Lakes of Rajasthan

Major lakes of Rajasthan

Remember 'who built it' and 'where it is located' as two separate facts.[Source 2]

Natural versus artificial lakes

Most of Rajasthan's famous lakes are actually artificial (man-made), built by rulers who constructed dams to create them — such as Pichola, Fateh Sagar, Jaisamand and Rajsamand. In contrast, Sambhar Lake and Nakki Lake are considered natural lakes. Explaining this distinction in EVS is important because children often assume all lakes are equally a 'natural water source'.

Sambhar Lake is India's largest inland saltwater lake, and salt is produced there on a large scale — this lake is tied to both revenue and employment, so it can also be taught in EVS as an example of a 'source of livelihood'.

Udaipur's cluster of lakes

Udaipur is called the 'City of Lakes' because of its several beautiful lakes — Pichola, Fateh Sagar, Jaisamand and Udai Sagar are interconnected and also contribute to the city's water supply. Jaisamand Lake (Dhebar Lake) was built by Maharana Jai Singh and is counted among Asia's largest artificial lakes.

It's useful to explain to children that lakes aren't important only for their beauty, but also for practical uses such as drinking-water supply, irrigation and fishing — especially in a low-rainfall state like Rajasthan.

Biodiversity around the lakes

A variety of trees, plants and birds are found around most large lakes, which gives them the character of a small ecosystem rather than just a water source. Local birds such as herons and moorhens are commonly seen around Udaipur's lakes, while a saltwater lake such as Sambhar hosts salt-tolerant organisms and migratory birds such as flamingos in particular.

So while teaching about lakes, it's useful to go beyond just names and locations and tell children that a lake is a living ecosystem, whose water level and cleanliness must be maintained for the survival of the creatures around it too.

Smaller royal reservoirs and naming differences

Besides the large famous lakes, Rajasthan has many smaller royal reservoirs too, such as Jodhpur's Balsamand Lake, originally built as a garden-cum-reservoir that once served as a summer retreat for Jodhpur's rulers. Such reservoirs were usually built both for collecting drinking water and for royal recreation.

There's also a pattern in how water structures are named in Rajasthan — a large, permanent water source is usually called a 'sagar' or 'lake' (as in Fateh Sagar, Pichola), while a small, seasonal water-collection spot is called a 'talab' or 'beri'. Understanding this linguistic difference helps children connect local vocabulary with geography.

Lakes of Kota and Bundi

The Hadoti region (Kota-Bundi) also has several historic artificial lakes — Kota's Kishore Sagar Lake, with the Jagmandir Palace standing in its middle, is popular with tourists, while Bundi's Jait Sagar Lake is known for the Sukh Mahal on its bank and the view of the surrounding Aravalli hills. These lakes show that the tradition of building artificial reservoirs has been equally common across almost every region of Rajasthan (Mewar, Marwar, Hadoti, Dhundhar).

Boating facilities have also been developed on the banks of most historic lakes, which supports the local tourism economy — a boat ride from Lake Pichola to the City Palace and Jag Mandir, in particular, is extremely popular among tourists visiting Udaipur.

The practical importance of lakes

In a relatively low-rainfall state like Rajasthan, lakes are not merely scenic spots but an important means of drinking-water supply, irrigation, fishing and maintaining groundwater levels. Reservoirs such as Alwar district's Siliserh Lake and Dungarpur's Gaib Sagar Lake have been helpful in meeting local irrigation and drinking-water needs.

Udaipur's cluster of lakes — Pichola, Fateh Sagar, Jaisamand and Udai Sagar — is interconnected by channels, so that excess water can flow from one lake to another, also helping with flood control. This kind of interconnected water system is an excellent example of ancient water-management skill, which can be taught in EVS as 'traditional knowledge'.

How to teach this to children

Practice Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

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