Kanti Sarovar (Gandhi Sarovar)
Above Kedarnath, Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand
A high lake above Kedarnath where, in the lore Sadhguru retells, Adiyogi first taught yoga to the seven sages, and where he himself had an overwhelming experience of sound in 1994.
What the texts say
- Lineage text
The book tells how the very first yoga programme took place on the banks of this Himalayan lake, which it puts at almost fourteen thousand feet, with seven committed seekers who had stayed near Adiyogi for decades.
Adiyogi: The Source of Yoga, Sadhguru and Arundhathi Subramaniam, "AND NOW, YOGA"
- Lineage text
Speaking at Kedar, Sadhguru says the lake lies beyond the mountain, that legend has Shiva and Parvati living there and visiting Kedar now and then, that Ganapati is said to have been created on its banks, and that his own experience of "Nada Brahma" happened there in April 1994.
Himalayan Lust, Sadhguru, "Part One: The Domain of Shiva (Kedarnath)"
- Lineage text
He explains that the lake is called Gandhi Sarovar today but is really Kantisarovar, the lake of grace. He describes walking up one afternoon in a little over an hour, sitting on a rock by the still water, and everything turning into sound, until a Sanskrit song he had never learnt arose in his own voice. He also writes that this lake burst and came down to Kedar in the 2013 floods.
“Kanti means grace, sarovar means a lake.”
Shiva: Ultimate Outlaw, Sadhguru, "Kantisarovar – Lake of Grace"
What you will find today
- Getting there
- The lake lies above Kedarnath. We have not found an official source for the path to it, so ask locally in Kedarnath before setting out. Kedarnath itself is a 16 km trek from Gaurikund, and the temple committee gives May to November as its season.
Last checked via Shri Badarinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (https://badrinath-kedarnath.gov.in/AboutUs/shri-kedarnath.aspx). Conditions change; confirm before you travel.
A practice for this place
Sit on a rock by the water with your eyes open and do nothing else. Let whatever you hear, wind, water, your own breath, come and go without naming it, for fifteen minutes. The weather above Kedarnath turns quickly, so go early and start back well before the afternoon.