Rewalsar Lake 4.05

Rewalsar Lake is a mid-altitude lake located on a mountain spur in the Mandi district, 22.5 km south-west from Mandi, in India. Its elevation is about 1,360 m above sea level.The lake is shaped like a square with the shoreline of about 735 m. It is held as a sacred spot for Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists.There are three Buddhist monasteries at Riwalsar. The lake also has three Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Krishna, Lord Shiva and to the sage Lomas. Another holy lake, Kunt Bhyog which is about 1,750 m above sea level lies above Rewalsar. It is associated with the escape of 'Pandavas' from the burning palace of wax—an episode from the epic Mahabharata.It was from here that the Indian teacher and 'Tantric' Padmasambhava left for Tibet. Known to the Tibetans as 'Guru Rinpoche', the Precious Master, it was under Padmasambhava's influence that Mahayana Buddhism spread over Tibet. There are islands of floating reed on Rewalsar lake and the spirit of Padmasambhava is said to reside in them. It is here that the sage Lomas did penance in devotion to Lord Shiva, and the Sikh guru Gobind Singh (22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), the tenth Guru of Sikhism, also resided here for one month.