Renuka Lake

Last updated

Renuka Lake
Renuka Lake, Himachal Pradesh.JPG
Renuka Lake, Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh relief map.svg
Red pog.svg
Renuka Lake
Location Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh
Coordinates 30°36′36″N77°27′30″E / 30.61000°N 77.45833°E / 30.61000; 77.45833
Lake type Low altitude lake
Basin  countriesIndia
Shore length13,214 m (10,545 ft)
Surface elevation672 m (2,205 ft)
References hptdc.gov.in
Official nameRenuka Wetland
Designated8 November 2005
Reference no.1571 [1]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Renuka lake is in the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh in India and it is 672 m above the sea level. It is the largest lake in Himachal Pradesh, with a circumference of about 3214 m. This lake was named after the goddess Renuka and is designated as Ramsar site since November 2005.

Contents

Location

Legend

On the eve of Prabodhini Ekadashi, a five-day Renuka fair begins with the religious observance of the arrival of Renuka's son, Parashurama, to the Renuka lake in Himachal, believed to be the goddess' abode. Devotees from all over the country arrive to observe the meeting of the mother and son.

According to the Puranas, the Renuka Tirtha is considered as the birthplace of Parashurama, the sixth incarnation of Vishnu. Maharishi Jamadagni and his wife Renuka are regarded to have meditated for long time at a hillock known as Tape Ka Tiba near the Renuka lake. With the blessings of Shiva, Vishnu is believed to have been born as their son.

According to local tradition, after the death of Jamadagni after he refused to part with the divine cow, Kamadhenu, Renuka is regarded to have jumped into the lake to take her own life. [3]

The lake is said to have assumed the form of a woman, after which it was called the Renuka lake. When Parashurama arrived at the lake to pray to his mother to return, Renuka is believed to have told him that while she had assumed the lake as her residence, she would make her presence known during the occasion of Prabodhini Ekadashi, when she would meet him and bless her adherents.

One day advance, on dashami, the palanquin of Parashurama is brought to Renuka from the ancient temple in Jamu Koti village in a traditional procession known a ‘Shobha Yatra’, attended by lakhs of devotees.

Sanctuary

The sanctuary is situated in Sirmour district in Himachal Pradesh. The sanctuary is well connected by the network of motorable roads. The total area of the sanctuary is about 4.028 km2. The entire sanctuary consists of Renuka Reserve Forest and has been declared as Abhayaranya. An area of roughly about 3 km2 that lies outside the sanctuary has been declared as a buffer belt.

The sanctuary falls in the biogeographical zone IV and biogeographical province IV as per the classification done by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). According to forest types classification, the area falls under group 5B/C2, i.e., dry mixed deciduous forest and group 5/051, i.e., dry sal forest.

Threats

The lake is threatened by continuously shrinking size. The silt which is being deposited in the lake is causing a worry to the locals and the administration. The main cause of this is the soil being deposited on the banks, with the rain water and landslides in the nearby mountains. Also the waste of construction material is being dumped into the lake for years, which is a big threat to the environment. Administration[ who? ] and Renuka Vikas Smiti are trying their best to protect the lake. Plastic bags are banned in the entire region.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parashurama</span> Sixth avatar of Hindu god Vishnu

Parashurama, also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Veerarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. He is believed to be one of the Chiranjeevis (Immortals), who will appear at the end of the Kali Yuga to be the guru of Vishnu's tenth and last incarnation, Kalki.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nahan</span> A town in Himachal Pradesh, India

Nahan is a town in Himachal Pradesh in India and is the headquarters of the Sirmaur District It was the capital of the former Sirmur princely state.Nahan is also known as the Town of ponds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renuka</span> Hindu goddess

Renuka, also known as Yellamma, is a Hindu goddess worshipped predominantly in the South Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and western state of Maharashtra. She is also known as the mother of Parashurama, the sixth avatar of the god Vishnu. She acquired the status of a mother goddess before eventually being associated with the legend of Parashurama.

Dehra Gopipur is a town, a Municipal Council, and a Tehsil in Kangra district in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. The River Beas divides the town into Dera & Gopipur. The town of Dehra is as recent as mid-15th century when foreign invaders used this place as a dera (camp) for their expedition to hill states. British made the evolving town as the tehsil in year 1868. The official name of the town during British Raj was Dera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chintpurni</span> Town and pilgrimage center in Himachal Pradesh, India

Chintpurni is a small town in the Una district of Himachal Pradesh about 40 km north of Una, not far from the border with the Indian state of Punjab. The elevation is about 977 meters. It is home to the Maa Chintpurni Temple which is a major pilgrimage site as one of the Shakti Peethas in India. The Hindu genealogy registers at Chintpurni, Himachal Pradesh are kept here. North of Chintpurni are the western Himalayas. Chintpurni lies within the much lower Shiwalik range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maharana Pratap Sagar</span> Reservoir in India

Maharana Pratap Sagar, also known as Pong Reservoir or Pong Dam Lake is a large reservoir in Fatehpur, Jawali and Dehra tehsil of Kangra district of the state of Himachal Pradesh in India. It was created in 1975, by building the highest earthfill dam in India on the Beas River in the wetland zone of the Siwalik Hills. Named in the honour of Maharana Pratap (1540–1597), the reservoir or the lake is a well-known wildlife sanctuary and one of the 75 international wetland sites declared in India by the Ramsar Convention. The reservoir covers an area of 24,529 hectares, and the wetlands portion is 15,662 hectares.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khajjiar Lake</span> Mid altitude lake in Chamba district

Khajjiar Lake is situated in Khajjiar, in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, India. It is situated at a height of around 1,951 m above sea level between Dalhousie and Chamba Town. The lake is set in a huge grassy landscape, with evergreen cedar trees surrounding it from all sides. The lake takes its name from Khajji Nag, the deity in the temple nearby. The lake has considerably shrunk over the years and is now almost on the verge of vanishing.

The Renuka Sanctuary is a nature sanctuary. It is situated in Sirmour district in Himachal Pradesh and is connected to a network of roads. It covers about 4.028 square kilometres. Also known as Renuka Reserve Forest, it has been formally declared a sanctuary. A further area of roughly about 3 square kilometres that lies outside the sanctuary has been declared as a buffer area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Churdhar Sanctuary</span> Hindu temple in Himachal Pradesh, India

Churdhar Sanctuary is located in Sirmaur district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The total covered area of this sanctuary is 56.16 square kilometres as notified on 15 November 1985. Fauna includes Himalayan black bear, Barking deer, Musk deer, Langur and Leopards. The work of administration at Churdhar is taken care by Chureshwar Sewa Samiti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandwad</span> Town in Maharashtra, India

Chandwad (IPA:Cāndavaḍa) is a town located in the Nashik district in Maharashtra. It is 250 km from Mumbai. The 11th-century Jain Caves, Renuka devi mandir, Chandreshwar temple and Rangmahal are in Chandwad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Andhra Pradesh</span>

Andhra Pradesh is a state in India. Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) is a state government agency which promotes tourism in Andhra Pradesh, describing the state as the Koh-i-Noor of India. Andhra Pradesh has a variety of tourist attractions including beaches, hills, caves, wildlife, forests and temples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vajreshwari Temple</span> Hindu temple in Maharashtra, India

The Shree Vajreshwari Yogini Devi Mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess Vajreshwari, located in the town Vajreshwari, 75 km away from Mumbai. The town, earlier known as Vadvali, was renamed Vajreshwari in honour of the presiding deity of the temple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kartika Purnima</span> Hindu, Jain and Sikh holy day

Kartika Purnima is a Hindu and Jain cultural festival that is celebrated on Purnima. It falls in November or December of the Gregorian calendar and is also known as Tripurari Purnima or Deva-Deepavali, the gods' festival of lights. Karthika Deepam is a related festival that is celebrated in South India and Sri Lanka on a different date. It follows Diwali by about 15 days.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prabodhini Ekadashi</span> Hindu observance

Prabodhini Ekadashi, also known as Deva Uttana Ekadashi, is the 11th lunar day (ekadashi) in the bright fortnight of the Hindu month of Kartika. It marks the end of the four-month period of Chaturmasya, when the god Vishnu is believed to be asleep. It is believed that Vishnu sleeps on the day of Shayani Ekadashi, and wakes on this day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tulasi Vivaha</span> Hindu religious occasion

Tulasi Vivaha, also called Tulasi Kalyanam, is a Hindu festival, in which a symbolic ceremonial wedding takes place between a tulasi plant or holy basil and a shaligrama or an amla branch. Tulasi Vivaha signifies the end of the monsoon, and the beginning of the wedding season in Hinduism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karsog</span> Town/village in Himachal Pradesh, India

Karsog is a town and municipal area in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parshuram Kund</span> Hindu Pilgrimage Site

Parshuram Kund is a Hindu pilgrimage sites situated on the Brahmaputra plateau in the lower reaches of the Lohit River and 21 km north of Tezu in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Dedicated to the deity Parashurama, the popular site attracts pilgrims from Nepal, from across India,including the nearby states of Manipur and Assam. Over 70,000 devotees and sadhus take a holy dip in its water each year on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, in the month of January.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janapav</span> Place in Madhya Pradesh, India

Janapav also known as Janapav Kuti is a mountain at altitude of 854m from sea level and the highest peak in the Vindhayanchal range. It is located on the Indore-Mumbai highway, near the village of Janapav Kuti in Mhow Tehsil, Indore district of Madhya Pradesh. It is 45 kilometers from Indore. The mountain is surrounded by dense forests. The place is quite popular among trekkers. The place is also known for being the birthplace of Lord Parshurama and the fair that is held here every year on Kartik Purnima which is the first full moon after Diwali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellamma Temple, Saundatti</span> Indian pilgrimage destination

Yellamma Temple, also known as Renuka Temple, is a temple of Goddess (Devi) Renuka and a pilgrimage destination located about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) away from the town of Saundatti in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is situated on a hilltop known earlier as Siddhachal Parvat and now known as "Yellamma Gudda", named after the temple. The deity in the temple is the goddess Yellamma or Ellama or Renuka, revered as a fertility goddess. The temple is associated with the ancient Devadasi practice of dedicating girls to the temple, which the Government of Karnataka claims to have eliminated. The hill, a part of the Sidhachal or Ramagiri hill range which overlooks the Malaprabha river, contains archaeological evidences of occupation dating to the mid-8th to mid-11th centuries of the early Rashtrakuta or late Chalukyan period, and includes megalithic tombs which predate these periods.

Chandragutti Renukamba Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to goddess Renuka. This is an ancient cave temple. It is located 19 km (12 mi) away from the town of Soraba and 19 km (12 mi) away from Sirsi and Siddapura towns in the district of Uttara Kannada in Karnataka State of India.

References

See also

Citations

  1. ↑ "Renuka Wetland". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. ↑ himachaltourism.gov.in
  3. ↑ Yadav, Krishna (2010). The Royal Bargain. Har Anand Publications. p. 119. ISBN   978-81-241-1530-5 . Retrieved 23 April 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.