Mansar Surinsar Sacred Sites

Getting there

• By air

  Jammu Airport is in the middle of Jammu city and has direct flights to Srinagar, Delhi, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Leh, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

• By train

  Jammu Tawi is connected with major cities of India and serves Jammu city.

• By road

  The Mansar lake road joins the road that links Pathankot in Punjab to Udhampur. Mansar Lake is 62 km from Jammu city and 19 km from Samba town.

Why devotees come here

Mansar Lake, in Samba district, is a holy site that shares the legend and sanctity of Lake Manasarovar. Its shrine to Shesha, the serpent mount of Vishnu, stands on the eastern bank. Mansar and Surinsar are twin lakes, 9 km apart, and a legend links the two.

Mansar and Surinsar are twin lakes, and both were designated Ramsar Convention sites in November 2005. Mansar lies in Samba district, which is an administrative district in the Jammu division of Jammu and Kashmir. The shrine on the eastern bank is a big boulder on which several iron chains are placed. The lake is also ideal for boating, and the Tourism Department provides adequate facilities.

Local tradition based on the Mahabharata links the area to Babruvahana, son of Arjuna and Chitrangada. Legend says he defeated Shesha and captured the mani from him by making a tunnel with his arrow, called Surangsar. The tunnel came out at Mansar. Another legend says Arjuna's son shot an arrow into the ground here, and a spring gushed up and became Surinsar Lake.

Tips for your visit

• Newlyweds walk three circumambulations (parikrama) around the lake to seek Shesha's blessings.
• Two ancient Shiva temples, a Narasimha temple and a Durga temple are in the vicinity of the lake.

Questions people ask