Pushkar Travel Guide
Pushkar Travel Guide
Pushkar is a town which is situated at 14 km North West from Ajmer at an average elevation of 510 metres (1673 feet), in the state of Rajasthan. It is often called “Tirth Raj” that means the king of pilgrimage sites and it is one of the five sacred dhams (pilgrimage sites for devout Hindus) that has become a popular destination for foreign tourists in recent years. The road to Pushkar winds through the Nag Pahar (Snake Mountain), leading to the ancient lake. According to religious texts this lake is supposed to have appeared miraculously when a lotus flower fell from the hands of Lord Brahma and dropped into this valley.
The two Great Hindu epics of Mahabharat and Ramayana make references to this religious place regarded to be Adi Tiratha.Pushkar is one of the oldest cities of India and this pond -sized lies on the shore of Pushkar Lake.This famous Hindu pilgrimage town is a magical desert-edged place and it boasts temples, though few of them are ancient since many were destroyed by Aurangzeb, a Mogul ruler and subsequently rebuilt. The most famous is the Brahma Temple, said to be the only temple in the world dedicated to this deity. It stands on a high plinth with the Marble steps leading up to it and a silver turtle is set on the floor facing the Sanctum-Sanctorum or Girbha-griha. The sanctuary has silver doors inside a carved marble gateway.Around the turtle the Marble floor is inset with hundreds of silver coins that are engraved with donors names are also embedded in the walls. Small image of the milkmaid Gayatri, flanks the four-faced image of lord Brahma and is called Chaumurti.
The Pushkar lake has 52 ghats where pilgrims descend to the lake to bathe in the sacred waters.The rows of those sacred ghats front a mystically magnetic lake and the hundreds of milky-coloured temples and weather-touched domes sit beneath a shifting, pale grey sky just beside the lake. Pushkar is known as ‘the rose garden of Rajasthan’ because of its fragrant roses whose enchanting essence is exported all over the world. Pushkar is also famous for its annual Pushkar Camel Fair and the cattle fair that is the largest in the world has also made Pushkar internationally famous.This the reason why Pushkar is cited as ‘the land of fairs and festivals.’ The serene and spiritual ambience of Pushkar, the dwindling paths and the vibrant fairs and festivals has made this place extremely attractive.
