Arun ganapathy checks out Mana, the last village on the Indian border with Tibet

, where the Pandava brothers from the Mahabharata are believed to have passed th
rough before their final ascent to Heaven.
Mana is the sweetest little Himalayan village. Picture a page out of Tintin in T
ibet and you will know what I mean. A one-street village cut into the tilt of a
snow-capped mountain; wizened old men with hooded eyes urging unwilling big blac
k yaks with shouts of Hai hai Haiiiii!
Such is the last Indian village dotting the border with Tibet.
Mana lies 3 kilometres from the Himalayan dham of Badrinath in Uttarakhand. The
legend goes that the Pandavas passed this very village on their way to Heaven an
d that it was here too that Veda Vyasa compiled and wrote the Mahabharata and or
ganised the Vedas.
Quaint Village
It is still early in the morning and the sun is just cresting the snow-clad peak
s to my left making each of them brilliantly white, as if they have been laced w
ith royal icing. I am on a highway that twists and turns; all along it are signb
oards announcing that the geographical boundaries of India are ending. This is w
hat one of them says: 'Mana Gaon, last village in Indian territory. Under 100% f
inancial inclusion of the State Bank'.
After an hour, a large archway appears, signalling the entry to Mana. From here,
a paved pathway runs through the village. On either side are stone-slated house
s with wooden balconies and shops where colourful knitted jerseys and shawls are
displayed. As I walk, I can hear the crackle of flames from the cooking fires f
or the midday meal and smoke curls out of the chinks in the doors. A little way
down this pathway, I come to a fork with a signboard that indicates local landma
rks, some from the Mahabharata: Vyasa Gufa 100 yards; Ganesha Gufa 50 yards; Bhi
m Pul 100 yards; Vasudhara Falls 4 kilometres.
Epic in a cave
The Pandavas' last journey through Mana actually starts with the place where the
epic was organised and written. The story goes that thousands of years ago, Vya
sa came here having already worked out the story of the Mahabharata. He needed a
way to reveal it to humanity and appealed to Brahma for help.
Responding to his request, Brahma sent the divine scribe Lord Ganesha down; but
even before he began his task, Ganesha laid down a condition for the telling of
the story. "You should not stop dictating the story," he told Vyasa: "If you do,
I will return." Vyasa agreed but said, "First you must grasp the meaning of wha
t I say." Ganesha agreed and thus began the writing of the epic in the two caves
towards which I was now heading.
From the signboard, the pathway rises in sharp hairpins, till it reaches the cav
e where Vyasa reportedly stayed many months, putting the great epic together. In
side the cave, which must be just about 7 feet square, is a statue of the sage.
Next to the statue, a priest sits in darkness, doling out prasadam to pilgrims.
"Did Vyasa really stay here?" I ask. The priest says nothing, but the pilgrims p
oint outside to a large rock above the cave. It is petrified in layers so thin t
hat it looks like the pages of an open book. These as I learn later supposedly r
epresents the pages of the epic. From here, the path twists and turns downhill t
o another small cave called the Ganesha Gufa, where Ganesha actually sat while V
yasa recited the epic, stanza by stanza. After a few minutes here, I return to t
he fork and now take the path going left.
No shower for sinners
Down, down, down goes the path, until it finally reaches the Saraswati river tha
t falls as a torrent of white foam through the gorge in front. "It's too much fo
r me," cried Draupadi when she saw the river. "I can't cross this". On hearing
her, Bhima had kicked a rock across. The rock he kicked now fords the river and
is named Bhim Pul. It is an ideal place to linger, and look at the towering peak
s around.
As I stand watching, a group of wandering sadhus breezes past. "We are going to
Vasudhara Falls," says one of them." It's one of the last places the Pandavas st
opped on their way to Heavan. I joined them and for the next hour, we plod throu
gh a desolate landscape, where the only sounds are those of the howling winds an
d kestrels calling shrilly from the cliffs. The Pandavas bathed here as they bel
ieved the water here never fell on sinners. "Is that true?", I ask. "Yes, of cou
rse," says the sadhu pointing upwards. I follow his finger to see a silver-colou
red fall tumbling from a great height. Across its face, the amber sunlight of th
e late afternoon slants and a rainbow appears making me drowsy with enchantment.
Simultaneously, rain clouds drift into view, hinting at rains. It is time to he
ad back.
On the way back, I came across a Mana villager an old Bhotia woman soaking in th
e Himalayan sunshine on the doorstep of her house. Her face is wrinkled like a s
tewed prune and shows no worry. Looking at her, I feel that everything about thi
s place is ageless.
Getting There
Mana is three kilometres from Badrinath. It is best to walk to enjoy the view. Y
ou can also take a shared Jeep/Sumo from Badrinath which will cost you Rs 10. If
you would like to skip Badrinath, then the best way to do it is from Joshimath,
an hour away or from Rudraprayag.
Stay and food
Mana is a day's trip. Although the villagers do allow you to stay with them for
a nominal fee, it is best to camp in Badrinath. Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam provi
des basic accommodation that can be booked online. Besides there are plenty of r
est houses and budget hotels ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 2,000 per night. In Mana,
you will only get Maggi Noodles and Kurkure to eat. If you want proper lunch, m
ake sure you carry it from Badrinath. The shops in Mana sell juice made from a l
ocal berry called buransh.
Other Attractions
Just trek through the village. Take the route at the back it's less touristy and
will give you a glimpse into the life of the locals. Check out the shawls and k
nitted jerseys; and of course all the sites of the Mahabharata. If you want to g
o further up to see the Swargarohini massif, it would take more than a day's tre
k.
Way to heaven
Swargarohini is a mountain massif in the Bandarpunch Range in the Uttarkashi dis
trict of Uttarakhand. According to legends, the Swargarohini peak leads up to He
aven. The Pandavas, Draupadi and their dog took this path to go to heaven. Ther
e have been many attempts to scale the mountain, but it is said that only those
who have not sinned can conquer its peaks. The snow-clad peaks are the source of
the Tons river.
Narasimha Temple
Joshimath lies between Rishikesh and Badrinath. Adi Shankaracharya attained enli
ghtenment and established a math called Jyotimath, popularly known as Joshimath.
Among the important temples here are the Narasimha and Durga temples. When Badr
inath closes during the winter, the priests move to Joshimath to continue with t
he worship of Lord Narasimha, installed in the form of a saligram shila. Sankara
charya is believed to have installed the Narasimha saligram.
Read more: Pandavas' last stop - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatim
es.com/life-style/spirituality/spiritual-destinations/Pandavas-last-stop/article
show/7009302.cms#ixzz16n00wRFv