Rajsamand Lake, Pali, Rajasthan India

Rajsamand Lake also known as Rajsamudra Lake is a lake situated near the town of Rajsamand in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Built in the 17th century, it is approximately 1.75 miles (2.82 km) wide, 4 miles (6.4 km) long and 60 feet (18 m) deep. The lake was built across the Gomati, Kelwa, and Tali Rivers.

Rajsamand Lake is the oldest known relief work in Rajasthan and cost almost 4 million rupees. As large as it is, the lake has been known to disappear in times of severe drought: for instance, in 2000, it was merely a huge, empty basin with a surface of dried, cracked mud. The late monsoon the following year partly refilled it, but the water level remained dangerously low.

At the Kankroli (southern) end, the lake has an immense white stone embankment, 183 m. long and 12 m. high, with terraces of large marble and stone ghats (steps) leading down to the water's edge. Along the embankment are ornamental arches and pavilions, commissioned by Princess CHARUMATI, from another branch of the Sisodia family, in gratitude to Maharana Raj Singh I, who married her to prevent her marriage to Mughal Emperor AURANGZEB. The five toranas (weighing arches) seen here are where Raj Singh and his successors performed the event called Tuladan: they were weighed in gold and jewels, the cash value of which was distributed among Brahmans, and for the construction of temples and tanks for the welfare of the people. The colonnaded pavilions are decorated with depictions of the sun, chariots, gods, dancing girls and birds, exquisite carvings that are claimed to be unique in India. A special feature of Rajsamand is a long Sanskrit inscription on twenty-seven white marble blocks.