Yam Dwar

Pass through the Gate of the Salvation to reach the heavenly abode of Lord Shiva…

The spiritual center of the World as well as the most winsome destination for the divinity seekers, the Mount Kailash is a highly legendary mountain which is majorly prominent as the heavenly abode of Lord Shiva for Hindus and place of birth for religion for Jainism. It is undoubtedly the dream destination for the innumerable mountaineers, for some of the foreigners it might be just a peak but for the Hindus Jaini and Buddhists this destination is the place for supreme divinity. Talking about some of the most talked about destinations around the majestic Mount Kailash, they are many however the Yam Dwar is considered to be the one that is associated with heaven and souls.

Carrying the meaning of ‘Yam’ as the lord of death and on the other hand, ‘Dwar’ as gate- the Yama Dwar on whole is the ‘Gateway of the Salvation’. It is the Gateway for making an entry into the heavenly abode of Lord Shiva open for all the pilgrims who are looking forward to have an experience for the lifetime.

In order to visit the Mount Kailash, there exists a dire need for the pilgrim to pass through the Yam Dwar.

But, the Tibetans don’t call Yam Dwar by the same name instead as recognized by them, it is known as “Tarboche” and as believed by them they shall commence their circumambulation for the Mount Kailash right from the Tarboche. The vehicle shall drop the travelers at the Tarboche and from there they need to indulge in the Parikrama of Lord Shiva’s heavenly abode. The base of the Mount Kailash i.e. the Darchen is located approximately 30 minutes from the highly spiritual Tarboche. It is assumed by the devotees that Yama who is also known as the god of death and is also primarily responsible for bringing the mortal souls to the heaven and deciding as well as acting upon their sins and merit move ahead for the purpose of the fulfillment of his cosmic journey.

According to the Tibetans, ‘Demchok’ is the home to Kailash and on following the religious ceremonies every year, they indulge in the establishment of a new prayer-flag pole in Tarboche using it as a replacement for the older one. This religious event is facilitated on the full moon day of the fourth lunar month and at this moment, the people from all over Tibet are engrossed in the clockwise circumambulation of the flag pole. Lasting for a few days, this event is accompanied with the music of conches, drums, horns etc.