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 ...
n
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 ...
of
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 s ...
. It is surrounded by the
Sambhar Salt Lake. Sambhar is approximately 70 km from
Jaipur
Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...
(
NH-8, 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 "' ...
.
Description
Sambhar is known for the
Sambhar Salt Lake, which is the largest inland salt lake in India. It derives its name from
Shakambhari Devi, Goddess of the
Chauhan 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 literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
and
Puranas 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, and King
Yayati took place. A temple near the lake is dedicated to
Devayani 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 of
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 ...
, married to
Akbar on January 20, 1562, at Sambhar
Sambhar lake has an archeological site at
Naliasar 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 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 root ...
'' 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. T ...
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 Bloodbr>
*
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 V ...
br>
*
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 F ...
br>
*
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 ...
br>
*
Jodhaa Akbar
''Jodhaa Akbar'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language epic historical romantic drama film directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. It stars Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the titular roles. Set in the 16th century, the film shows the life and ...
*
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 jointl ...
*
Drona (2008 film)br>
*
Zila Ghaziabadbr>
*
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 ...
br>
*
Veer (2010 film)
*
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 Shri ...
br>
See also
*
List of dams and reservoirs in India
This page shows the state-wise list of dams and reservoirs in India. As of July, 2019, total number of large dams in India is 5,334. About 447 large dams are under construction in India. In terms of number of dams, India ranks third after China an ...
*
List of lakes in India
*
List of Ramsar sites in India
References
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Jaipur district