If you google “Pumdikot,” you’ll see that for many athletically minded travelers it’s simply one of the points along the Annapurna Circuit. But our group came to Pokhara not to test ourselves on mountain treks, but to connect with Nepal’s sacred places. So we reached Pumdikot by bus. Ah, the air there! The mountains are immersed in greenery—fresh, beautiful, and majestic.
On two neighboring hills rise the statue of Shiva and, opposite him, the statue of Parvati in her form as Durga. Yang and yin on opposing hills, set against the backdrop of the Himalayas, immediately bring a sense of bodily harmony. The 15-meter-tall Shiva sits on a tiger skin, entwined by a formidable cobra, a trident in his hands. Before him stands the golden bull Nandi—Shiva’s patient companion. He is patient, ready to wait for his lord for as long as it takes.
I knew very little about Nandi, so I began to explore: why is this bull so often depicted beside Shiva? Here is what I found in Sadhguru’s words:
“He did not expect Shiva to come and say something. He simply waited. Nandi is a symbol of eternal waiting, because in Indian culture waiting is considered the greatest virtue. Those who can simply sit and wait naturally become meditative. He does not wait for Shiva to come tomorrow. He will wait forever. This quality is the basis of receptivity.”
What a powerful image this creates: Nandi, a yang symbol, embodying a purely yin quality—the receptivity of the earth. The eternal dance of yin and yang…
From here as well, from the viewing platform just beyond the valley with its lake, the ridges of the Himalayas suddenly open up. At last, I saw them. I stood there, absorbing the blue-and-white mountain ranges, just like in my beloved Roerich’s paintings. I wanted to hold it all in my heart.
I wasn’t alone for long. A woman from India came up to introduce herself. She is a teacher and had come with her family to see Pumdikot. “May there be peace in the whole world, and may all people be friends”—that’s what we spoke about on the summit of Shiva’s temple complex, with the Himalayas before our eyes. When you witness such grandeur, you don’t feel like thinking about anything smaller.
Add comment
Comments