Notes on the Birds of the Sanibhtir Lake &' its vicinity. 365 



from the surrounding- Permian rocks and carried by the exten- 

 sive surface drainage into the lake. 



The Sambhur Lake has a leg-end to account for the formation 

 of the salt^ and as this tradition has only appeared officially^ it 

 may not be out of place to give a brief sketch of it here. 



On a promontory near the middle of the lake stands a temple 

 dedicated to Sumbra or Sacumbree Devee, the tutelary goddess 

 of the Chouhan Rajputs. In this temple about the year 608 

 Sumvat;, or about 500 A. D., lived a rehgious ascetic, who was so 

 absorbed in the contemplation of God, that he could not look for 

 his food like an ordinary mortal, so it had to be supplied in an 

 extraordinary fashion, and every day a cow came and milked 

 itself into a lotah which stood by his side. One day Manik 

 Rai, the cowherd in charge, saw this wonderful sight, and 

 when the holy man took an amulet from his mouth and laid it on 

 his carpet to enable him to drink the milk thus provided by the 

 gods, he (Manik Rai) took it up and put it into his mouth, and 

 such was the power of this charm that in the space of a moment 

 he was enabled in spirit to visit all the holy shrines of 

 India. 



Having experienced its power, he replaced it, and the fakir was 

 so pleased with his honesty that he directed him to go to the 

 goddess Devee, who would be kind to him. 



He accordingly went, and the goddess created a horse which 

 she told him to mount and ride onwards without looking back ; 

 he did so, and got some distance, when his pugree having caught 

 in the branch of a tree, he did look back, so the horse stopped, 

 and as it would go no further, he returned to his home and told his 

 adventure. Next morning the people of the neighbourhood 

 were astounded at seeing that the dense forest through which 

 Manik Rai had ridden had disappeared, and in its place was a 

 shining plain of gold and silver. There was a council held, and 

 the unanimous opinion of the grey beards was, that this gift 

 would convert the scene of peace into one of turmoil, so Manik 

 Rai was despatched to the goddess with a request that she would 

 retract her gift. The goddess however would not consent to 

 this, but she transformed the plain of gold and silver into a plain 

 of salt, which the natives looked upon as kutcha chandi or 

 chloride of silver. 



As the above legend is of salt, I suppose it may be taken, 

 cum grano, or with several, still let no one read 



" with a disdainful smile 

 The short but simple annals of the poor." 



Strange as it may seem in the nineteenth century, this legend 

 to the minds of the ignorant inhabitants of these parts met with 



