Sambhar (officially known as Sambhar Lake Town) is a town and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in Jaipur district in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

. It is surrounded by the Sambhar Salt Lake. Sambhar is approximately 70 km from

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

(

NH-8 National Highway 8 (NH 8) is a 4-lane (6-lane in most parts) National Highway in India. According to estimates, it is the busiest highway in the subcontinent, as it connects the national capital Delhi to the financial capital Mumbai, as well ...

, RJ SH 57) and 99 km from

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

Description

Sambhar is known for the Sambhar Salt Lake, which is the largest inland salt lake in India. It derives its name from

Shakambhari Shakambhari (Sanskrit: शाकम्भरी, IAST: Śākambharī), also referred to as Shatakshi, is a goddess of nourishment. She is regarded to be an incarnation of Mahadevi, and identified with both Lakshmi and Durga in Hinduism. After ...

Devi, Goddess of the

Chauhan Chauhan, historically ''Chahamana'', is a clan name historically associated with the various ruling Rajput families during the Medieval India in Rajasthan. Subclans Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, Devda etc. are the branches or subclan ...

clan, whose 2500 year old temple is located 28 km from the town. The Indian epic

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

and

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

mentions Sambhar Lake as a part of the kingdom of the demon king Vrishparva, as the place where his priest

Shukra Shukra (Sanskrit: शुक्र, IAST: ) is a Sanskrit word that means "clear" or "bright". It also has other meanings, such as the name of an ancient lineage of sages who counselled Asuras in Vedic history. In medieval mythology and Hindu as ...

charya lived, and as the place where the wedding between his daughter,

Devayani Devayani ( sa, देवयानी, translit=Devayānī) is a character in Hindu literature. She is described to be the daughter of Shukra, the acharya (preceptor) of the asuras, and his wife Jayanti, the daughter of Indra. She marries K ...

, and King

Yayati Yayāti ( sa, ययाति, translit=Yayāti), is a king in Hindu tradition. He is described to be a Chandravamsha king. He is regarded to be the progenitor of the races of the Yadavas and the Pandavas. He is considered in some texts to ...

took place. A temple near the lake is dedicated to

with a pond in it .

Mariam-uz-Zamani Mariam-uz-Zamani (); ( – 19 May 1623), commonly known by the misnomer ' Jodha Bai', was the chief consort and principal Rajput empress consort as well as the favourite wife of the third Mughal emperor, Akbar. She was also the longest-servin ...

, daughter of

Raja Bharmal Raja Bharmal, also known as Bihari Mal, Bhagmal and Bihar Mal ( 1498 – 27 January 1574), was the 22nd Rajput ruler of Amber, which was later known as Jaipur, in the present-day Rajasthan state of India. His daughter, Mariam-uz-Zamani (po ...

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...

, married to

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

on January 20, 1562, at Sambhar Sambhar lake has an archeological site at

Naliasar Naliasar is an ancient town located 6 km from Sambhar in Rajasthan state in India. Remains of several buildings and other antiquities such as coins, pottery, terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material s ...

lake dating 2000 BC. A small hamlet has been found while excavation of the site, which gives an insight of construction of homes, water well and food grain storage, various coins of different dynasties. A lot is still buried below the sand dunes. Devyani sarovar and surrounding temples is another place adjoining Sambhar lake of Indian mythological connection. Sambhar was the capital of the

Chahamanas of Shakambhari The Chahamanas of Shakambhari (IAST: Cāhamāna), colloquially known as the Chauhans of Sambhar or Chauhans of Ajmer, were an Indian dynasty that ruled parts of the present-day Rajasthan and neighbouring areas in India, between the 6th and 12th ...

before the 12th century. In 2014, six PSUs including Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd had planned to set up World’s largest 4,000 MW Ultra-mega Solar power project in the land under the compan

But after BJP government came to power in the state, the project was scrapped citing environmental issues and shifted to Gujara

Sambhar hosts a variety of avian species. Popular species of birds sighted here are coots, black-winged stilts and redshanks. During the monsoon season, a huge number of Siberian pink flamingos carpet the Sambhar Salt Lake making it wonderfully pinkish.

Demographics

As of 2011 Census, Sambhar had a population of 22,327 of which 52% are males and 48% are females . Sambhar has an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the state average of 66%.

In popular culture

* For the film ''

Delhi-6 ''Delhi-6'' is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Rakesh Omprakash Mehra. The film stars Abhishek Bachchan as an NRI who arrives in India with his ailing grandmother (played by Waheeda Rehman) and begins discovering his roots b ...

'' directed by

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (born 7 July 1963) is an Indian film director, occasional actor and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing ''Rang De Basanti'' (2006) and ''Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'' (2013). He is the writer and director of ...

, production designer

Samir Chanda Samir Chanda (1957 – 18 August 2011) was an Indian art director and production designer across Indian cinema, including Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam and Tamil, most known for his work in films like '' Yodha'' (1992), '' Dil Se..'' (1998), ''Guru' ...

, recreated inner lanes of

Old Delhi Old Delhi or Purani Dilli is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan (the Mughal emperor at the time) decided to shift the Mughal capital from Agra. Th ...

at Sambhar . Later for certain scenes, historic

Jama Masjid A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.* * * * * * * ...

was digitally added to the frame as a backdrop. Various scenes of many other popular films have been shot in lake and main Sambhar town such as: *

Bard of Blood ''Bard of Blood'' is an Indian spy thriller web series based on the 2015 espionage novel of the same name by Bilal Siddiqi. Directed by Ribhu Dasgupta and produced by Red Chillies Entertainment, the series stars Emraan Hashmi along with Kirt ...

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*

PK (film) ''PK'' () is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language fantasy comedy drama edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani and written by Hirani and Abhijat Joshi, and jointly produced by Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra under the banners Rajkumar Hirani Films and Vin ...

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*

Highway (2014 Hindi film) ''Highway'' is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language road drama film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The film stars Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda. Screened in the Panorama section of the 2014 Berlin International Fil ...

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*

Super 30 (film) biographical drama film produced by Phantom Films, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, Reliance Entertainment and HRX Films at budget of ₹60 crore. Based on the life of mathematics teacher and educator Anand Kumar as well as educational prog ...

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*

Jodhaa Akbar ''Jodhaa Akbar'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language historical drama, epic historical romantic drama film directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. It stars Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the titular roles. Set in the 16th centu ...

Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela ''Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela'' () or simply known as ''Ram-Leela'', is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language tragic romantic action film written and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who also composed its original soundtrack. The film was jointly ...

Drona (2008 film) ''Drona'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language superhero film directed by Goldie Behl, starring Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Kay Kay Menon and Jaya Bachchan. ''Dronas special effects shots were worked on by EyeQube, headed by Charles Darby and ...

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*

Zila Ghaziabad ''Zila Ghaziabad'' () is 2013 Indian Hindi-language political action thriller film directed by Anand Kumar. It is produced by Vinod Bachan, and presented by Mohammed Fasih & Bharat Shah. The film features Sanjay Dutt, Vivek Oberoi, Arshad Warsi, ...

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*

Gulaal (film) ''Gulaal'' (gulal, Crimson) is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language socio-political drama film directed by Anurag Kashyap, starring Raj Singh Chaudhary, Kay Kay Menon, Abhimanyu Singh, Deepak Dobriyal, Ayesha Mohan, Jesse Randhawa, Piyush Mishra and Adi ...

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*

Veer (2010 film) ''Veer'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language epic action film directed by Anil Sharma and written by Shailash Verma and Shaktimaan Talwar from a story by Salman Khan. It stars Salman Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Jackie Shroff, Zareen Khan, Soha ...

Tevar ''Tevar'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by debutante Amit Ravindernath Sharma and produced by Boney Kapoor, Sanjay Kapoor, Sunil Lulla, Naresh Agarwal and Sunil Manchanda, based on a script by Sharma and Shantanu Shriv ...

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References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Jaipur district

Description

Demographics

In popular culture

See also

References