The Lake of the Heart: Manasarovar's Thousand Blues
Reference: "To the West of Tibet, Ali Ali" — Li Chuchu. Photography: Big Knife, Yanhai, Liuye Blade, Zzvet Alamy. Writing: Wang Cong, Huang Ying. Lake of the Heart. Once a vast blue sea, the ancient Tibetan Plateau has risen gradually toward the heavens over countless millennia—a transformation beyond full comprehension, yet one that continues still. Photography by Yanhai. Here, on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, you ascend to such towering heights that you pierce through dense layers of mist and draw ever closer to the universe itself. In the end, you come to perceive that even the sky possesses its own living breath.
Manasarovar, the King of Sacred Lakes, is the mythical companion of Mount Kailash, the king of holy mountains. Its Tibetan meaning is "the eternal and invincible emerald lake," and the Sanskrit term मानसरोवर (Manasarover) joins "mana" (mind) with "sarover" (lake), translating to "lake of the mind" or "lake of the heart." At 4,588 meters above sea level, it ranks as the world's highest freshwater lake by average elevation. The sacred lake’s blue goes beyond tranquility and purity: it is ethereal and vivid, drawing close to the universe's mysteries while holding boundless abundance and power. Photography by Yanhai, Dadao, and Zzvet.
Photography by Dadao, the ice and snow melting from the Gangdise Mountains feed the waters of Lake Manasarovar, which are clear and sweet and touch the heart deeply. This lake, recognized as sacred by numerous cultures and religions across the globe, boasts the highest transparency and the second largest reserve of natural freshwater, according to Photography by Dadao. In Tibetan tradition, it is the palace of the dragon god "Lu", the gods' Shangri-La, the nectar of the human world, and a purifier of the soul's troubles.
Venerated as one of the three sacred lakes, Lake Manasarovar spans 412 square kilometers. It lies amid a scattered network of lakes, between Mount Kailash and Naimona'nyi Peak of the Himalayas, 35 kilometers east of Pulan County, Ali Region, Tibet. Photography by Dadao, The Origin of Benzene Teaching.
Photography by Yanhai. During the Xiangxiong era, Lake Manasarovar bore the name "Matselso," which referred to the dragon king of wealth in the Bon tradition. Together with Mount Kailash, the sacred mountain, the lake forms what is described as "the source of a thousand mountains and the origins of ten thousand rivers," with both sites venerated by Buddhism, Bon, Hinduism, and Jainism as the "center of the world." Image source: Dinodia Photos/Alamy.
According to the ancient text "The Gazetteer of Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar," the sacred lake is described as containing a dragon palace belonging to the dragon king of wealth. The book records: "In the sacred Lake Manasarovar, there is a dragon palace of the dragon king of wealth." Photography by Dadao and Photography by Zzvet accompany this account. The text further explains: "In the palace there is a gathering of many treasures from the world, Those who come here on a pilgrimage Just need to walk around the lake or be by the lakeside To receive a small fish from the lake, A small stone, a feather of a flying bird Considered as a reward from the Dragon King." By the 11th century, the shores of this lake had witnessed armed conflict.
According to Hindu legend, Shiva and his wife bathed in this lake. The Bon scripture "The Great Canon of the Elephants" refers to it as the "source of the four great rivers," identifying it as the mother lake Manasarovar. In "The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions," the same lake is called the "Celestial Pond of the Western Heaven." After the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism emerged victorious over the Bon religion, the lake was renamed "Lake Manasarovar," which means "eternally undefeated emerald lake.
West of Lake Manasarovar lies a ghost lake named Rakshastal, believed to be the sister lake of Manasarovar since the two were once part of a single body of water in ancient times. Photography by Zzvet. The map also displays Pangong Tso, a majestic turquoise gem set in a desolate land where nothing grows, shining beneath the sky and reflecting the tall snow-covered mountains. A primordial force flows quietly in its depths, sustaining all creatures with a soft glow. Photography by Yanhai, 'Sacred Lake and Ghost Lake.
In Tibetan, Rakshastal means "poisonous black lake," and it is a saltwater lake, whereas Manasarovar is freshwater. These two lakes, MaPang Yongcuo and La'angcuo, are believed by Buddhists to represent darkness and light, respectively. The lakes were originally one body of water that split into two due to climate change. They are joined by an underground passage, and the flow of water between them is regarded as a sign of good fortune. The image is sourced from the internet.
Should the lakes run dry and the flow between them be broken, this will herald disaster.
In the vast land of Ali, the glorious history and vivid mythical tales have long since receded into the distance. As recorded in Tsongkhapa's "A Brief Description of Lake Manasarovar," the lake's origins trace back to a compassionate king named Muganhon. While traveling to the forest, he encountered suffering beings and consulted his teacher on how to ease their pain. The teacher advised him to practice generosity, leading the king to provide food for all those in distress for a span of 12 years. Over this period, the water used to cook the rice steadily accumulated and, after 12 years, formed a lake now known as Lake Manasarovar. Photography by Dadao accompanies this account, which captures the enduring legacy of these stories in the region.
Every year, thousands of pilgrims visit the holy Lake Manasarovar, drawn by the extraordinary power of this sacred body of water. There, in the lake's presence, they discover a deep spiritual fulfillment and redemption. Countless faithful have walked along its shores, where the stars of the Milky Way seem to descend into the water, leave behind their reverence for the natural world. Photograph by Liuyedao · Satellite image of Lake Manasarovar
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so lovely!