Odd number of divine blessings at Prashar Lake, Mandi

My house in Manali is surrounded by an apple orchard and overlooks the meandering River Beas. A visit back home, therefore, always recharges my soul.

During this visit, my family planned a day’s trip to Prashar Lake, a freshwater lake situated in Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh, about 100 km from Manali. The drive was spectacular through winding roads surrounded by pine and deodar forests. After climbing the mountains, we reached a flat meadow. From there, after a climb up a mountain, we finally saw a glimpse of the lake. It was a spectacular, picture-postcard view. It felt as if time had stood still and captured the beauty of nature in all its perfection. The crystal-clear waters of lake had an island in the centre that floated with wind. There was a pagoda-style temple of Rishi Prashar, right next to the lake.

We offered our prayers at the temple and the priest gave us a few rice grains as divine blessing. I suddenly overheard some locals at the temple saying that if you receive an odd number of rice grains, you should consider that your visit successful. I quickly checked the number of grains in my hands and these counted to five. An old man with a wrinkled face, grey hair and a long beard, sitting next to me, chuckled at my child-like joy. A smile lighting his face, he commented, “You are blessed today!”

Afterwards, we had our packed lunch and sat quietly on the mountain, soaking in the beautiful view. A gentle wind created continuous ripples in the lake and the calmness all around quenched our city-weary souls.

It was dark when we returned home. Our bodies were tired but our souls were completely refreshed. I came back to Bengaluru after some days richer in heart and soul, carrying back the blessings in the form of rice grains and the lovely views of Prashar Lake.

Sunaina Dadhwal, Bangalore