Pushkar

Pushkar, in Ajmer district of Rajasthan, is one of the oldest surviving towns in India and a major Hindu pilgrimage centre. According to legend, Lord Brahma dropped a lotus flower on the desert ground; where it fell, a lake sprang up and the town of Pushkar (“lotus” in Sanskrit) arose. Ancient coins and textual references show Pushkar and its lake were sacred sites at least by the 4th century BCE. Hindu scriptures call Pushkar Lake Tirtha-raj, the “king of pilgrimages,” and say no pilgrimage is complete without a bath here. Over time, more than 50 ghats and hundreds of temples grew around the lake. Pushkar is especially renowned for the Jagatpita Brahma Temple, one of the very few major temples dedicated to Brahma, whose present structure largely dates to about the 14th century, though the sanctity of the site is far older. Under Rajput and later Mughal and British influence, Pushkar remained a religious town linked with nearby Ajmer. Its annual Pushkar Fair, combining cattle trading with Kartik Purnima rituals, evolved into one of India’s best-known cultural events, keeping the desert town globally famous today.