In the later eras when travelers and scholars like Hiuen tsang, Bedia ud- din, Forster etc visited the valley and got acquainted with the existing legends, they were so convinced by the elements in the story, that they in turn compiled similar versions to suit their audiences.

Hiuen Tsang in the Buddhist version writes: “This country was once a dragon lake instead of Sati Sara.”
Muslim chroniclers have given their own version, in which Bedia ud-din begins with the creation and brings Adam from Sarandip where all Muslim authorities place him after the fall of Cashmere. Another Muslim version of the same story as recorded in the Wakiat –I-Kashmir, is almost similar to the version recorded in Nilamata. European travelers and chroniclers have also put in their version, where Solomon is declared to have dried the waters of Kashmir.

Despite the variances, the format of the legend has remained the same. It’s not really possible to pinpoint what led to the formation of such a legend. In his book Mohini Qasba Raina writes:  “Is it the basin-like shape of the valley surrounded by high mountains? Or did this phenomenon –draining of the lake waters –occur due to some natural activity, which was observed by the aboriginal inhabitants of the valley and that has come down the ages, through word to mouth. Or is it a distant possibility that these inhabitants had the geological conception of the lake formation and its desiccation.