Nainital was discovered by P.
Barron, an European sugar merchant and an enthusiastic hunter from Rosa,
near Shahjahanpur. He had no sooner caught a glimpse of the lake in its
sylvan setting than he realized its potential as a hill resort and went
full steam a colonizing it. Moved by the beauty of the sparkling lake
he wrote: "It is by far the best site I have witnessed in the course of a
1,500 miles trek in the Himalayas".
Nainital history figures in ancient India too. In the Manas Khand of the Skand Puranas, Nainital Lake is called Tri-Rishi-Sarovar, hinting at the story of three sages (or rishis), Atri, Pulastya and Pulaha,
who, upon finding no water in Nainital, dug a large hole at the
location of the present day lake (sarovar = lake) and filled it with
water from the holy lake Manasarovar in Tibet. According to lore, a dip
in Naini Lake, “the lesser Manasarovar,” earns merit equal to a dip in
the great lake.
It is also believed that The Naini Lake
is one of the 64 Shakti Peeths, Sati’s eyes (or Nain) fell, came to be
called Nain-tal or lake of the eye. The goddess Shakti is worshipped at
the Naina Devi Temple on the north shore of the present day lake
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