Chandrabhaga: River of Love & Devotion

Situated amongst the Himalayan ranges, endless green fields and alpine trees in the high altitude, snow-capped north-Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, River Chandrabhaga is a symbol of divine grace and love. The waters are pristine and clear from the morning rays of the sun purifying it with its healing light. At night, it reflects the silent moon on its soothing waters.

Spiti Valley known as the “middle land” between Tibet and India, is a region most noted for its cultural and religious significance. On the other side is the Lahaul Valley and together they form the Lahaul-Spiti district with its headquarters in Kyelang (or Keylong). Baralacha La is a high mountain pass connecting Lahaul to Leh, the capital of the Himalayan Kingdom of Ladakh in India. Another pass called Kunzum La connects the two valleys of Lahaul and Spiti.

About 7 kms away from Kyelang is the village of Tandi, home to the river Chandrabhaga, which later forms River Chenab, a major tributary of Indus River. Starting from this mystical land, it flows through Jammu and Kashmir and into the plains of Punjab and Pakistan before finally merging with the ancient Indus River. The celestial river of love is formed by two tributaries called Suraj Tal (Sun Lake) and Chandra Tal (Moon Lake).

Suraj Tal (“Suraj” meaning Sun) Lake is located at the top of Baralacha La Pass and is the third highest lake in India and 21st highest in the world. The water outlet that flows from Suraj Tal forms River Bhaga found on top of Baralacha La Pass.

Chandra Tal (“Chandra” meaning Moon) Lake is located 9kms from Kunzum Pass on Samudra Tapu plateau and is the origin of the Himalayan River Chandra. Together the two small rivers meet at Tandi to form the major Chandrabhaga River.

There is mention of this river in the Rig Veda and is called by the name Asikni in Sanskrit, meaning “dark-coloured.” It could also be a reference to Lord Krishna, who is commonly referred to as the dark-coloured one.

It is no coincidence that in Vedic Astrology, the Moon is attributed to Lord Krishna. He is believed to be born in the Yaduvansh branch of Chandravamśa or the Lunar dynasty. It is said that Lord Krishna has 24 and a half moons on his body. His fingernails and toenails are brighter than the moon and counts as 20 moons altogether. His forehead counts as half and apple cheeks count as two moons, the bindi on his forehead counts as one and his radiant lotus face counts as another.

Chandrabhaga gets its name from “Chandra” and “Bhaga.” According to Hindu mythology, Chandra was the daughter of Chandradev or the Moon God and Bhaga was the son of Suryadev or the Sun God. The story goes that one day the two ran into each other at Bara-lacha Pass and fell in love and wished to marry instantly. But their parents forbade the marriage. The Moon God wanted his daughter to light the world at night and the Sun God wanted his son to bring light during the day. The two lovers were heartbroken but did not let go of each other. They decided to elope and meet at Bara-lacha Pass again to be wed to each other for eternity.

On the day of the marriage, Chandra arrived early and looked for Bhaga everywhere. Restless as she was, she decided to travel to Kunzum Pass to find him. However, she could not find him there. She decided she would look for him once again at Bara-lacha and as she travelled through the tiny village of Tandi, she spotted Bhaga coming down the opposite direction searching for her. She ran to him and it was at that very moment the celestial marriage took place, giving birth to the river Chandrabhaga at Tandi.

It is believed that Chandratal Lake contains mystical powers within it that can cure a sick man and release him from the cycles of birth and death, just like the great river Ganga. It is also the place where Indra, the King of Gods, came to take Yudhisthira to the gates of heaven in his chariot after the great Mahabharata War. In the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, Yudhisthira is the first of the five Pandava brothers and the King of Indraprastha and Hastinapur.

After the war at Kurukshetra and defeat of the Kaurava clan, the five Pandava brothers walked towards heaven in the north. One by one, they all died on the way. Only Yudhisthira survived and Lord Indra picked him up at Chandratal.

Locals say that fairies come at night to protect and bless the tribal people of Lahaul for performing the last rites of the deceased princess Draupadi and returning her ashes to River Chandrabhaga. This was the place where she took her last breath along with her husbands while moving onto the heavens. The locals respected tradition and never touched her body for two days until on the third day her identity was discovered.

They decided to establish a mother-son relation with Draupadi in order to perform her last rites according to appropriate rituals. Once this was performed, the last rites were conducted, and her ashes were immersed into Chandrabhaga.

River Chandrabhaga is truly the river of love and salvation.