Prashar Lake
| Parasher Lake | |
|---|---|
 Parashar Lake | |
| Location | Mandi district |
| Coordinates | 31°45′15″N 77°06′05″E / 31.75426°N 77.10141°E |
| Type | Holomictic |
| Primary inflows | Rain water, Glaciel runoff |
| Primary outflows | Evaporation |
| Basin countries | India |
| Surface elevation | 2,730 m (8,960 ft) |
| References | Himachal Pradesh Tourism Dep. |
Prashar Lake lies 49 km north of Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, India, with a three storied pagoda-like temple dedicated to the sage Prashar. The lake is located at a height of 2730 m above sea level. With deep blue waters, the lake is held sacred to the sage Prashar and he is regarded to have meditated there. Surrounded by snow-capped peaks and looking down on the fast flowing river Beas, the lake can be approached via Drang.
The temple was built in the thirteenth century and legend has it was built by a baby from a single tree. The lake has a floating island in it and it is said to be unclear how deep it is, with a diver not being able to determine its depth.[1]
Mythology
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Mythology says that this lake was formed by Pandawas when they were on their way after Mahabharata with Deity Kamrunag (based on which this entire valley is known as Kamru Valley today) to find best place for their teacher, Dev Kamrunag and Deity love the isolation of this place so much that he decided to stay here for the rest of his life. On his request, Bheem one of the Pandava brothers formed the lake by pushing his elbow and forearm on the peak of the mountain. And that is the reason believed by locals after oval-shaped lake with depth unknown. Many a time in storms an almost 30-meter-tall cedar tree would fall into the lake to disappear.
Today people from all faiths come here. As an offering people throw money, silver coins and gold into the water. This place is available for visitors throughout the year except for winter months, i.e. Dec. through March. Now with increased visitors there are few hotels available with basic facilities with reasonable price. 03 hrs (106 km) trek from Rohanda to Kamrunag Lake. The place is full of peace, with old images of Gods and Saint Prashar. The unique thing about this lake is that there is a patch of grass which moves from one end to the other. In the summer it is at one end and in winter it touches the other end. The pujari or the priest of the temple is not a brahmin but a Rajput. They say one of the kings was unhappy with the local priest so he appointed a Rajput priest to display his powers.
References
- ^ "Temples in the Clouds", film by Jim Mallinson and Chicco Patuzzi, 2008, http://www.filmsouthasia.org/archive/details.php?id=1016
External links
- Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department
- Prashar Lake
- Prashar Lake Travel Guide
- Article on the lake on HimVani.com
- Prashar Lake Photo Gallery on TheOKTravel.com
| Low-altitude lakes | |
|---|---|
| Mid-altitude lakes | |
| High-altitude lakes | |
| Reservoirs | |
| Related topics | |
