Rewalsar Lake (Tib. Tso Pema—Lotus Lake) is a sacred site for Buddhist pilgrims, especially Tantrayana Buddhist practitioners, associated with life events of Guru Padmasambhava and Dakini Mandarava. It is located high up in the hills beside the village of Rewalsar, 24km southwest of the town of Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, north India. Its elevation is about 1360m above sea level and the lake is square in shape with a shoreline of about 735m. This illustrious lake is situated in a beautiful area with wonderful scenery and is suitable for pilgrimage as well as for day trips. It is considered to be a sacred location by Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs alike, so it is called Trisangam in the local language, which means ‘Three Communities’.
A Brief History of Rewalsar Lake
During the 8th century in Zahor (present day Mandi), King Vihardhara was the ruler of that country. The king had a daughter named Mandarava who was the emanation of female primordial wisdom, the chief among female celestial beings. At the age of thirteen she became renowned for her beauty and everybody around felt attracted to her. The kings of eleven neighbouring kingdoms arrived at the gate of King Vihardhara with marriage proposals for their sons, bearing vast arrays of priceless precious gems as gifts. King Vihardhara then called his daughter and asked her to choose one of them to marry.
She was completely terrified of this prospect, like a fish being brought onto dry land. She cried desperately, pleading with her father for mercy, saying the following words:
While staying alone is the root of the Dharma,
Family life is the foundation of faults,
So please let me ordain as a novice nun.
A palace and the power of a king is a poisonous realm,
And the princes are messengers of demons.
The king denied Mandarava’s request, and told her that there was no record of any female who succeeded in her life as a Dharma practitioner. He ordered her to choose one of the princes within three days. Unwilling to follow her father’s order, Mandarava decided to run away far from the palace with a loyal maid who had also been her childhood friend. The king finally agreed to Mandaraava’s request to be a nun, but only if she lived in strict celibacy and seclusion with her attendants, who also became nuns. He provided them an enclosed nunnery.
Meanwhile, from Danakosha Lake, the great Guru Padmasambhava of Odiyana, using his powers of clairvoyance, searched for potentially devoted disciples. He was pleased to find Princess Mandarava, who had decided to renounce life in the palace. Consequently, Guru Padmasambhava, in the guise of a splendid and good-looking eight–year-old boy, appeared in the sky above the princess and her maid, with a loving smile on his face, legs folded in vajra posture and showing expressions through signs.
Princess Mandarava, with respect, offered prostrations to the otherworldly boy and made a fervent request that he reside in her palace and teach Dharma.
Then the princess and her retinue welcomed him with respect and made the best offerings.
At that time a corrupt-minded herdsman arrived at the very location where the princess was residing. The herdsman with ill intention misconstrued that the princess was having an affair with a man. The herdsman shouted out and related the whole incident in detail in front of a huge gathering in the market. The news spread in the kingdom like wildfire, and the king was eventually informed of this incident by his youngest queen.
The king then ordered ministers to break the door of the princess’s place and bring the man to him. He also ordered people to dig a deep pit, fill it with thorny bushes, and throw his daughter naked into it so that she wouldn’t even be able to see the sun for 25 years. The ministers and others followed the king’s orders but when they reached the spot, they hardly dared to touch the extraordinary being who was sitting on a throne and teaching Dharma to the truly devoted princess and her maidens, who had now become novice nuns.
The ministers and others returned and related the story to the king that the princess was receiving teachings from an extraordinary being. The king rejected this and ordered the people of the kingdom to gather firewood to burn that man alive. The king himself went to the princess’s place and pulled the guru down to the floor and immediately tied his body and neck with ropes.
Princess Mandarava, horrified, could not understand what her father was doing. She pleaded with him to let Guru Padmasambhava go and declared strongly that he was her spiritual guide and master. The king regard this as a betrayal, and gave no heed to her pleading. The king then took Guru Padmasambhava into an open area far from the palace where a huge pyre of wood and oil had been constructed, tied him to the stake, and set the pyre alight. After the king did so, the whole area filled with blinding smoke.
The gods and local deities witnessed the entire event. The clouds of smoke did not fade even after a week had passed. Everybody became very anxious. Some of the holy beings decided to shower rain upon the cloud of smoke and others thought of diverting rivers and streams to extinguish this massive bonfire. When the fire still seemed to be ablaze after a week, the king in astonishment went to the spot and there he saw that the whole place had turned into a massive lake with fire blazing at the edges and a giant lotus flower in full bloom at the centre.
There, upon a lotus, was Guru Padmasambhava, sitting magnificently with rainbow light surrounding him, encircled by hundred of dakinis, all singing songs of praises to this extraordinary being. The king looked doubtfully in the four directions, but found Guru Padmasambhava remained with not even a single hair harmed by the fire. At that time Guru Padmasambhava said, “Have you come, ignorant king, who tried to burn the Guru who is the manifestation of the buddhas of the three times? Have you come, ignorant king, you who are attached to deceptive worldly things and tried to punish the innocent? Have you come, ignorant king, you who have made a home for the five defilements, which are the root of ignorance? Have you come, ignorant king and ministers, you who have acted non-virtuously instead of being content?”
Hearing these words from Guru Padmasambhava, the king fainted and collapsed on the ground, and when he regained consciousness, he wept in great remorse, beating his chest. He was utterly terrified. Gradually, people from all directions came to the site, hearing about the astonishing incident of Guru Padmasambhava, who not only survived the fire but was sitting on a lotus, having transformed the pyre into a lake. The king was then seen throwing himself to the ground and prostrating innumerable times, weeping and regretting his misdeeds. He said, “O, praises to you, great being, who turned the massive bonfire into a lake. The one who is seated on the lotus, the Buddha of the three times, the faultless and unchanging! I confess my non-virtuous deeds and vow before you that I will never repeat such faulty actions. I, King Vihardhara, offer you my kingdom and pray to you, my lord, to accept me as your disciple, and reside in my palace for the sake of ignorant beings.”
The king also admitted regretfully that he had hindered his daughter’s practise of the Dharma. He apologised profusely and begged her forgiveness saying that though he had only wished the best for her, the worst had happened.
The king then offered his kingdom, his daughter, his wealth and everything that he possessed to Guru Padmasambhava and requested him to turn the Wheel of Dharma, and to guide him until his death. Guru Padmasambhava, in return, turned the Great Wheel of Dharma, through which the teachings of the Buddha flourished throughout the land. He then became well known in all the ten directions. The darkness of ignorance was cleared and rays of virtue started to shine forth. The kingdom was transformed into a heavenly pure realm. Guru Padmasambhava was the temporal and spiritual leader of the Kingdom of Zahor for few years.
Since then, Tso Pema has become a very important sacred site for Vajrayana Buddhist followers. Devotees from Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, India and other countries around the world make pilgrimage to this very sacred site to remind themselves about the guru’s miraculous life event and to receive blessings. This is one of the finest sites that symbolize the preciousness of Guru Padmasambhava. In the lake one can find numberless fish, and people gladly feed them. Many temples and other places of worship have been established here in the last few decades. A magnificent statue of Guru Padmasambhava, Mandarava’s Cave with her handprint in the wall, Guru Padmasambhava’s cave higher up and a Zangdog Palri Temple are the main attractions of this place. One can also receive the blessing of Guru Padmasambhava’s footprint that is situated less than a km up from the lake. Though the lake is polluted due to lots of restaurants and hotels around, the glory and preciousness of this historical place have not faded yet.
By Dechen Chomphel
6th Year, NNI
