Rakshas Tal

The sister lake, Rakshas Tal, is at a height of 4515 m. It is divided from Manas by a narrow isthmus. Here, in a moment of ecstasy, Ravana the ruler of Lanka stood on one foot, performed tapasya and invoked Lord Shiva's blessings. The Tibetans refer to this lake as Hanag Tso or the demon lake. The waters of this lake are never drunk. They consider it as inauspicious.

Manasarovar and Rakshas Tal are associated with the sun and the moon, powerful symbol of tantric Buddhism. The symbol of the sun signifies the ultimate divine emptiness or power. The noon reflects relative emptiness. For bodhichitta (enlightened mind) which doesn't differentiate between one sentient being (person) from the other this signifies the love and compassion of the highest order. The association of the Manasarovar with sun and Rakshas Tal with moon represents the shapes of the respective lakes - Manasarovar being similar to the full orbit of the sun while Rakshas Tal closely resembles a half moon.