Lakes in Indian philosophy

 Lakes in India have always been the reservoirs of water. The pure rain water was stored in the lakes, and the village ponds. Apart from daily supply of water for household needs and cattle requirements, these water bodies served as agents of replenishing the water table. Digging of ponds, lakes and wells was considered to be a noble act and many well off people were engaged in the maintenance of these water bodies. Like other elements of nature, the lakes were also significant for their direct relationship with the heavenly powers.

One may recall the famous lake Rakshastal located to the west of Mansarovar. It is at one of the islands of this ubiquitous lake that the famous king of Lanka, Ravana offered each of his ten heads, one after the other, to lord Shiva till he granted him the powers he wished for. Unlike the Mansarovar lake which is round in shape, Rakshastal is of a crescent shape. The former is considered to be pious while the latter is treated as inauspicious owing to its association with the demonic king Ravana.

In the village Narkatari of Kurukshetra district of Haryana, there is a pond which is named as Bhishma Kund. It is said that during the epic battle of Mahabharata when Arjuna had defeated Bhishma, he asked for water from the great warrior. Arjuna then with his sharp arrows drew water from the earth. Since, it was Bhishma who required water; the pond therefore, is named after him. There is a small temple near the pond where pilgrims from all over the country come every year to pay their homage to the legendary Pitamah Bhishma. Temple tanks are artificial reservoirs generally built as part of the temple complex.

They are called pushkarini, kalyani, kund, sarovar, baoli/baori, vav, tirtha, talab, kovil kulam, etc. in different languages and regions of India. The water of these tanks abounds in medicinal properties. It is curious to note that medical tourism which is considered to be a new phenomenon in the present-day world has been in vogue in India since times immemorial.

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