REWALSAR
Rewalsar is a
small town and a Nagar Panchayat in Mandi district the Indian state of Himachal
Pradesh. The local name for Rewalsar is Trisangam.
Geography
Rewalsar is located at an altitude of 1360 m above sea
level. It is connected to Mandi by
a motorable road and is about 25 km from Mandi. Lying in the Southern Himalayan belt, winters in Rewalsar can be
freezing, while summers are generally pleasant.
Religion
Rewalsar
is sacred to adherents of three major Dharma religions
- Hindusim, Buddism and Sikhism.
Hinduism
Seven mythological lakes associated with the Pandavas of Mahabharata are
located above Rawalsar. Also
associated with Rawalsar are the legends of Lord Shiva and Lomas Rishi. There is also a
famous Krishna temple
in the town.
The Hindu history of rewalsar is found in Sakand Puran.
Rishi named Lomus was searching for place to worship. He traveled and climbed
the top of Drona mountain, from the top of mountain he saw a beautiful lake
surrounded by beautiful trees, flowers and birds. He decided to meditate at the
bank of the lake, written as hridyalashwar in Skand Purana. He meditated here
and according to Skand purana Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati blessed him by
telling the secrets of this place where all the Devatas and Ganas are in the
form of flowers, floating lands and trees.
Sikhism
The tenth Guru of Sikhs, Guri Govind Singh visited Rawalsar to consult with kings
of the Hill states seeking
support against the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. He stayed at Rawalsar for a month.
Raja Joginder Sen of Mandi built a Gurudwara at
Rawalsar in 1930 to commemorate the Guru's visit. The place is particularly sacred to Namdhari Sikhs
due to its mention in Sau Sakhi as a sanctuary.
Buddhism
The famous
Rawalsar lake is associated with Padmasambhya (also known as Guru Rinpoche), who is
recognized as a second Buddha. One version of a legend has it that the king of
Mandi had Padmasambhava burnt alive after rumours that the Guru had attempted
to teach his daughter the Dharma, which was not accepted then. The pyre burned
for a full week, with great clouds of black smoke arising from it, but after a
week, a lake appeared at the spot where he was burnt and Padmasambhava
manifested himself as a 16-year-old boy from within a lotus in the middle of the lake. The king,
repenting his actions, married his daughter with Padmasambhava. It was from Tso
Pema that Padmasambhava went to Tibet to
spread Vajrayana Buddhism.
The Tsechu
fair was held in Rawalsar in 2004
to commemorate the birthday of Padmasambhava. The fair was inaugurated by the
Dalai Lama and was attended by
Urgyen Trinleyl Dorje Karmpa along
with 50,000 other Buddhist pilgrims. The
fair was held after a gap of 12 years.
Tourist attractions
Rewalsar Lake
The lake around which the town of Rewalsar
is established has a maximum depth of 6.5 metres. The lake is oligotrophic in nature. It is rectangular in shape,
with the catchment area situated
to its north and west.
Religious places
At
Rewalsar there are three Hindu temples. These are dedicated to the sage Lomas,
to Lord Krishna and to Lord Shiva.
There are two Tibetan monasteries located at opposite ends of the lake. Also
there is a gurudwara was built in 1930 by Raja Joginder Sen of Mandi. It
commemorates Guru Gobind Singh's visit, when he sought to evolve a common
strategy with the hill rulers against the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Other
attractions
The forest department maintains a small zoo at Rewalsar.
Above Rewalsar, the 'Seven Lakes' are also of interest.
Accommodations
An Himachal Pradesh Tourism Hotel is there and some
private hotels.
Transport]
Air
The nearest airport from Rewalsar is Bhuntar, which is around 63 km from the
town of Mandi.
12 flights per
week, 1h 20m duration
New Delhi (DEL)
to Kulu (KUU)
Rail
The closest railhead is in Kiratpur which 125 km
away from the town of Mandi.
Road
Rewalsar is 24 km by road from Mandi. Taxis and
buses are available at Mandi. also new road lane is coming
From New Delhi, Delhi
To Rewalsar, Himachal Pradesh
9 h 14
min (431.6 km) via NH 1
