Commended with the sobriquet ‘Tirth Raj’ which means ‘the King of all the pilgrimage destinations’ and eulogized as one of the oldest existing cities of the country, Pushkar is a conurbation highly aggrandized by every Hindu as the abode of Lord Brahma. Even the most auspicious Char Dham Pilgrimage of India is not deemed complete without taking a holy dip in the sanctified waters of the Pushkar Lake. Cuddled in the midst of the rugged Aravalli mountain ranges along the banks of the Pushkar Lake, this temple town is located about 14 kilometers to the northwest of Ajmer in the state of Rajasthan. Referred to by the Ramayana and the Mahabharata as the ‘Adi Tirth’, Pushkar is accredited as one of the very few sites on the earth where Lord Brahma; the Creator God is worshipped.

The term ‘Pushkar’ finds its genesis in the Sanskrit lingo where it means ‘a blue lotus flower’. As the legend goes, when Lord Brahma killed a demon named ‘Vajra Nabha’ with his lotus weapon, a lotus petal fell on the earth and Pushkar was forged. Subsequently Lord Brahma performed a sacrificial ‘Yagna’ at this place. Acknowledged far and wide for its religious significance what multiplies the renown of Pushkar is its Pushkar Fair, one of the biggest cattle fairs in the world. Pushkar; the supreme composite of mythology, religion, history, culture and Rajasthani ethnicity is a unique herald of a hardcore ‘Indian Experience’. Combined with stunning majesty of desert, multicolored and lively culture and sincere religious devotion, Pushkar; the blessed domicile of all the Hindu deities is indeed a prime destination for the devotees as well as enthusiastic tourists.

The roots of Pushkar; one of the primordial habitations of India are associated with the Hindu Creator God; Lord Brahma. Predicated to be established by Lord Brahma Himself, the authentic dates of the origin of Pushkar are yet in incognito. It is believed that Pushkar was created by a petal of lotus flower fallen from the hands of Lord Brahma. Later, Lord Brahma performed a Yagna at this place and also undertook a severe ‘Tapas’ for 60,000 years to appease Lord Vishnu. As mentioned in the Vaman Purana, Prahlada had visited the ‘Pushkarayana’. Whereas, according to Ramayana, Sage Vishvamitra had performed a penance at Pushkar and the heavenly Apsara Menaka had also come here to bathe in the sacred waters of the Pushkar Lake. The divine town Pushkar also finds reference in the Mahabharata wherein Maharaja Yudhishthara during his travels was supposed to bathe in the Pushkar Lake. The legendary sage Parasara is assumed to have born here.

Taking a shift from mythology to history, the city Pushkar finds citations in the travelogues of a Chinese traveler named ‘Fa-Hien’ dated back to 4th century AD. Moreover, the archaic scripts written during the epoch of Muslim invasions also read the allusion to Pushkar. It is supposed that in 7th century AD ‘Nahadarava’ a Gurjara Pratihara (ruler) of Mandore refurbished the Pushkar Tirtha by restoring the Pushkar Lake and constructing embankments, ghats, palaces and twelve dharmashalas here. A ‘Rajputana Gazetteer’ suggests that Pushkar was administered by the Chechi Gurjars till nearly 700 years ago. Subsequently some of the shrines of Pushkar were held by Kanphati Jogis and presently the priests from Gujar community known as Bhopas hold the custody of the Pushkar Temple.