Rewalsar is sacred to adherents of three major
Dharma religions -
Hinduism,
Buddhism and
Sikhism.
Hinduism Seven lakes associated with the
Pandavas of
Mahabharata are located above Rewalsar(sarkidhar). Also associated with Rewalsar 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
Skanda Purana. A Hindu sage named Lomas was searching for place to worship. He traveled and climbed the top of Drona mountain, from the top saw a lake surrounded by trees, flowers and birds. He decided to meditate at the bank of the lake, written as Hridayeshwar in Skanda Purana. He meditated here, and Lord
Shiva and Goddesses
Parvati blessed him by imparting the secrets of this place where all the
Devas and Ganas are in the form of flowers, and trees.
Sikhism The tenth Guru of Sikhs,
Guru Gobind Singh visited Rewalsar to consult with kings of the
Hill states seeking support against the Mughal Emperor
Aurangzeb. He stayed at Rewalsar for a month. Raja
Joginder Sen of Mandi built a
gurudwara at Rewalsar 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.
Tibetan Buddhism in mist at Rewalsar. The famous Rewalsar Lake, or
Tso Pema to
Tibetans, is associated with
Padmasambhava (also known as
Guru Rinpoche), recognized as a second Buddha. One version of a legend has it that the King Arashadhar of Mandi had Padmasambhava burnt alive after rumours that the Guru had attempted to teach his daughter, Princess
Mandarava 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, with
Mandarava in his arms. The king, repenting his actions, married his daughter to Padmasambhava. It was from Tso Pema that Padmasambhava went to
Tibet to reveal
Vajrayana Buddhism, after Padmasambhava and Mandarava went to Nepal. Rewalsar is a sacred place for Tibetan Buddhists and there are two Buddhist monasteries; the Drikung Kagyu Monastery and Tso-Pema Orgyen Heru-kai Nyingma Monastery. More than 50 nuns also live in the sacred caves, practicing in retreat. Buddhist practitioners are drawn to the Sacred Caves, as are tourists, coming from India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, and the west. The present head of the
Drukpa Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism,
Gyalwang Drukpa, was born here in 1963. There is a Colossus (37.5 m or 123 ft) of Padmasambhava that was consecrated, blessed and inaugurated by the
14th Dalai Lama of Tibet on 1 April 2012. The Tsechu fair was held in Rewalsar in 2004 to commemorate the birthday of Padmasambhava, Guru Rinpoche. The fair was inaugurated by the
14th Dalai Lama and was attended by the
17th Karmapa Orgyen Trinley Dorje along with 50,000 other Buddhist pilgrims. The fair was held after a gap of 12 years. ==Interests==