In
Sanskrit the name Himalaya means 'Abode of Snow' truly
characterizing the vast permanent snowfields of the
region. In the heart of these majestic mountains lies
the state of Uttaranchal with the Kumaon hills in its
east and the Garhwal hills in the west. Uttaranchal
is the 27th state of the Republic of India and was formed
on 9th Nov 2000. It was carved out of Uttar Pradesh
after a long struggle of the Uttaranchali people. Together
Garhwal and Kumaon form a sizable wedge in the Central
Himalayas, joining Himachal Pradesh in the northwest,
Uttar Pradesh in the south and international borders
with Nepal and China. The city of Dehradun has been
declared as the interim capital of the new state. Though
the debate on making Gairsain as the new capital is
still on.
Once
known as Uttarakhand, the 'Northern Territories' of
the pre-Vedic
era, this is the domain of the ascetic Lord Shiva, the
destroyer and re-creator; it is a land charged with
Shakti, the power and energy of goddess Parvati, the
consort of Shiva. The earliest historical references
to the region are found in the Vedas, paeans to the
purity of the Himalayas. Specific mention of the mountains
exists in the Mahabharata, dated to about 1000 BC, when
the protagonists of the epic, the Pandava Brothers,
are said to have ended their life on earth by ascending
the slopes of a peak in western Garhwal called Swargarohini,
literally meaning the 'Ascent to Heaven'. The epic also
mentions this region as the home of the Kirata, Pulinda
and Tangara tribes.
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