Manasbal lake lies about 12 miles northwest of Srinagar and on the north side of Jhelam. It is mentioned in the Nilamata Purana as Manasaras. On the bund of the lake, a small temple is built, which generally remains submerged in the water. Its moulding details can be seen only when the water level recedes. The temple proper is situated southeast of the lake and is fairly intact.
The temple is built in two blocks. Its shikhara is intact, just like the ones at Pandrethan and Payar. On the entrance of the temple is a figure of Lakulisa, beside Ganesha and Gandharvas. It is a single-chambered temple. Externally, it is square and circular internally. The main entrance of the temple is on the west. The walls of the sanctum are plain except for the pilasters on the corner which are decorated with lotus and flower designs. The brackets of the pillar are lentil-shaped and are decorated with lotus petals and occur on all sides except on the main entrance.
The shikhara of the temple is pyramidal and is made into two parts. The lower part of the shikhara is built within the block of the sanctum and separated by a recessed course of the upper portion. On both sides of the entrance, there are fluted pilasters which project 0.25 m. Over these pilasters rests a trefoiled arch summoned by a pediment. In the trefoiled portion, a chaturmukhi Ganesha and Gandharva figures are shown.
The sanctum is circular internally and possibly in the centre of the sanctum a Shivalinga must have been enshrined which is now missing.
The temple is very interesting from the point of view that it also depicts the tradition of Pandrethan and Payar temples. The figure of Lakulisa here is shown seated on a pedestal in dhyanamudra under a mango tree. The left-hand holds a staff and the right hand is damaged. The facial expression of the deity has eroded due to weathering. The figure of Ganesha is shown seated in lalitasan. Its left-hand holds an axe and the right hand is in abhaya-mudra. The Gandharva figures are shown holding a flower garland on either side of the Lakulisa figure1.
1 R.C Agrawal, Kashmir and its Monumental Glory (New Delhi: Aryan Books International, 1998), 162-163.