Sacred Site of the Mahabharata
Alamva Lake
आलम्ब
Where Garuda seized the elephant and the tortoise
Alamva Lake (A mythic northern lake and grove on Garuda's flight toward the amrita): Where Garuda seized the elephant and the tortoise, located at coordinates 31.90°N, 79.80°E.
Key Facts
| Type | Sacred Site |
|---|---|
| Sanskrit name | आलम्ब |
| Coordinates | 31.90°N, 79.80°E |
| Modern location | A mythic northern lake and grove on Garuda's flight toward the amrita |
| Significance | Where Garuda seized the elephant and the tortoise |
About Alamva Lake
The great lake in the northern wilds to which Kasyapa sent the newborn Garuda when his hunger could not be filled. In its water the brothers Vibhavasu and Supratika, cursed into the shapes of an elephant and a tortoise over a divided inheritance, had been fighting for ages; Garuda took one in each claw and rose over the sacred place called Alamva, whose golden-boughed wish-granting trees shook with fear in the wind of his wings, until a banian offered him a branch that broke beneath his weight.
Why it matters: Where Garuda seized the elephant and the tortoise
Details
- Curse
- Vibhavasu and Supratika, brothers turned to beasts by a quarrel over their father's estate
On the Map
Alamva Lake sits at 31.90°N, 79.80°E, in A mythic northern lake and grove on Garuda's flight toward the amrita.
View on the full map