Pushkar city

Pushkar Is A Town In The Ajmer District In The Indian State Of Rajasthan. It Is Situated 14 Km (8.7 Mi) Northwest Of Ajmer At An Average Elevation Of 510 M (1,670 Ft) And Is One Of The Five Sacred Dhams (Pilgrimage Site) For Devout Hindus. According To Hindu Mythology, The Pond At The Katas Raj Temple Near Choa Saidan Shah In Chakwal District Of Pakistan Has A Mythical Association With Lord Shiva, It Was Formed By The Tears Of Lord Shiva Which He Is Believed To Have Shed After The Death Of His Wife, Satti. The Story Goes That When Satti Died, Lord Shiva Cried So Much And For So Long, That His Tears Created Two Holy Ponds -- One At Pushkara In Ajmer In India And The Other At Ketaksha, Which Literally Means Raining Eyes, In Sanskrit. It Is From This Name That The Word Katas Is Derived. It Is Often Called "Tirth Raj" - The King Of Pilgrimage Sites - And Has In Recent Years Become A Popular Destination For Foreign Tourists.

Pushkar Is One Of The Oldest Existing Cities Of India. It Lies On The Shore Of Pushkar Lake. The Date Of Its Actual Origin Is Not Known, But Legend Associates Lord Brahma With Its Creation. Pushkar Has Many Temples. Most Of The Temples Are Not Very Old Because Many Temples Were Destroyed During Muslim Conquests In The Area.[Citation Needed] Subsequently, The Destroyed Temples Were Rebuilt. The Most Famous Among All Is The Brahma Temple Built During The 14th Century CE. Very Few Temples To Lord Brahma Exist Anywhere In The World. Other Temples Of Brahma Include Bithoor In Uttar Pradesh, India, Village Asotra Near Balotra City Of Barmer District In Rajasthan, Uttamar Kovil (One Of The Divya Desams) Near Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, Mother Temple Of Besakih In Bali, Indonesia, And Prambanan In Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The Pushkar Lake Has 52 Ghats Where Pilgrims Descend To The Lake To Bathe In The Sacred Waters.

Important places to visit

Brahma Temple
Although the city of Pushkar has 400 odd temples, the Brahma Temple is the most famous of them. Brahma is one of the Hindu trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswar - the three gods representing creation, sustenance and destruction. According to the myths, Brahma is the god of creation of this earth. The four heads symbolizes His presence everywhere. The most remarkable thing about the Brahma temple is that it is the only one temple on earth dedicated to Lord Brahma. Pushkar literally means a pond created by flowers. Legends have it that Lord Brahma, when wanted to perform a yagna, dropped a lotus to determine the place on earth. That is how Pushkar was created.

Savitri Temple
Savitri Temple in one of the most renowned one out of 400 temples in Pushkar. According to the Hindu mythology Savitri is the first wife of Lord Brahma. When He was all set to start a Yagna on earth in the place of Pushkar (determined by drooping a lotus flower), Savitri's presence was the prerequisite. But She had kept Him waiting. Lord Brahma, irritated at this, married Gayatri the milkmaid to start the yagna on the most auspicious moment. Infuriated Savitri cursed that Lord Brahma would not be worshipped anywhere else but Pushkar. Hence you find the only temple dedicated to Lord Brahma only in Pushkar.

Varah Temple
Varah Temple in Pushkar is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. One of the various incarnations of Lord Vishnu was that of Varah (boar). The temple worships the Varah form of Lord Vishnu. You would find ample references of Vishnu in the Hindu myths and legends. In several incarnations which numbers up to as many as 10, Vishnu has appeared on the earth and saved the earth from the hand of the evil. The temple has a significant historical past. Mughal emperor Aurangzeb destroyed much of the temple because he could not stand with the rather bizarre idol of human body with the head of a boar, housed in the temple. Later Sawai Jai Singh II, the Maharajah of Jaipur reconstructed the temple. Lord Vishnu is seen as one of the Hindu trinity - Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswar. Vishnu represents the Sustenance of creation while other two gods represents Creation and Destruction.

Mahadeva Temple
Mahadeva Temple in Pushkar is dedicated to Lord Mahadeva. The god is one of the Hindu Trinity that represents Creation, Sustenance and Destruction. According to the Hindu Puranas, Lord Mahadeva is the god of destruction. There are several myths and legends centering round Lord Mahadeva. Ash-smeared and clad in tiger Skin, He holds a Trishul in his hand and a bull is his pet. According to the legends, the river Ganges has been created from His locks of hair.

Pushkar Lake
Hindu pilgrims come for the holy dip in Pushkar Lake, which is considered most on Kartik Poornima.The highlight of the fair is the Camel Fair, the trading of camels. There are many ghats, which run down to the Holy Pushkar Lake whose waters are famed to wash the sins of a lifetime.