52km southeast of Udaipur lies Jaisamand Lake which is also known as Dhebar. The lake built by Maharana Jai Singh in 1685, is the second biggest artificial lake of the world covering an area of 36sq km. The lake remained the largest artificial lake in the world till the building of the Aswan dam in Egypt.
During the reign of Maharana JAI SINGH (1680-1698), there was a great need for water for cultivation in Mewar’s southeastern corner. The Maharana emulated his father (Maharana RAJ SINGH I who built RAJSAMAND LAKE) by damming a small river, the Gomati, and building a massive embankment; the height of the dam is 36.6 m. Jai Singh named the resultant lake JAISAMAND after himself – its often-used nickname is ‘Ocean of Victory’ (‘mand’ meaning ‘ocean’).On the day of its inauguration, June 2 1691, Maharana Jai Singh walked around the dam charitably distributing gold equal to his own weight.
The statistics of the lake is really amazing – 9 miles in breadth, 102 feet deep at its deepest end, a circumference of 30 miles with marble staircases leading into the water. The summer palaces of the Queens of Udaipur surround Jaisamand Lake on all sides.
There are seven islands on this lake and the tribe of Bhil Minas (see People of Rajasthan) inhabits all. Two bigger islands are known as Baba ka Magra and a smaller is called Piari. There is a bund on the lake, which has to be mentioned due to its sheer size – 1202 feet long, 116 feet high and 70 feet broad at the base. On the dam are six exotic cenotaphs and a Shiva temple in the centre. The northern end of the lake has a palace with a courtyard while its southern end has a pavilion of 12 pillars. The hills to its south have grand palaces that have an excellent view of the lake. It’s amazing to know that the lake built a long time ago still stand as the second largest artificial lake over the globe.
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