this region can be organised.
The CIA’s Nuclear Mystery on Nanda Devi
In 1965 , when China was conducted its first nuclear tests in Tiber , then USA felt like spying on it .Someone in CIA had an idea to put a telemetry device on top of Nanda Devi , which will listen to tests happening in Tiber . Now the problem was , how to power this device ? In the extreme cold weather , regular lithium batteries wouldn’t work . And constantly changing weather of Nanda Devi meant no solar power . Nuclear power is the best option , it was decided. So , the best mountainners of the world were assembled for this top secret mission. Hiring many porters , the ascent began. But when the mission was about to conclude , bad weather struck near the peak. Team stashed this device and its Nuclear battery on the mountain . After some time , when they returned , everything was missing . And the Nuclear device was never found . Sanctuary was closed from 1968 to 1974.
Now you can call it a coincidence , according to Hindu Mythology ,Lord Shiva consumed poison during Sagar Manthan and her consort did the same in modern Era.
The Human Footprint on Nanda Devi Sanctuary
Well , in 1975 , sanctuary reopened, Mountaineering started again . Many new records were created , many tragedies struck . In 1976 , A Japanese Team became the first to traverse the ridge between Nanda Devi and Nanda Devi East . In 1981 saw a team of Women Summiting Nanda Devi for the first time. But amidst thus roller coaster of success and disasters, if anyone sustained heaviest damage of all , it was the sanctuary of Nanda Devi . For heat creating bridges, entire forests were cleared out . Expeditions used to leave their garbage inside the sanctuary. Grasslands used to be obergrazed by goats and sheep which porters brought with them .
यह भी पढ़े : जानिए श्री बद्रीनाथ जी की कथा वा रोचक तथ्य ।
In 1982 , Nanda Devi Sanctuary was completely shut down , and around it Nanda Devi National Park was created .
In 2005 , Nanda Devi National Park and Valley of Flowers National Park were merged together .
Nanda Devi was last summitted in 1993, during an ecological expedition to the sanctuary. However, expeditions still take place on Nanda Devi East, although you’ll need permission from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF).
Nanda Devi National Park
was established in 1982 is a national park situated around the peak of Nanda Devi in Chamoli district & Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, in northern India.
Flora
Nanda Devi National Park is home to a wide variety of flora. Some 312 floral species that include 17 rare species have been found .
Vegetation is scarce In the inner sanctuary due to the dryness of the conditions. One will not find vegetation near Nanda Devi Glacier. Ramani, alpine, prone mosses and lichens are other notable floral species found in Nanda Devi National Park.
Faunna
Common larger mammals are Himalayan musk deer , mainland serow and Himalayan tahr. You won’t find Goral inside the park, but they do inhabit the surrounding areas. Carnivores in the region include snow leopards, Himalayan black bears, and brown bears. During a scientific expedition in 1993, researchers identified 114 species of birds.
Religion & Mythology
This was recorded history , written on paper . Apart from this there is one more facet of Nanda Devi .
Hinduism has one special and unique feature , that how many different sects and ideologies merge to create this Religion. Their is no one holy book nor their is a single unique version of each story, ritual or way of worship. It seems that there are two major storylines of Nanda Devi which mixed into one over the years .
Nanda Devi in Kumaon Folklore
First one is from Kumaon .The line which running across the centre divides the Uttrakhand state in two parts Kumaon & Garhwal. People in Kumaon see Nanda and Sunanda as separate peaks, which might explain why local stories mention both Nanda Devi and Sunanda Devi.
The most common story I could find is :- Nanda and Sunanda were two sisters born in the royal family of Kumaon . The birth of twins was seen as an auspicious symbol , and a sort of ritual of birthday celebration began every year . Years after , a story of their life was weaved into the celebration.
Once both sisters were going somewhere through the forest, and a Buffalo began chasing them . Both went hiding behind a banana tree , but a goat came and ate the leaves of said tree. Both sisters were killed by the bull.
During the annual celebration of Nanda Ashtami, devotees craft the idols of Nanda and Sunanda from banana trees in the shape of a mountain. Traditionally, they sacrificed a buffalo and a goat, although the government banned animal sacrifice a few years ago. This version of story is not famous in all Kumaon , but In Nanital and in Almora , which is the cultural centre of Kumaon , this version is popular .
Other regions have their own local versions , and their own local temples .
Nanda Devi in Garhwal Traditions
Almost all hilly states and regions claim to be ‘The land of god’ , but if someone is truly deserving of this, it has to be Garhwal . Both Ganga and Yamuna originate here , Chaar Dham (4 holy places ) , Panch Kedar (5 adobes of Shiva) and Panch Badri (5adobes of Vishnu) are also here.
Even after all thus , the territory of Nanda is the largest of all here .
Major peaks of all regions are named after Nanda. Stories of Garhwal mention Nanda in a different way and they mention them a lot more than Kumaon. The most common version I could find in Garhwal is that Nanda is Parwati, who was born in the hills and married Shiva of Kailash. This story is pretty popular in TV serials and shows. Badri Dutt Pandey, in his popular book History of Kumaon, writes that Shiva married Parwati in Baijnath, as mentioned in the Manaskhand scripture. People of Garhwal say that Triyuginarayan was the site. Feeling disenchanted and bored with Kailash, Parwati returns to her maternal home every 12 years for a few weeks. Devotees re-enact her journey back to Kailash through a 280-km-long pilgrimage known as the Nanda Devi Raj Jat.
Nanda Devi Raj Jat
It starts in a village called Nauti near Karnaprayag and the route continues along Pinda river to Nanda Kesari where Nanda of Kumaon meets Raj Jat and then whole pilgrimage continues north to Homkund via Bedini bugyal and Roopkund.
A four-horned ram, known as Chausingya Khadu in Garhwali, accompanies the entire pilgrimage route. At Homkund, pilgrims release the ram, allowing it to continue freely toward Kailash.
It’s likely that Garhwal had an older, independent story of Nanda, which eventually merged with the tale of Shiva and Parvati. Later, the legend of Nanda and Sunanda from Kumaon also became part of this evolving mythology.
This merging can have various reasons. The way Vaishno Devi in Jammu shot up in prominence in last 50-60 years the same way merging Nanda to mainstream religion has many advantages.
Nanda devi raaj jaat
Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve
It is located in the Himalayan Mountains in the northern part of the country, includes as core areas the Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks, which are one World Heritage site. Nanda Devi National Park has remained more or less intact because of its inaccessibility.
Travelers and nature lovers admire the Valley of Flowers National Park for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and exceptional natural beauty. Together they encompass a unique transition zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Great Himalaya.
People in Uttarakhand observe Nanda Ashtami, a festival dedicated to Goddess Nanda Devi, on the Shukla Paksha Ashtami during the Bhadrapad month. In 2022, they celebrated the festival on September 4. The importance of the festival is that it celebrates the visit of Nanda Devi to her mother’s home.
RESEARCH AND WRITTEN BY
