Lake Rakshastal

Rakshastal ( Tibetan: La'nga Co; transcription by Wylie: lag mtsho - ngar ;拉昂 错Chinese, Pinyin Lā'áng CuO) is a lake in Tibet, People's Republic of China, to the west of Lake Manasarovar and south of Mount Kailash. The river Satluj rises on the northwest corner of the Rakshastal.

Geography

Originally Rakshastal with the Manasarovar was connected to a lake and was separated by geological movements from him. Exists between the two lake today a natural compound called Ganga Chhu, flows into the deeper just to snowmelt water from the Manasarovar to about 15 m Rakshastal. Then the Manasarovar is considered as the origin of the Satluj. The lake covers an area of 259 km ² and is located at about 4575 m altitude. The lake has shrunk in the 10 years to 2009, three km ². By causing the increasing drought in the region, which only received about 100 millimeters of precipitation in 2003.

In its salty water, which is in contrast to the fresh water of Manasarovar, no live aquatic plants or fish, and it is considered by residents of the area to be toxic. Despite the lack of grass cover in the vicinity of the lake its white pebble beaches, the surrounding hills and the dark -colored islands offer an impressive contrast to the deep blue sea water.

Religious significance

Despite its proximity to Manasarovar on the western side of the road to the Burang Rakshastal does not share the word of worship that have grown up around its eastern neighbors. The lake is in Buddhism a contrast to the gods created Lake Manasarovar. Manasarovar, round in shape like the sun, and the crescent-shaped Rakshastal be regarded as opposites of light and darkness.

According to Hindu mythology, the lake was created by the ten -headed demon king Ravana to gain by an act of devotion and meditation supernatural powers of the divine Shiva, who was enthroned on Mount Kailash. On the banks of a particular island in the lake every day he brought one of his ten heads as sacrifices to please Shiva. On the tenth day finally Shiva was moved by Ravana's devotion so that he conceded to him supernatural powers. That is why it is also called " Dämonensee ".