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Pushkar City Guide |
Hist orically, 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 ofthe great Moghula. One of the first contacts between the Moghula and the British.
Brahma Templeurred 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.
SAVITRI TEMPLE:
The one-hour trek up to the hilltop Savitri Temple overlooking the lake is best made early in the morning; the view is magical.
VARAH TEMPLE:
Originally built in the 12th century, Varah Temple was, like many others, destroyed by the bigoted Emperor Aurangzeb (who, it is said , was particularly upset by the huge idol here of Varah, the god with the body of a man and the head of the boar.) Reconstructed BY RajaSawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur in 1727, the temple has an interesting and richly ornamented image house.
MAHADEVA TEMPLE:
Beautiful temple built in the 19th century, it was described by a British traveler of the time as "by far the most remarkable, for the elegance of its structure and the nature of its ornaments, of all the temples Pushkar boasts of." It is also noteworthy for its white marble Mahadeva image, with its five faces (and its traditional tufts of hair).
RAMAVAIKUNTH TEMPLE:One of Pushkar's largest and most intricate temples, the Ramavaikunth Temple was built in the 1920's and has beautifully sculpted images of no less than 361 different deities. The orn ate outer gopuram over the entrance is said to have been built by a team of masons specially brought here from south India.
Lake and its many Ghats:
Many Ghats run down to the Holy Lake where pilgrims are constantly bathing in the holy waters. Joining people at the ghats has to be with some respect for their culture and privacy. And for this reason, removing shoes before approaching the ghats, no smoking and restraining from photographing bathing people is well avoided. The Pilgrims here are sensitive about comments by non-Hindus. The famed waters of the Pushkar lake wash away the sins of a lifetime.
The mystical water is also believed to cure skin diseases, making Pushkar the Lourdes of the East. |
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