Roopkund Lake where mysterious skeletons still remains. Image - Google Images

Have you ever imagined cold, stoic, eerie silence in the midst of chilly brazen dry mountains with pieces of human bones and skulls strewn all around in the middle of nowhere?!

 

Skeletal mystery of Roopkund.  Image - Wikimedia Commons

 

Nope, this is not a spine chilling Hollywood or Bollywood thriller but a pinching reality in the heart of India. Uttarakhand, the north Indian Himalayan state which was previously a part of Uttar Pradesh and known famously for some of the oldest and far flung holy Hindu pilgrimage points, is the epicenter of this story. Among the entire holy wilderness, lies unknown, unspoken history and equal amount of mysteries, 35 kms away from the nearest human habitation. Lies in the heart of Chamoli district, in Uttarakhand, in Nanda Devi Game Reserve, is a lake named Roopkund, a high altitude glacial lake, in the lap of Trishul Massif, at an altitude of 16,500 ft, with just a depth of 2 meters suggesting its shallow nature. Myth has it that Lord Shiva created Roopkund when he and Goddess Parvati were returning to Mt Kailash after killing lot of demons. Parvati felt her hands were dirty and wanted to clean up. Shiva created this Lake with his Trishul where Parvati took a dip in the clear blue waters where she saw her beautiful reflection. This led to the name of the lake as Roopkund.

 

Mysterious beauty of Roopkund and surroundings. Image - Wikimedia Commons

 

But what is so mysterious about this pious lake?! Being a high altitude glacial lake, the water remains frozen throughout the year but during May and June, the ice melts into water. There is nothing strange about this entire natural phenomenon but what is strange is when the ice melts into water every summer, bones, skulls and human remains of at least 300 humans are seen almost every year. But why this happens?! Way back in 1942, a ranger named Hari Kishan Madhwal discovered reported the first sightings of human remains. Initially, the British believed that they were the skeletal remains of casualties of a hidden Japanese force of WW2 who couldn’t adjust to harsh Indian environs but on a closer look, the skeletal remains turned out to be too old. Though the surroundings of the lake already has skeletal remains scattered, but it is the bottom of the lake where maximum remains are still embedded. Along with the skeletal remains, wooden artifacts, spear heads, leather slippers, rings were also found. Due to the high altitude and freezing temperatures, not only the bones and skull are preserved but in some cases, even flesh is well preserved along with bones.

 

Mysterious skeletons of Roopkund dating back to 850 AD. Image - Wikimedia Commons

 

But question arises about the identity of the skeletons. Whose mortal remains are these? Well, there are many theories that are trying to justify the scientific reasons behind what caused this massive amount of skeletons. Anthropologists who examined the bones and skulls didn’t found any injury caused deliberately by weapons, fights, avalanches or any natural earthquakes. Almost all the skulls displayed injuries in the upper part of the body, not in the lower part. The main cause of such mass deaths was brain injury. It is suspected that hail storms of cricket size balls injured the brains.

 

Legend has it that the King of Kanauj, Raja Jasdhaval, his pregnant wife Rani Balampa, their servants, a dance troupe was on their way to a pilgrimage to Nanda Devi shrine where they faced large hailstones. Even local folk lore also in Garhwal and Lakhamandal area, there are old folk lore and songs related to this incident but whether this is directly related to the skeletons of Roopkund or not cannot be said with 100% assurance. There are also many other theories related to the area. Initially, it was thought that it belongs to General Zorawar Singh of Kashmir and his men who got lost and died in the Himalayan region in 1841 while returning from the Battle of Tibet, or some unknown epidemic or suicide ritual performed out in the lake.

 

Roopkund lake during summers when ice melts and skeletal remains come on the surface attracting trekkers. Image - Google Images

 

But all these theories were put to rest when a National Geographic magazine team conducted an expedition in 2004. They collected samples of the remnants of the skeletons and belongings. Along with the help of Center of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, and the Oxford University’s Radiocarbon Accelerator, the scientific reality of the mystery came into spotlight. The radiocarbon analysis done by Oxford University revealed that the age of bones dates back to 850 AD with 30 years of error margin and the Geneticists and Anthropologists at Hyderabad revealed that the DNA extracted from the approximately 300 individual skeletons revealed that there are 2 distinguish group of DNA present. One belongs to a common family, normally found in people of Konkanastha origins and remaining belonging to local population. It was found that they received a fatal blow at the back of their heads by a heavy object which is suspected to be of hailstorms of cricket ball or tennis ball size.

Skeletal remains scattered around. Image - Wikimedia Commons

 

Due to the haunting mystery of Roopkund, it has become a popular trekking destination where people come over due to their attraction towards the mystery of the place. But of late, the skeletal remains and their possessions that were scattered all over the lake and in the shallow bottom are getting disappeared as trekkers are carrying these remains with them as souvenirs. Festivals are celebrated near Bedni Bugyal and the Nanda Devi Raj Jat, takes place once every twelve years at Roopkund, during which Goddess Nanda is worshipped. To reach Roopkund, Jolly Grant Airport is the nearest airport in Dehradoon and the nearest railway station is at Rishikesh which is 170 kms from Karnaprayag. From Karnaprayag, the trek can be started by going 57 kms through motorable road till Debal.