Pushkar

                                                                     PUSHKAR

India being a culturally diverse country is filled with various traditions, races and religions. It is defined by its rituals, cuisines, festivals, tales etc. It has maintained its character and originality in spite of being subjected to a chain of raids and extracting the best of exterior influence. Western countries today are turning to India for spiritual succour and harmony. There are a number of holy cities in the country and when one talks of “holy”, Pushkar cannot be missed being one of the oldest cities of India. Pushkar is a small town in the state of Rajasthan. It falls in the Ajmer district and happens to be a part of one of the five holy locations for pious Hindus. 

        Pushkar is situated on the shore of the Pushkar Lake. It is difficult to ascertain the time of its origin but it is known to have been created by Lord Brahma (Lord of creation and one of the Trimurti).As per the tale, Lord Brahma found this place appropriate to perform a yagna (sacrifice) and also found out that Vajranash, a demon, was killing people in the place. Brahma then chanted a hymn on a lotus flower and killed Vajranash. While this was happening, fragments of the lotus fell on three places which were called Jyaistha, Madhya and Kanistha. These three places marked the land of Pushkar (which means “blue lotus” in Sanskrit). When Brahma started the sacrifice, the absence of his consort Savitri led him to marry another girl Gayatri (a girl from the Gurjar community) so that she could offer oblations during the sacrifice. This infuriated Savitri and she cursed Lord Brahma saying that he can only be worshipped at Pushkar. That is the reason why Pushkar is the only place having a Brahma temple. Myths also mention that Vishvamitra (one of the most respected sages of India) performed tapa and Maneka (the most beautiful apsara according to Hindu mythology) came down to earth to bathe in the holy waters of Pushkar. It is therefore believed that bathing in the Lakes of Pushkar would help one reach salvation.

    Pushkar has always been one of the main attractions for tourists for various reasons like the temples, scenery around the temple and lake, ethnic shopping, food, music, tattooing and also to consume drugs (Pushkar is known to be one of the drug hubs of India).The transition from real sages to dhongi ( fake) sages is worth knowing about too. Pushkar Mela is famous as devotees of Lord Brahma come together and worship him and it is also the time when cultural activities of Rajasthan take place along with trade of camels and other animals. There is a surprising number of tales and myths that Pushkar carries with it attracting people from across the globe to visit the place to uncover them.

Rachaita Vyas