Tapovana (Sanskrit) comes from the two root wordstapas, meaning 'penance' and by extension 'religious mortification' and 'austerity', and more generally 'spiritual practice', andvana, meaning 'forest' or 'thicket'.Tapovana then translates as 'forest of austerities or spiritual practice'. Though pronounced the same in Hindi,tapovana should not be confused withtapovan (fromtapovat), which means a person engaged in austerity.
Traditionally in India, any place where someone has engaged in serious spiritual retreat may become known as atapovana, even if there is no forest. As well as particular caves and other hermitages where sages andsadhus have dwelt, there are some places, such as the western bank of the northernGanges river aroundRishikesh, that have been so used by hermits that the whole area has become known as atapovana.
The most well knowntapovan in India is the area above theGangotri Glacier at one of the primarysources of theGanges, inUttarakhand,India. At the foot ofShivling 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.[1] The trekking usually starts fromGomukh and the trek was considered moderate to difficult[1] prior to the destruction of much of the trail from Gangotri to Gaumukh by the2013 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.[1] There is also a place named Nandanvan near Tapovan, and Nandanvan is also trekked by trekkers and pilgrims.[1] Nandanvan is also a spacious meadow located at the base of Bhagirathi massif.[2]
There is a place bearing a similar name atJoshimath inChamoli District, which has a sulphur spring known as the Tapovan Hot Springs. It is a part of theSapta BadriTapovan PDF.
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