Sacred Waters of the Himalaya

Contents: Preface. 1. The Himalayas: Himalaya in India mythology. 2. The Himalayan lakes: High altitude lakes. 3. Lakes in Indian mythology. 4. Sacred lakes: religious beliefs, legends and myths. 5. Legends and myths of sacred lakes: i. Devoted to Gods and goddesses. Ii. Associated with sages and saints. Iii. Associated with serpents. Iv. Associated with demons and malevolent spirits. 6. Perspectives of local communities. 7. Conservation of sacred lakes. Appendix: List of high altitude lakes in the Indian Himalaya. Glossary of Indian words. Index.

From the Preface: Conservation of nature and natural resources has been an integral component of the social and cultural ethos of the societies in the Indian subcontinent since historical times. Indians recognize the multiple benefits of all living organisms and treat them with reverence. Often as Gods. Even water, fire, air and land, are worshipped as Gods. While it was necessary to use some of these living and non living resources from human survival, land cleared for agriculture and animals hunted for food, certain areas of the Indian landscape besides some plants and animals, were considered sacred. These landscape units were often associated with the origin of rivers, natural water bodies and forest. Declaring them as sacred, helped these places from being exploited and degraded and conserved these significantly important and pristine areas.