Rajsamand Lake also known as Rajsamudra Lake is the 2nd largest artificial lake in India. The lake in the city of Rajsamand district of Rajasthan. Located 67 kms away from Udaipur, the lake built by Maharana Raj Singh. The lake is approximately 2.82 km wide, 6.4 kms long and 18 mtrs deep. The lake was built by Rana Raj Singh; across the Gomti river which originates from Sewantri, and Kelwa, Tali rivers, with a catchment area of approximately 510 sq.km.
While travelling to Jaisalmer, Maharana Raj Singh stopped near the river for 3 days, after seeing the large volume of water in the river, he decided to build a lake around it. One of the 5 famous lakes in Mewar region, the lake lies between the Rajnagar and Kanroli cities.
It is said Rana Raj Singh undertook construction of the lake as a penance for all the executions done by him. A short-tempered man; in his lifetime, he had executed one of his sons, one of his queens, a Brahmin cook and a Charan. Story goes that one of his queens, the mother of Prince Sardar Singh wanted her son to succeed the throne instead of elder Prince Sultan Singh, so she created suspicion against Sultan Singh in the mind of Maharana. An enraged Raj Singh executed Sultan Singh.
The queen didn’t stop at that, she now conspired to kill Raj Singh to ensure her son Sardar Singh ascended the throne. Everything went as per plan, but on the fateful day when the Brahmin cook who was to poison Raj Singh; he was caught red handed and the whole conspiracy was unearthed. A furious Raj Singh had both the conspiring queen and the brahmin cook executed. Sardar Singh, who was completely unaware of the entire conspiracy, committed suicide by drinking poison.
In another incident, Udaibhan, a Charan who was a tazimi sardar, arrived in the royal court to find that Raj Singh did not greet him as per custom. Feeling disrespected, Udaibhan derided the Maharana Raj Singh in the court itself evemn as a meeting with a Mughal noble, to finalize a treaty between the Mughal Empire and Mewar Kingdom was in progress. An enraged Raj Singh attacked Udaibhan, killing him on the spot in the court.
When his temper ebbed, Raj Singh realized his mistake; and he decided to consult astrologers and priest of the royal court to find a way to redress these killings. The astrologers and purohits suggested him to build a large lake, that serves people living under his dominion that was suffering from serious draught like conditions. Thus, the idea to build the lake was born to provide canal irrigation to local farmers. Construction of the lake started in 1662 AD and was completed in 1676 AD, this is the oldest known famine relief work initiated in Rajasthan, which provided relief to starving population. Total cost of construction of lake at that time is mentioned as Rs. 1,50,78,784.
Foundation to build the lake was laid on 01 Jan, 1662 by drying the river bed. Ranchod Rai, elder son of the royal priest Purohit Garibdas, laid the foundation stone on April 17, 1665. Over 60,000 skilled workers were employed in this herculean task. All kinds of water extraction techniques known at that time, were used. After 3 years of effort, the main dam also called ‘Nauchauki Paal’; was completed on 26 June 1670. Construction of other dams, on different sides of the lake; took longer time. Even ship builders from Lahore, Surat were employed to construct a big boat.
Consecration of the lake was done in Jan 1676. Invitations were sent to other rulers, thakurs, scholars and religious leaders. Brahmin priests presided over ceremonies, as per Matsya Purana. The Rana prayed to his kuldevi and other deities. On 15 Jan, 1676 Maharana Raj Singh started parikrama of the lake on foot, and completed it in 6 days.
After that the lakes’ naming ceremony was held. Maharana Raj Singh, had himself weighed on a tula (weigh scale) against gold and gave the gold away in charity in ‘tula daan’ ceremony. Five other persons performed charity in this fashion. Besides him chief queen Rani Sadakumari, court priest Gharib Das, Barhatt Kesari Singh, Rao Kesari Singh of Solambar, and the Rani of Toda also had themselves weighed against silver and donated the same to charity.
Subsequently several ghats or embankment were built all around the lake along with many monuments; including carved arches and cenotaphs commissioned by Princess Charumati. These include Nau Chauki, a series of 9 marble pavilions, with intricately carved and delicately designed images of various Hindu gods, sun, chariots, birds, dancers, and animals. 5 Tula-daan torans were built on Nau Chauki, Tula-Daan was performed by Maharana Raj Singh, his wife, his son, purohit and others here; only 3 torans survive today.
Raj-Prashasti, the lake viewpoint has world’s longest and largest stone inscription in Sanskrit language, written in 1017 stanzas by a scholar Ranchor Bhatt on 27 black marble slabs, describing the glorious history of Mewar. Rajasthan government after independence built the Rajsamand Panorama, describing the history of Rajsamand and the reign of Maharana Raj Singh.
It also has the statues of Maharana Raj Singh and others. Rajsamand Lake was used as a seaplane base of Imperial Airways during World War II, and later IAF used it as an auxiliary base. One of the most popular lakes in Udaipur, Rajasthan government also intends to promote variety of adventure and water sports activities in and around the Rajsamand lake. These include jet-ski, speed boat, aqua cycle, and parasailing.
Located just 66 kms away from Udaipur; tourist can be easily reach the lake, by hiring a taxi, private car, auto rickshaw or bus. The lake is worth visiting all throughout the year, but winter from October to February is the best time, as the weather is much cooler with breeze blowing. During monsoon, the lake is filled to the brim and is surrounded by lush greenery.
While traveling to Kumbhalgarh fort or visiting Dwarkadhish Temple in Kanroli, tourist can enjoy an amazing view of Rajsamand Lake. Best time to visit the lake is sunrise and sunset, the stunning view makes it a photographers’ delight. There is no entry fee to visit the lake. Tourist can also visit nearby tourist attractions such as Neelkanth Mahadev Ji Temple, Hanuman Mandir, Rameshwar Mahadev Mandir, Dwarkadhish Temple, Shree Chhapariya Bheru Mandir, and Kalka Mata ka Mandir.
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