The Mishdi Chronicles

About 56,000 years ago, a meteorite hit the surface of the Earth and a deep scar was made on the body of our planet. The scar gradually healed and the crater so created was filled with water. A beautiful lake emerged, calming the pain of the Earth and creating its very own ecosystem. This lake came to be known as ‘Lonar’.

Located at a distance of about 90 km from the district headquarters of Buldhana, in the state of Maharashtra, India, the Lonar Lake lies in a town called Lonar. This town is very much part of the Buldhana district.

This little town sluggishly wakes up in the morning and goes about its normal chores. Once in a while and amidst its routine, it receives some visitors who either come to pay obeisance to the deities in the temples around the lake or quell their yearning to see this pristine spectacle.

Hidden amidst thick shield of trees and floating clouds, this lake became a mystery with time, kindling the inquisitive thirst of humans for centuries. A lot of mythical stories began to weave around the existence of the lake. With time, Lonar established its strong cosmic connections, first mythically with an unknown demon and later metaphysically with the universe, when science stepped in.

From scientific point of view, Lonar is one of the three known extraterrestrial impact crater lakes in India. Dhala crater in Madhya Pradesh and Ramgarh crater in Rajasthan are the other two impact craters, which are not very well known. Initially, Lonar was believed to be a volcanic crater but now it is recognised as an impact crater.

In ancient times when people could not unravel the mystery of a deep and perfectly shaped lake which appeared from nowhere in an isolated place like Lonar, they started believing in supernatural forces. The folklores travelled far and wide that this lake was the abode of a demon called ‘Lonasur’ or Lavnasur’, (the demon of Lonar or the demon of the salt). This demon was believed to have lived in this lake and played havoc in the area.

Lonar is a lake with a high degree of alkalinity. Interestingly, the mythical demon got his name from the salty water found in this lake. The salt is called as ‘Lavan’ or ‘Lone’ and the demon as ‘Asur’ in Sanskrit and many other Indian languages, therefore this demon acquired the name Lonasur or Lavanasur.

To ward off the negativity and propitiate the fear befallen upon the people of the land, a lot of temples were built around this lake to invoke the divine and seek protection. Not one or two temples but a series of more than ten temples, constructed along the circular shore of the lake were dedicated to Shiva, Shakti and Vishnu.

I travelled to Lonar from Aurangabad by road. Aurangabad, being a prominent town of Maharashtra hosting two world heritage sites of Ajanta and Ellora, has a better connectivity than Buldhana. It took us around three hours to reach Lonar early in the morning. The last stretch of around 10 km was very pristine. The serpentine road, meandering through the green fields and fresh water lakes on both the sides, steered us straight into heaven.

After some breakfast at the only opened restaurant in the town, we reached our destination. Till this point, we had no idea of what was in store for us.

A friend from Aurangabad was also travelling with us, who was quite excited about the whole experience. In his more than 30 years of stay in Maharashtra, he had never visited Lonar. Someone had told him that the water of Lonar turns red on squeezing lemon in it. Least bothered about the scientific reasons of it, he quite believed in the supernatural forces which turn the water red. Excitedly he picked up two slices of lemon from the restaurant, tissue wrapped them and kept in his pocket.

The first temple that one reaches after entering the main gate is Gomukh Dhar, literally meaning a stream from a cow’s mouth. The temple is located at the rim of the Lonar crater. This is a huge temple with a fresh water stream flowing incessantly and falling into a tank in the middle of the temple. The water from the stream is considered holy by the devotees and they offer it to the deities in the sanctums around this temple.

It was an interesting sight watching people doing all sorts of antics to collect the water from the stream. Interestingly, nobody climbed down the steps leading to the tank and filled water from the tank. Apparently, the tank below wasn’t very deep, at least one could guess so, having seen the silly ways and that the people had no fear of falling into it.

The Gomukh Dhar temple is the only temple which is being maintained by the ASI around Lonar lake. Rest of the temples fall into the territory of the forest department and are crumbling to their death with time. Overlooking the dense forest around the lake, this magnificent temple, with the eternal flow of a stream, gently holds various shrines of Hindu pantheon, predominantly Shiva as the prime deity.

Lonar Lake gives its first splendid glimpse from the lofty perch of the Gomukh Dhar temple and one’s heart skips a beat for sure at this magnificent sight.

At the end of the Gomukh Dhar temple is a long flight of vertical steps. These steps lead the way to the mouth of the crater.

When we climbed down the steps, we reached the second temple of the Lonar group of temples, called Kumareshwar temple. This temple was dedicated to Shiva and is said to have been built by the Chalukyan kings. However, very little written accounts are available about this temple.

This isolated and dilapidated temple of Shiva had a strange divine influence around it. Inside its blinding dark sanctum, a small diya was lighting as if it was determined to quell the darkness of the world with its little flame. It was difficult to make out whether it was lit by some priest or by the worshippers who passed by the temple on their pilgrimage to the lake.

The divinity around this ruined temple with a faint light in the darkness makes me wonder why some temples gain so much of prominence that one finds difficult to even enter them and why some lie unattended in this pitiable state when the divine is the same everywhere.

One interesting phenomenon around the lake was the presence of multiple fresh water springs with their constant murmur echoing around the place. The water of the springs was merging with the lake as if losing its identity upon meeting its beloved. The salinity of the lake was overpowering enough to convert this fresh water into alkaline. The fresh water along with the rain water is the reason why the area around the lake is so green.

The gentleman who was accompanying us on this trip was eager about only one thing. He was in a tearing hurry to reach the mouth of the lake, squeeze the lemon drops in the water and see the lake changing its colour. His child like excitement was indeed entertaining.

At the entrance of the Kumareshwar temple, we met some forest guards. Till this point we had no idea about the long trek that was awaiting us. The excitement of our friend from Aurangabad disappeared in no time the moment he heard that he was to walk about 3 km to reach the last temple which was at the mouth of the lake. It also required another 3.5 km trek back to reach the main road on our return, making the entire journey quite hassling in the extreme humidity of August. It took me some time to convince him which I quite regretted later.

As we kept moving along the narrow and uneven pathways inside the jungle, we encountered various hidden and undiscovered temples which laid barren and desolated, yet firmly holding on to the charisma they once flaunted with a sense of pride.

The third temple after Kumareshwar is called Yagyeshwar temple, belonging to Shiva. The name was written on one of the panels in Devnagri script, which we could read easily. Like rest of the structure, this too was struggling to stand straight with its pillars and panels collapsing with time.

ASI had not yet started the renovation of this temple which needed immediate attention of the authorities.

Except Yagyeshwar temple, no other temple could be identified. The sanctums were empty with no idols, the walls were broken and panels, pillars and friezes were all crumbling to absolute ruins.

For once, I felt pretty devastated at the sight. The way these monuments were ignored and they gradually turned into a heap of bricks and stones was heart wrenching.

We kept walking and crossed temples one after another.There was a Shiva temple completely submerged in water, yet it stood tall and was welcoming. This temple is approachable only in summers when the water level of the lake goes down.

We finally reached at the end of our journey , the last temple called ‘Kamalja Devi’ temple. Kamalja literally means something which is born out of a lotus flower. This temple was dedicated to Shakti and housed a beautiful idol of the Goddess whose face was smeared with vermillion. She looked very calm and comforting especially after an arduous and sweaty trek to the base of the lake.

This temple was in a better condition as compared to the other temples we found on the way, however, some parts of the temple were submerged in water. A few palm trees inside the lake water had a faded disposition because of the salt content of the lake.

So far, our friend was fine. On reaching the mouth of the lake, he hurriedly took out the lemon slices from his pocket and squeezed the juices in the water. I was intently watching his expressions. After squeezing the lemon, he waited and kept looking at the water but nothing happened. There was no change in colour. His little drops just vanished somewhere in the lake. Aghast and thoroughly disappointed, he profusely debunked the theories around the lake.

It then occurred to me that he should have taken little water in a paper or plastic cup and then performed his experiment for better results, but I chose not to open my mouth. The lake engulfed his lemon drops leaving him absolutely disheartened.

After paying obeisance to the Goddess, we retreated, which involved another 3.5 km trek. It was not very difficult to reach up to the steep steps of the first temple, the Gomukh Dhar. But climbing those steps was a herculean task, especially after three hours of adventure. We somehow climbed but our friend fainted at the last step. The people around gathered to help , I rushed to fetch some water, the ASI guards came forward with some biscuits and salt. An old lady told us that he perhaps had collapsed due to dehydration. After a lot of efforts, he regained consciousness. I heaved a sigh of relief and cursed myself copiously for forcing him to come along on the trek. Anyway, all was well that ended well and I thanked my stars and also the lake for its blessings.

The main temple of Vishnu called Daityasudan temple is built in the middle of the Lonar town, while the other temples are created around the lake. Vishnu is worshipped as Daityasudan, a slayer of the demon in this beautiful standalone temple

Inside the sanctum is a beautiful idol of Vishnu made in black stone. A 13th century temple, it is built on an irregular star shaped platform confirming the Hemadpanthi style of architecture. The Daityasudan temple was the finest temple of the Lonar group, showcasing intricate carvings and detailed sculpture, somehow matching with the refined standards of the Khajuraho temples.

While returning to Aurangabad after this interesting expedition, I had a mixed feeling and a lot of irrational questions especially about the way my friend collapsed while returning. There were so many people around, doing the circumambulation of the holy lake and they all were fighting fit and completing their journey with enthusiasm and joy. In fact that day, perhaps we were the only tourists, the rest of the people were on a pilgrimage with sacred offerings in their hands for the Lords.

Was the lake alive and got offended with the gesture of my friend? Did the demon really live there and he didn’t like the intrusion? Was it extreme heat and exhaustion that he couldn’t sustain? Did he have medical issues he never shared with us? We can only speculate the answers and in this era of scientific reasoning, can only laugh at such silly questions. He was absolutely fine the moment he stepped out of the premises. I interacted with him for a few more days later on and always found him in a good health.

Are there some cosmic elements which make this place so mystical? Why is there no life inside the lake but outside is a beautiful ecosystem that nurtures life? Why does the divinity come alive in this abandoned and forgotten place?

From a commanding position to the absolute ruins today, Lonar must have witnessed a prospering life and the history of human congregation around this lake. It must have been a curious phenomenon, the humankind attempted to decipher in many ways. The reasonable and unreasonable ideas, all must have emerged from the deep secrets of the lake and subsided with time. Today, Lonar is calm and composed but hides tremendous undercurrent inside its deep trenches, perpetually simmering the excitement for centuries and attracting a plethora of visitors to its banks everyday. Lonar’s cosmic connections are unfathomable striking an uncanny balance between unwavering faith and logical science.