Once upon a time there was a village called 'Panchaase', where there lived two gods. They were Bhayer and Barah. Both of them were the most respected and well-preached gods of that place. One day both these gods were unable to control their instinct of explicit proud and started arguing, who is of more importance and of more value to the people? Then what they decided was really the turning point in the story of creation ofLake Phewa. Both had a solution to this argument, which said that the one who wins the fight of power would be declared as the winner and hence mightier of the two. After this they started to fight with all the might and power they had. The fight lasted for long years and after a tiresome struggle the godBhayer out powered the god Barah. After this shameful defeat the god Barah felt insulted to stay in that place and thought of emigrating to some another place. He shifted to a place called ‘Mathum’ which is the origination place of Lake Phewa. There was a small pond with some water with a small mound in the middle. In this small mound the temple of the god Barah was made and he started to live here. After some time because of the influence of the god Barah a saint came and started dwelling there. He along with his wife started to preach the god Barah and became an indispensable part of the god Barah's day to day life.
The saint had with him an extraordinary shell (Sankha) which had its opening on the right. This shell was extraordinary because normally shells are opened to the left. This extraordinary shell, which is called "Dahine Sankha" in Nepali (Dahine meaning right), produced sound every time the god Barah was worshipped. If some day there was delay or inconsistencies in performing the worship then the "Dahine Sankha" produced sound at awkward times, and the saint considered that something bad will happen. He thought that this sound at awkward times from the "Dahine Sankha" was a sign of bad omen. Because of this the saint was very punctual and sincere in worshipping the god Barah to make sure that nothing bad would happen. The time passed by with no hindrances and the saint and his wife lived happily.
Since the Dhaine Sankha was very special and valuable, two crooks were waiting for a chance to rob that extraordinary shell. The villagers of that village had great respect for the saint and he was the person who concluded the religious rituals in the village. In every religious ceremony the villagers invited the sage. But in spite of the calls from the villagers, he was always punctual with the deeds to his deity every morning and he returned to the temple in the evening for worship.
Once in the village a grand "Yagya" was organized and as usual the saint was also invited. The saint after performing his daily offerings to the god Barah went to the village to solicit the invitation. Here the crooks got the long awaited chance to get the extraordinary shell. They came to the temple and said to the saint's wife, "The saint forgot to carry the "Dahine Sankha" with him and he has asked us to bring it for him." Hearing this, the wife started to ponder, because the saint never carried the "Dahine Sankha" along with him. But again she thought, as the "Yagya" is a grand one in the village, he may require this and without any doubt she gave the shell to the two crooks. So, the crooks after succeeding in their trick disappeared from the village.
Evening came and the saint returned and started preparing for worship. But he was unable to find the "Dahine Sankha". He inquired from his wife about the shell and asked if it had been misplaced. The wife told him the whole story. After this the saint had no doubt in his mind that his most valuable and indispensable possession was lost. From then onwards the saint remained upset. Now he was sure that something really bad would happen. Because of his sorrow he stopped eating and drinking, and as a result of this, after 21 days, the saint left for the heavenly abode. Because of the sad demise of her husband the wife also did the same thing as the saint and as a result of this she met with the same fate.
The god Barah was really upset with the way his dearest worshipper was made to commit suicide. Also the area around the pond started getting dirty because of the village waste. He thought of leaving this insane area and went roaming around in search of a better and cleaner place. In order not to reveal his identity he changed himself to a saint and came towards mainland “Pokhara”. He liked this place and thought to build his temple and the lake there itself.
One day he was roaming around in the village and it started getting dark. He went to a few houses in search of shelter but to his surprise no one offered him a place to lie down. He was very upset with the behavior of the villagers. But in that village there was a kind old lady who offered him the shelter. Though the lady was alone and poor she had in her the good qualities of helping others. That day also she thought that one must not turn back a saint who is at your doorsteps during the evening hours and she gave a Roti (chapatti) made of millet to the saint. After having this generous meal he prepared to sleep outside in the "verandah" as the lady was alone. While preparing his bed the saint said to the old lady, “Old lady, in this village there is no respect for people and there is no importance of ethics and religion. Now this whole village will be destroyed. Tomorrow when the 10th part of the day is over the stream of this village will change to a Lake. The whole village will be under water by tomorrow evening. So, inform all the villagers about this and move to another place with peoples who respect and obey you." After this the saint went to sleep and the old lady went inside.
The next morning the old lady came out of the room and was surprised that the saint had already left. When she was sweeping, what she found was really amazing. There was aRoti of the same size, which the previous night she had given the saint to eat. But this was not of millet anymore. It was of pure gold and the lady was sure that this was a result of the spiritual touch by the saint to that millet Roti. She concluded that this saint was not a normal one and what he said was destined to happen. She moved here and there in the village informing of the calamity the saint had forecasted. Everyone in the village ignored the lady and some also mocked saying she had gone mad in her old age. But the lady had faith in what the saint had said. She packed her belongings and shifted to another place. And as said by the saint the water level started rising and in no time the whole village was under water. The majority of the villagers and the animals were drowned in the water. Only a few survived.
In this way the whole village was filled with water with a small mound in the middle, where the god Barah made the temple there for living. After this many saints and sage sprinkled in around this mound the pure water and sands of many pilgrimage places. After this there is a religious belief that a dip in Phewa's water is equal to taking a bathe in all pilgrimage and a visit to this temple will lead your way to eternity with Mukti and Moksha.
Near the temple of the god Barah there lived a big fish with a horn in its nose. It used to move with the god Barah. One day a fisherman killed that fish. The god Barah, after the killing of the fish which was an incarnation of him, was unable to control his anger and cursed the fisherman. He cursed, "Just like I have been unable to live in a specific place for long, you will also face this same reality and so will your coming generations." Because of this curse it is believed that the dwelling place for fishermen is not fixed and it keep changing frequently. Because one of his incarnations had been killed, the god Barah didn’t want to live in this place. He asked his daughter, Barahi to look after the temple and accept all the offerings on his behalf, and started his journey all around the world. From then the god Barah does not live in that temple, instead his daughter goddess Barahi lives there and she is worshipped. Whenever there are some important festivals (especially in Baishakh Purnima) it is said that a fish with a horn in its nose appears around the temple, and it is thought of as incarnation of the god Barah.
(Similar scripts can be found written in Nepali. This legend should not be taken as plagiarism. This is compiled after series of discussions with elderly people in and around Pokhara, and consulting experts in Nepali Folklore.)
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