Rewalsar Lake is a mid-altitude lake located in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh INDIA. Located on a mountain spur, 12 miles (19 km) or about an hour's drive from Mandi, brings you to this sacred dark jewel-like lake. With water, woodland and high hills, it presents a variety of natural beauty. Rewalsar is sacred to adherents of three major Dharma religions - Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
The Hindu history of Rewalsar is found in Sakand Puran. Rishi named Lomas 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. 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.
The famous Rewalsar lake ('Tso Pema' to Tibetans) is associated with Padmasambhava (also known as Guru Rinpoche), who is recognized as the second Buddha of this age. 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 tenth Guru of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh visited Rewalsar to consult with kings of the Hill states seeking support against Aurangzeb. He stayed at Rewalsar for a month The place is particularly sacred to Namdhari Sikhs due to its mention in Sau Sakhi as a sanctuary.This gurudwara was built in 1930 by Raja Joginder Sen of Mandi.
A country road winds up to the lake and right around the lakeshore, where you’ll find the ochre-red Debung Kagyud Gompa, with an active thangka (Tibetan cloth painting) school and a large central Sakyamuni statue. Just beyond is the pale blue gurdwara built in honour of Gobind Singh in the 1930s. In the other direction, the Tso-Pema Ogyen Heru-kai Nyingmapa Gompa has artful murals .Uphill from the lake is the towering white Zigar Drukpa Kagyud Institute, with outsized statues of Tantric deities. On the far side of the lake are a number of small Hindu temples dedicated to the sage Rishi Lomas, who was forced to do penance here as a dedication to Shiva.
It is firmly believed that those who visit this holy lake and pays reverence towards Acharya Padmasambhav, his or her life certainly become meaningful by gaining wisdom, and eventually the state of Enlightenment.
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