Freshwater lakes in central India like Pandharabodi Lake (PBL), face escalating environmental pressures due to anthropogenic activities, threatening their ecological conditions. Despite growing concerns, systematic investigations on trace metal pollution in the PBL sediments are so far not done, hindering effective conservation strategies. The present study aims to evaluate temporal distribution, enrichment, and potential eco-environmental risks of 14 trace metals (Al, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, Co, U, V, Rb, Th, and Sc) in the PBL core sediments. A sediment core from the deepest part of the PBL along with 06 soil samples around the lake was collected and analyzed for trace metal concentrations using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique. The metal pollution was assessed using enrichment factor (EF), Index of geo-accumulation (I