Sambhar Lake Town
| Sambhar | |
|---|---|
| village | |
 Sambhar
Sambhar
|
|
| Coordinates: 26°55′N 75°12′E / 26.92°N 75.2°ECoordinates: 26°55′N 75°12′E / 26.92°N 75.2°E | |
| Country |
 India
|
| State | Rajasthan |
| District | Jaipur |
| Government | |
| • Body | Gram panchayat |
| Elevation | 367 m (1,204 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 22,293 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Hindi |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| ISO 3166 code | RJ-IN |
| Vehicle registration | RJ |
Sambhar (officially known as Sambhar Lake Town) is a village and a municipality in Jaipur district in the Indian state of Rajasthan.
Its importance is primarily because of it is situated along the Sambhar Lake, the largest saline lake in India.The lake is actually an extensive saline wetland, with water depths fluctuating from as few as 60 centimetres (24 in) during the dry season to about 3 meters (10 ft) after the monsoon season. It occupies an area of 190 to 230 square kilometers, based on the season. It is an elliptically shaped lake 35.5 km long with a breadth varying between 3 km and 11 km. It is located in Nagaur and Jaipur districts and it also borders the Ajmer district. The circumference of the lake is 96 km, surrounded on all sides by the Aravali hills. The Sambhar lake basin is divided by a 5.1 km long dam made of sand stone. After salt water reaches a certain concentration, it will be released from the west side to the eastern side by lifting dam gates. To the east of the dam are salt evaporation ponds where salt has been farmed for a thousand years. This eastern area is 80 km². and comprises salt reservoirs, canals and salt pans separated by narrow widges. To the east of the dam is a railroad, built by the British (before India’s independence) to provide access from Sambhar Lake City to the salt works. The Indian epic Mahabharata mentions the Sambhar lake as part of the kingdom of the demon king Brishparva, as the place where his priest Sukracharya lived, and as the place where the marriage between his daughter, Devayani, and King Yayati took place.[citation needed] A temple dedicated to Devayani can be seen near the lake. According to a local tradition, Shakambhari Devi, the tutelary goddess of Chauhan Rajputs and the consort of Lord Shiva, in return for some service done to her, converted a dense forest into a plain of silver. Subsequently, at the request of the inhabitants who dreaded the greed and strife which such a possession would excite, she transformed it into the lake. The name of the lake stems from a corruption of her name, which happened around the sixth century.[1] The lake shore still has a temple dedicated to Shakambhari Devi. A number of sculptures from Sambhar are present at the Albert Hall Museum.
As of 2001[update] India census, Sambhar had a population of 22,293. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Sambhar has an average literacy rate of 44%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 44%, and female literacy is 33%. In Sambhar, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.
...
Wikipedia