Sage Parashara and Bhagwan Parshuram may not have much in common except that they are associated with numerous mythological tales of Sanatan Dharma, passed from one generation to the next since the evolution and crystallisation of the religion itself. Both may have been separated by time, having lived in different era but they have a common link with the hills of the present State of Himachal Pradesh. They have a lake and temple associated with them amid beautiful surroundings in the hill State, often called Dev Bhoomi.
Maharishi Parashara had a great lineage of learning and scholarship. He is believed to be the first author of Vishnu Purana, was the grandson of Rishi Vashistha and the father of famous Vyasa Rishi, and believed to be the author of the epic Mahabharata. The Maharishi was considered to be a great teacher of Vedas and Puranas and ancient texts have his reference several times over along with his illustrious family.
It is believed that Parashara, whose name is used as a gotra also, meditated and lived in a place, now in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh for a long time. Several centuries down the line, a temple now exists here in his memory near a lake at an elevation of over 2,700 metres above sea level. It’s officially called as Prashar lake and hundreds of devotees and adventure seekers trek to this place, even in winters when snow closes the only motorable approach road and people walk on snow for a few kilometers to reach the temple and the lake.
Now, let’s come to the other tale associated with Bhagwan Parshuram. Renuka lake is named after the mother of Bhagwan Parshuram, the fifth Avtara (incarnation) of Vishnu who lived and meditated in this place in Sirmaur district, again amid sylvan surroundings of forests and hills. A Brahmin and a warrior, he got enraged when his family cow (similar to the mythological Kamdhenu) was taken away by the then evil Kshatriya ruler. He took his weapon farsa (similar to axe) and challenged the king for a war and killed him. He destroyed all the evil Kshatriyas of the time who had taken to debauchery and restored dharma or the rule of law and religion in his time. The temple in Renuka still has a part of a stone on which he is believed to have meditated and there is a small board proclaiming so.
Several centuries down the line, both Prashar and Renuka lakes have become iconic places to visit—reasons could vary from spirituality, meditation, religious beliefs, offering prayers in the temples, looking at the beautiful landscape, spending leisurely hours appreciating a lake surrounded by mountains from all sides etc. You find the reason; the two places provide the answers.
But why did I tell a mythical story which many already know. The reason is simple, I visited both the panoramic places, Prashar lake in the peak summer month of June followed by Renuka lake when the monsoons had hit the hills in early July.
For Prashar lake, I had arrived at Mandi a day before at my host Kishori lal’s house cum resort, located at a hill above the meandering Beas River. You could have a wonderful view of the river from top of the hill from Munish Resort and could easily hear the roaring sound when the waves hit a boulder or a slope. lush green and well maintained lawns of the resort and fruit laden trees provide a perfect setting for watching the river and mountains at some distance.
Next day, for a change, I was not driving, free to look around and appreciate whatever nature had to offer. My host had hired a sturdy SUV to take us to Prashar lake with Kishori lal giving me a running commentary on almost everything, including the history of Himachal Pradesh and how the state could have become Switzerland of the east but successive rulers had neglected its immense tourist potential.
An encyclopedia of sorts about the hills, rivers, people and cuisine, his continuous description prevented me from thinking anything else as we crossed a high mountain, descended on the other side and soon we were next to the recently set up IIT Mandi at a village called Kamand besides the scenic River Uhl, a subsidiary of the Beas. “Here, the students, must be only studying as they do not have any other worldly distractions,” I told Mr lal. “Yes, they do. The students from here are doing exceedingly well even though buildings and infrastructure is yet to come up completely,” he told me.
Roads were in bad shape at several places. But I could understand. Heavy downpour even in the off season, then snow in winters and difficult terrain prevented continuous maintenance. landslides and boulders falling on the road made matters worse for the Public Works Department workforce. “Such a beautiful place…See for yourself…miles of beauty…,” Kishori lal continued. “Had this place been in Europe, they would have constructed ropeways and helipads and what not to attract tourists,” he bemoaned.
We passed through hill slopes where cauliflower had been cultivated in a big way and was a major source of livelihood for the villagers. “This is what you eat in Chandigarh and New Delhi in the summers,” the veteran pointed out of the vehicle window. “Yes, unseasonal cauliflower tastes so good,” I agreed with him.
Serpentine single lane road, forests on one side, occasional stiff climb, stopping to look at nature closely, the smell of grass, forests, flowers and leaves and the thin cold air…My five senses got activated, saw and felt all this and much more as we reached the grasslands of Prashar lake and the PWD Rest House. All of a sudden, the trees disappear and there are green slopes all around and mountain peaks in the distance. “The whole area is cut off for around three months for vehicles and only trekkers adept in snow climbing and trekking come here in those months,” Kishori lal informed.
The chowkidar in the Rest House heated the food which we had taken along and spread the lunch on a table. He also served steaming hot tea. Refreshed, it was time to move on to the Prashar lake and temple. You walk around 300 metres on a plane, then there is a small climb and all of a sudden, the wonderful Prashar lake and pagoda style temple is visible in all its glory. “Wow”, I exclaimed. “I knew, you would like this,” added Kishori lal.
Walking down the slope, wind picked up speed and it got a bit cold at midday as the unpredictable weather turned cloudy. “No weatherman can predict the weather high in the hills,” Kishori lal said, when I asked whether it would rain now. “It won’t till the evening,” the experienced hill gentleman insisted.
We first went to the lake in the middle of mountains with a floating island which keeps moving its direction. There were thousands of fish in the water, clearly visible. Visitors, who had prayed in the temple and got Prasad in return, tossed it to the fishes. They jumped in the water to get hold of the puffed rice and the small sweet. There was a fence around the lake to prevent the more enthusiastic of the tourists and pilgrims from taking bath as the depth of the lake is still unknown and bathing is banned. I sat down on the grass. At peace with myself and the surroundings, I looked in all directions. A few trekkers were perched on top of the small peaks surrounding the lake and soaked themselves in nature. An adventurous youth was playing the guitar, his friend was watching in awe. At another spot, I saw a couple engrossed in simply watching the lake without any movement for a long time. A saffron clad person, sitting on a boulder and deep in meditation, caught my attention. “What a place to connect to the almighty,” I told myself.
Transfixed, I wondered how the lake came to exist at a height of over 2700 metres above sea level. I was told another story by one of the resident priest. One of the Pandavas, Bhima, created this by ramming his elbow in the land. But how did he come hereIJ “Bhima along with other Pandavas and lord Kamrunag were moving around the area after the battle of Kurukshetra. When lord Kamrunag decided to settle down here due to natural beauty, water was the first necessity. The strong Bhima simply hit his elbow in the ground and the lake was created,” the priest told us. In any case, the strongest Pandava, Bhima has close association with this part of the hills as a temple dedicated to his wife Hidimba is located amid massive deodar trees in Manali, hardly 100 kms from Prashar lake.
“I have lived in the hills all my life and now I am 74 years old. I simply don’t understand why this place cannot be one of the wonders of India in terms of tourism,” Kishori lal said, slightly agitated as he had been making the point for a while. I could understand his sense of agitation and resentment as this was indeed amazingly beautiful. He said in the winters, there could be skiing here after some development as snow formation is ideal for this sport. Some of the adjectives for beautiful immediately came to my mind to describe the place—alluring, appealing, bewitching, charming, dazzling, divine, enticing, exquisite, fascinating, grand, lovely, magnificent, marvelous, pleasing…The place indeed was all this.
The trainee priest, who did not identify himself, informed that there was a dormitory in the temple offering accommodation for the pilgrims and adventure seekers. For a few residents, basic food in daal-roti was also served in the langar which is run once a day. In the day time, there is a small shop which sells easy to make noodles and biscuits to keep the hunger buds of the tourists at bay. “I will stay here some day to experience how the feeling at night is,” I told myself. The trainee priest claimed to have seen leopards and Bear during late evenings and early mornings, adding that they never harmed humans and were rather shy of the homo sapiens.
We returned back to the government guest house after enjoying the bounties of nature for a few hours. “Every evening, temperature plunges and it gets really cold,” the chowkidar of the guest house told us. The cold wind again picked up pace and it was then that we decided to bid a goodbye to the place after having another round of hot tea. Soon after we left the Prashar lake grassland, it started raining and immediately I told Kishori lal, “your weather prediction has come true”.
Next month in July when the Monsoon picked up momentum, I decided to visit the other lake which I have mentioned—Renuka lake in Sirmaur district. The weekend trip to Renuka ji, known for its wonderful natural lake, forests and a temple dedicated to lord Parshuram and his mother Renuka was long overdue. So there I was, behind the wheels, on the highway on a lazy Sunday morning. Within minutes, I was in Panchkula and then could see the grand Gurudwara of Nada Sahib on my right, located amid serene surroundings in the foothills of the Shivalik besides the Ghaggar River.
The Highway is now being constructed at a rapid pace and it is being converted into a four-lane road. There are road diversions and traffic of all kinds, including horse drawn carriages, two-wheelers, cycles and heavy trucks on the road. Ramgarh, Raipur Rani and Naraingarh take you on National Highway 72 and the first town of Himachal Pradesh, Kal Amb.
I always found the name Kala Amb quite intriguing as it literally means Black Mango. While going to Dehradun sometime ago, I stopped at several mango orchards in the Kala Amb belt and asked the caretakers about the origins of the name Kala Amb. None of them had any clue. This time, I did not ask for it even though I bought fresh mangoes from one of the orchards. I had learnt over a period of time that this was a mango belt and the name Kala Amb somehow got associated with it and no one has ever thought of renaming it to give a contemporary name. Even a resort here proudly named itself as “Black Mango” and so did a restaurant on the highway.
Anyway, the climb begins at Kala Amb and next town is the headquarters of Sirmaur district—Nahan. The town looks like a fort from NH 72 passing much below it. After entering the town, there is a sort of Ring Road from where the detour to Shimla begins. On the Nahan-Shimla Road, there is another detour which takes you to Renuka ji.
The road all of a sudden turns narrow though there is enough space for two vehicles to pass at any given spot. For miles, all I could see was greenery and forests. All of a sudden, I saw a snake crossing the road, some 30 metres away from my vehicle. It was a beautiful creature, propelling itself forward with a jerk. I could not exactly identify its species—it could be anything from a King Cobra to a small python or a big rat snake, but I stopped and watched the reptile going behind the bushes at its own pace. As the bitumen was newly laid, it was a black beautiful road in front of me now and I stopped to marvel at the forests ahead and the valley below. Standing in the middle of the road for a while gave a feeling of exhilaration and I was transfixed for at least 7-8 minutes before the next vehicle came and broke my concentration.
Monsoon in the hills is indeed amazing. Every leaf, every tree, every bush, every cliff and almost everything there looks as if a fresh coat of green paint has been applied. Except for the clouds which come and dance in front of you in all sorts of formation and occasionally embrace you, there is green and more green everywhere.
Soon, a beautiful waterfall was there in all its grandeur. As it was Monsoons, the fall of water from a height of around 100 feet was mesmerizing. Called Badolia waterfall, a temple stood between two streams of the fall as the water rolled down below and merged in the hill stream. The noise, generated by the waterfall, was rhythmic...it was music.
After crossing the bridge of the waterfall, comes Dadahu, an overgrown village or was it a small town. Surrounded by valleys and a river below, its location was quite scenic, though at 670 metres above sea level, it was a little hot and humid in the month of July. Crossing a single lane bridge takes you to the beautiful setting of Renuka ji.
At an elevation of 672 metres from sea level, Renuka lake is surrounded by mountains from all sides and it is the largest natural lake in Himachal Pradesh and has a circumference of about 3200 metres and a narrow road surrounds the lake. A plaque here, put up by HP Forest Department, informs that the lake comprises an area of 20 hectares and is a natural fresh water lake and wetland of international importance designated as “Ramsar site”.
This lake was named after the Renuka, the mother of Bhagwan Parshuram. A big plaque put up in the temple has a rather lengthy story inscribed on it which seemed quite fancy. There are several versions and mythological tales of what exactly happened and what were the reasons triggering the anger of Parshuram. One of the legends has it that lord Parshuram's mother Bhagwati Renuka took Jal Samadhi (water burial) in this lake. These tales narrate that Ram Sarovar immediately took the shape of a lady and since then it is known as Renuka lake. Every year in November, a fair is held to celebrate the immortality of Renuka and her son legendary Parshuram. locals believe that the mother (Renuka) and son (Parshuram) come down from their heavenly abode and meet during the fair.
On the periphery of lake there is a small road leading to “lion Safari” though there are no lions at present. There is a walking cum jogging track and besides it a mini zoo. I hired an improvised golf cart, driven by forest department employee. He gave details of the two Bear kept in the enclosure, leopards and another species called leopard cat. Then there were black bucks, deer and neelgai all in enclosure. The deer and neelgai were particularly fond of human beings as they offered biscuits and toffees to them. “These animals keep waiting for their daily dose of biscuits, chocolates, potato chips. I keep telling people not to feed them, but who listens to me”, the white-haired driver said. He stopped the noiseless vehicle at each of the enclosure, pointed a spot to us and then took photographs. He followed the ritual meticulously and had been following it for the last six years after the electric vehicle was introduced here. It was a motorable road but only the golf cart was allowed to ply. Visitors are encouraged to walk besides the lake, in a beautiful setting amid roar of animals and the chirping of birds.
As the evening sets in, it was time to go for boating. As the lake has religious significance, you are not allowed to wear shoes while boating. Armed with the life jacket, we set out in the boat in the waters with fish as company. They were in hundreds in all sizes; the bigger ones were jumping in the water and seemed to be playing with each other. There were ripples all over the water and you could know that a big fish had triggered the ripple. I paddled the boat towards an ashram and a small temple on the other side and saw the fish in large numbers being fed by the visitors. This was a sight which I always see whenever I visit to pay obeisance in the Golden Temple Amritsar and now saw it here. Fishing is not only banned here but also considered a sin ensuring that the aquatic life flourishes without any human intervention and greed.
After I finished boating, it was a huge turtle which I saw, dashing for the shore, perhaps looking for a prey. I don’t know after how many years I had seen a real turtle. Or have I seen a turtle earlier at allIJ I don’t remember. Of course, I have seen them on Discovery and National Geographic channels. “The turtles roam around freely and also take rest on the shores occasionally as and when they feel”, the life guard cum-ticketing supervisor of the boating point, said. He said there are plenty of turtles in the Renuka lake and they feed on the fish which is available in plenty. “That is the law of nature. You can prevent humans from fishing in the lake but you cannot prevent turtles from eating them,” he said, asking me, “Can youIJ” He continued, “There are plenty of leopards in the forests and they eat deer and other small animals…that is how nature has made it. Rules are meant only for human beings…”
Morning walk next day was again full of pleasant surprises. After I set out, I could hear distinct voices of the wild animals in the distance. In the trees and bushes, there were hundreds of colorful birds, each enjoying the morning in their own unique voice. There were plenty of ducks in an enclosure and their voice was rather hoarse and irritating. There was an enclosure close by where a handsome Mithun was kept which kept staring at me. I too did the same, as I had not seen this species earlier. Walking alone on the road which is hardly frequented in the morning gave an eerie feeling. To feel safe, I picked up a broken twig and kept walking, enjoying the silence and the company of birds, monkeys and a few disinterested stray dogs in the distance.
