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Tapovan
Tapovan ,gangotri,uttarakhand indiaAbout
Tapovan (Sanskrit) comes from the two root words tapasya - meaning specifically austerity, and more generally spiritual practice, and vana, meaning forest, or wilderness. Tapovan then translates as forest of spiritual practice, wild place for practicing austerities, etc. Traditionally in India, any place where someone has engaged in serious spiritual retreat may become known as a tapovan. As well as particular caves and other hermitages where sages and sadhus 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 tapovan.
