Pushkar, Hindu Pilgrimage in India

Pushkar, Hindu Pilgrimage in India

PUSHKAR FACTS & FIGURES

Location of Pushkar : Rajasthan, India
Best time to Visit : October to March
Significance : Pushkar Ghat, Pushkar Houses The Only Brahma Temple , Pushkar Lake.

The well-known and marked with largest participation of all the festivals of Rajasthan, Pushkar is an important pilgrimage as well as the venue of a mammoth cattle fair. Bazaars, auctions, music and sports are highlight of this event.

Historically, Pushkar always had great strategic importance and was sacked by Mahumud of Ghazni on one of his periodic forays from Afghanistan. Later it became a favorite residence of the great Moghula. One of the first contacts between the Moghula and the British occurred in Pushkar when Sir Thomas Roe met with Jahangir here in 1616. The city was subsequently taken by the Scindias and, in 1818, it was handed over to the British, becoming one of the few places in Rajasthan controlled directly by British rather than being part of a princely state.

Prominent Pilgrimage Attractions of Pushkar

Pushkar Ghats

Numerous ghats run down the lake and the pilgrims are bathing in the lake's Holi waters. Photography is prohibited.If you wish to join them, do it with respect - remove your shoes and do not smoke.

Brahma Temple

Brahma temple is the temple situated at Pushkar in Rajasthan in India. The temple is dedicated to Lord Brahama and is said to be the only existing temple dedicated to Lord Brahama in India. This temple, built with marble, is decorated with silver coins, and there is a silver turtle on the floor of the temple

Varaha Temple

Varaha is the third avatar of Vishnu, in the form of a boar, who appeared in order to defeat Hiranyaksha, a demon who had taken the Earth (prthivi) and carried it to the bottom of what is described as the cosmic ocean in the story. Varaha carried the Earth out of the ocean between his tusks and restored it to its place in the universe.

Gavitri & Savitri Temple

The temple is dedicated to Savitri, the wife of Lord Brahma and located on the top of the Ratnagiri Hill. According to the legends when Lord Brahma performed a Yagna (holy fire devoted to gods) along with Gayatri, a local milkmaid, furious Savitri cursed her husband that he would never be worshipped anywhere except in Pushkar and that too only once a year. Savitri left for the Ratnagiri Hill after cursing her husband and immolated herself there. There is beautiful statue of Goddess Savitri inside the temple.

Pushkar Lake

The pious Pushkar Lake, believed to have been created by the falling of lotus from the hand of Lord Brahma. It is considered to be as old as the creation. The lake is considered as one of the most sacred spots, and believed that one dip in the waters of lake on Kartika Poornima is equivalent to performing yagnas for several hundred years. It is surrounded by hills on three sides and desert on the other side.

How to Reach Pushkar

• Air: The nearest airport from Pushkar is Jaipur.

• Rail: Pushkar is 11 km from main Ajmer bus stand.

• Road: The nearest railway station for Pus