Chandertal - The Mermaid Lake

The moon lake. The mermaid lake. The final destination of a Pandava before heading to heaven?

Chandertal (Moon lake) is one of the most beautiful lakes one can find hidden away in the Himalayas. the lake has many stories, and why not? it is a magical place.

Here's our favorite..

A village folklore from a long time ago..

One day a shepherd was grazing his sheep, while he walked from one grassland to another, stumbled upon this lake. It was so beautiful and had with meadows all around. He started to go there every day. He sat down by the side of the lake and played his flute as his sheep grazed.

A mermaid from inside the lake secretly watched him and fell in love with him. She secretly watched him and heard him play, for several days. Until one day, she just couldn’t stay secret anymore, and decided to show herself and tell him how she felt.

She appeared in front of him, and he couldn’t believe his eyes. He had never seen a mermaid before! She asked him to promise her that he’d never tell anyone about her and that it would be their secret. And so he did.

As they spent more time with each other, they fell in love with each other and got secretly married too. The mermaid showed him her underwater world, it was breath taking!

He was awestruck and didn’t feel like leaving.

However, in winter, he would have to leave, as the lake would freeze and he wouldn't be able to survive the cold. Winter came sooner than they had imagined. It was time to go. He promised he mermaid, he would never talk of her to anyone. He promised her, he would be back for her on the first day of summer, and bid her goodbye.

“The Universe doesn't like secrets. It conspires to reveal the truth, to lead you to it."

- Lisa Unger

He went back to his village but missed the mermaid terribly. He drowned himself in her thoughts and alcohol day and night. One evening, he was out drinking with his friends.

The men talking about the best things that happened to them. The shepherd was tempted, for he too had a great story to tell. He resisted for as long as he could.

Then, after a point he couldn’t. He had to show off that he had married a mermaid.

Obviously nobody believed him when he told them. He insisted, and promised to take them all. Soon, as the snow melted and first day of summer arrived, many men from the village followed the shepherd to the magical lake. They were all in awe, as they had never seen anything so divine before. However, the mermaid was nowhere.

They waited and waited, but the mermaid never came out.

The shepherd had broken the promise he made to the mermaid. He went back to the lake later again. Alone this time, and apologized. The mermaid came out, not angry, but heart-broken. She said she would never see him again.

According folklore also says, they had a child, which did not survive beyond a few days as it was cursed due to the broken promise.

The family is still said to be cursed, and nobody from the family has ever visited the lake since then.

We don't know what's true, what's not, but everyone in the village believes it. If nothing else, the story is no less than a fairy tale!

Visit the lake someday, the mesmerizing beauty of it will probably convince you that it could be magical with mermaids living in it!

The mythological version..

Chandertal has been mentioned in the epic Mahabharata, as the final destination Yudhishthira's final destination. It was from here, that Lord Indra picked him up, in his mortal state to ascend to heaven.

Have you heard a different version of this? We'd love to know! Let us know in the comments section below.