Whatever may be reasons, ie, religious/psychological/physical, no one is able to climb the Mount Kailash, in the present times.
However, there were instances reported/recorded that only a few persons actually climbed it.
a) As per a Tibetan lore, a monk named Milarepa once ventured far enough to reach the top of Mount Meru.
b) According to the Mahaprasthanika Parva of Mahabharata Yudhisthira, the eldest son of Kunti, along with a dog (Dharma in the form of dog), was able to climb Mount Meru, situated in the Himalayas.
At that point of time, present day Mount Kailash might have been called Mount Meru.
—
Vaishampayana said: "Those princes of restrained souls and devoted to Yoga, proceeding to the north, beheld Himavat, that very large mountain. Crossing the Himavat, they beheld a vast desert of sand. They then saw the mighty mountain Meru, the foremost of all high-peaked mountains. As those mighty ones were proceeding quickly, all rapt in Yoga, Yajnaseni, falling of from Yoga, dropped down on the Earth.
Mahaprasthanika Parva: Section 2
—
It can be concluded that ONLY persons with PURE mind can climb it.
c) Interestingly, the root cause for prohibition for ordinary persons from climbing the Mount Kailash might have occurred in Ramayana times. We have remember that Ramayana occurred much before Mahabharata.
1) When Ravana saw Shri Hanuman, he was taken aback by the radiance of the latter. He thought Shri Hanuman to be either Nandishwara or Baanasura.
किमेष भगवान्नन्दी भवेत्साक्षादिहागतः ||
येन शप्तोऽस्मि कैलासे मया संचालिते पुरा |
सोऽयम् वानरमूर्तिः स्यात्किंस्विद्बाणो महासुरः || (Sundara Kanda Sarga 50 Sloka 2)
"When Mount Kailasa was moved by me, is it the same revered Nandi , who cursed me long ago and came here now in this form or whether he is Baana, the great demon, came here in the form of a vanara."
2) After his first encounter with Shri Rama in the war, Ravana gets defeated, humiliated and spared of his life by Shri Rama. He comes back to Lanka and thinks as follows:
उमा नन्दीश्वरश्चापि रम्भा वरुणकन्यका ||
यथोक्तास्तन्मया प्राप्तम् न मिध्या ऋषिभाषितम् | (Yuddha Kanda Sarga 60 Sloka 11)
"What
was predicted by Uma, Nandeeswara, Rambha and daughter of Varuna has attained by me! The words of the sages never prove false."
-----
In the above situation, Ravana was saying, while referring to Uma, Nandishwara that words of the sages never prove false!
So Nandishwara might be a great rishi, but not the divine vehicle of Shiva.
---
As Ravana moved Mount Kailash, the great rishi Nandishwara might have got angry and cursed Ravana. Further, he might have prohibited any ordinary persons, except PURE SOULS, from climbing that mountain.
First time I have read that, Rambha wife the of NalaKubera
ReplyDeleteSorry! I copied the translation, which is wrong, from a site. I have posted the correct translation now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the correction.