National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

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APPENDIX C.

NOTE ON RAWÁLSAR, MANDT STATE.

On the 22nd January 1910, I visited Rawálsar with a guide, and on the road I met with several Tibetans, all from the western British parts of Tibet, who hal come here on pilgrimage. At Rawálsar, high up on the hillside, there is a little lake, about half a mile in circumference, amidst a most glorious vegetation of palm trees and other foliage. The Tibetan name of the lake is Pa-d rna-cart " lotus-possessing." This name is mentioned by K. Marx in his three documents," in connection with a passage in the rGyal-rat s which he translates " to the place where the water is fiery. " This rendering is, however, misleading ; for the Tibetan text which he thus translates Chu-la-me-OEabar is really the name of another lake. We must not, therefore, suppose from this rendering that the water of the Rawálsar lake is hot. Quite a different lake situated in Nepal territory is called Chula-me-'abar and may possess hot springs. We received this information from a Tibetan pilgrim on his way to Rawálsar who gave us the following list of Tibetan places of pilgrimage in Nepal :—(1) I3ya-lung Ka-shor. (2) Chu-la-me-'abar. (3) rpo-la-me-'abar. 'j) Tsan-dan Phag-rno. (5) Shing-flan Phag-rno. According to Professor Grünwedel' Chubar(-Chula mejar) is the place where Milaraspa died in A. D. 1122. He says that it is situated near Nalan on the Tibeto-Nepalese frontier.

The lake of Rawálsar has become famous on account of its connection with the Buddhist priest Padma-sambhava who is supposed to have dwelt here. Tibetan literature connects Padma-sambhava with Zahor, the Tibetan name of Mandl ; but it is not clear, whether the name Zahor refers to the Mandl State in general or to Mandl town. The Tibetans believe that his spirit still dwells in the tree on the little floating island of the lake. In their view it is his initiative which moves the island about, whilst other people attribute its movement to the wind. 'There are many wild ducks on the lake which enjoy the safety of the sacred spot, and the waternuts (trapa natans) are eagerly collected by the Tibetans, who carry them to their homes as objects of sanctity.

On the shore of the lake the Tibetans have a Lamaist temple which is asserted to have been recently renovated. It was rebuilt by the father of the present owner who belongs to a Kunawar family. This temple is furnished with one or two Nepalese bells which have long inscriptions. When we were at Rawálsar, Puntsog found a bell with an inscription in Nágari characters. The language seems to be Nepalese, but no one has as yet been able to read it. Miss Duncan, who was here in 1906, discovered a metal prayer wheel with a Tibetan inscription in two lines from which we learn that the man who rebuilt the temple is called Thse-ring-dor-rgyas, and that the name of the shrine is Shag-thub-chen-po.

There are, however, many Tibetan inscriptions carved on rocks round the lake. They are mostly invocations and besides the 0% ma?ri padme hick', they contain endless repetitions of the following f ormul e ;

OM a hui Vadzra guru Padma siddlai /aura.

Om Vagisvari mum.

Oui Vadzrasatva hush

and perhaps several others. The first of them is an invocation of the famous lama Padma-sambhava under a name by which he is also known in Lahul and Rubshu, and probably in other parts of Western Tibet. The second formula is an invocation of Mafiju"sri under the name of Vágsvara and the third is addressed to Vajra-sattva. It should be noted that the combination of the first two incantations is very frequent in Lahul. This is by no means extraordinary, for Padma-sambhava is closely connected with

i Mythologie.