Ajmer, Rajasthan 19 November 2014 :: The holy city of Pushkar is located in the Ajmer district of Rajasthan, India. Pushkar is one of the five sacred dhams or pilgrimage sites for devout Hindus. One of the oldest cities of India. Pushkar lies on the shore of the sacred Pushkar Lake. The sacred waters of the Pushkar lake are considered at par with the waters of the Mansarovar lake situated on way to Mount Kailash the abode of Shiva. The date of actual origin of Pushkar is unknown, but legend associates Lord Brahma with its creation. Pushkar is also referred to as “Tirtha- Guru” – the Guru of pilgrimage sites or “Tirtha-Raj “ the king of all pilgrimage sites. Pushkar clearly qualifies for this title as it meets all criteria of the 4 categories of Hindu pilgrimages, “ The Deva –Tirtha”, “Asura-Tirtha”, “Arsha Tirtha” and “Manushya-Tirtha” It is said that Brahma performed penance here for 60,000 years Pushkar has many temples.
Most of the temples are not very old, since many were destroyed during Muslim conquests of the area. Many of these destroyed temples were re-built. The most famous among all is the Brahma Temple. Today Just a few temples dedicated to Lord Brahma exist . Temples dedicated to Brahma are also located, Bithoor in Uttar Pradesh , Asotra near Balotra in Barmer district of Rajasthan .
The Pushkar fair occurs every year in the Hindu month of kartik (October /November).
This year the Pushkar Fair or the Pushkar Mela was held between 30th Oct – 06th November 2014. The first Sikh Guru, Guru Nanak is believed to have bathed in the sacred waters of the Pushkar lake, the Tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh also visited Pushkar in 1705 and a ghat “ Guru Gobind Singh Ghat” is named after him. At Pushkar.
Photographs by Seema Thakur and Arpit Gupta.
