View source for Tapovana

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2019}}
[[File:Tapovan.jpg|thumb|Origin of the [[holy river]] [[Ganges|Ganga]]]]
'''{{Transliteration|sa|Tapovana}}''' ([[Sanskrit]]) comes from the two root words {{Transliteration|sa|tapas}}, meaning 'penance' and by extension 'religious mortification' and 'austerity', and more generally '[[spiritual practice]]', and {{Transliteration|sa|vana}}'','' meaning 'forest' or 'thicket'. {{Transliteration|sa|Tapovana}} then translates as 'forest of austerities or spiritual practice'. Though pronounced the same in Hindi, ''tapovana'' should not be confused with ''tapovan'' (from ''tapovat''), which means a person engaged in austerity.

Traditionally in India, any place where someone has engaged in serious spiritual retreat may become known as a {{Transliteration|sa|tapovana}}, even if there is no forest. As well as particular caves and other hermitages where sages and [[sadhu]]s have dwelt, there are some places, such as the western bank of the northern [[Ganges]] river around [[Rishikesh]], that have been so used by hermits that the whole area has become known as a {{Transliteration|sa|tapovana}}.

==Tapovan (places)==
[[File:Tapovan from above Aditya Asopa.jpg|alt=panoramic view of Tapovan from 100 metres above|thumb|Tapovan from 100 metres above. Alt. 4478 metre ASL.]]
The most well known {{Transliteration|sa|tapovan}} in India is the area above the [[Gangotri Glacier]] at one of the primary [[River source|sources]] of the [[Ganges]], in [[Uttarakhand]], [[India]]. At the foot of [[Shivling (Garhwal Himalaya)|Shivling]] peak, a barren area at about 4,463m (14640 feet) elevation, is a seasonal home to several sadhus living in caves, huts, etc. and it has become a trekking destination also.<ref name=trek>{{cite web|title=Gomukh Tapovan Trek|url=http://www.tourmyindia.com.au/tour-pdf/Gomukh-Tapovan-Trek.pdf|publisher=Tourmyindia.com|accessdate=27 June 2013}}</ref> The trekking usually starts from [[Gomukh]] and the trek was considered moderate to difficult<ref name=trek/> prior to the destruction of much of the trail from Gangotri to Gaumukh by the [[2013 North Indian Floods]]. The Tapovan area is base camp for several mountaineering expeditions including Shivling peak, Bhagirathi peak etc. The Tapovan area is full of meadows, streams and flowering plants and the meadows are considered one of the best high altitude meadows in India.  In Tapovan, a stream named Amrit Ganga – the nectar of the Ganges – flows into the glacier.<ref name=trek/> There is also a place named Nandanvan near Tapovan, and Nandanvan is also trekked by trekkers and pilgrims.<ref name=trek/> Nandanvan is also a spacious meadow located at the base of Bhagirathi massif.<ref name=source>{{cite web|title=The Source of the Ganges Trek|url=http://www.exotic-himalayas.com/sources-ganges-trekking.html|publisher=the exotic himalayas.com|accessdate=27 June 2013}}</ref>

There is a place bearing a similar name at [[Joshimath]] in [[Chamoli District]], which has a sulphur spring known as the Tapovan Hot Springs. It is a part of the [[Sapta Badri]] [https://greatadventure.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tapovan-Trek-1.pdf Tapovan PDF].

==See also==
* [[Tapovan Vishnugad Hydropower Plant]]
* [[Tapovan Express]]
* [[Tapovan Maharaj]]
* [[Lata Tapovan]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=}}

* [https://greatadventure.in/tapovan-trek Tavovan Trek Team GAG]

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[[Category:Uttarkashi]]
[[Category:Spiritual retreats]]


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