Pushkar lake
Pushkar Lake or Pushkar Sarovar is located in the town of Pushkar near Ajmer city in Ajmer district of the Rajasthan state of western India. Pushkar Lake is a sacred lake for the Hindus. The Hindu scriptures describe it as "Tirtha-Guru"– the perceptor of pilgrimage sites related to a water-body and relate it to the mythology of Brahma, the creator-god in Hinduism, whose most prominent temple stands in Pushkar. The Pushkar Lake finds mention on coins as early as the 4th century BC.
Pushkar Lake is surrounded by 52 bathing ghats (a series of steps leading to the lake), where pilgrims throng in large numbers to take a sacred bath, especially around Kartik Poornima (October–November) when the Pushkar Fair is held. A dip in the sacred lake is believed to cleanse sins and cure skin diseases. Over 500 Hindu temples are situated around the lake precincts.
Tourism, deforestation and pollution in the surroundings have taken a heavy toll on the lake, adversely affecting its water quality, reducing the water levels and destroying the fish population. As part of conservation measures, the government is undertaking de-silting, de-weeding, water treatment, and afforestation as well as mass awareness programme.
Geography
Pushkar Lake around which the Pushkar town has developed is in the Ajmer district in the state of Rajasthan, India amidst the Aravalli range of hills. The mountain range known as Nag Parbat ("snake mountain") separates the lake from the city of Ajmer. The valley is formed between the two parallel ranges of the Aravalli hills (in elevation range of 650–856 metres (2,133–2,808 ft) running south-west to north-east. Situated at 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) northwest from Ajmer, the artificial Pushkar Lake created by building a dam is surrounded by deserts and hills on all three sides. The lake is categorized as a "Sacred Lake" under the list of "Classification of Lakes in India".
The soil and topography in the catchment are predominantly sandy with very low water retention capacity. The land use pattern in the Pushkar valley that drains into the lake comprises 30% of the area under shifting sand dunes, 30% under hills (degraded and barren) and streams and 40% of the area is agricultural.
Climate
The region experiences semi-arid climatic conditions with dry and hot summers and cool winters. The summer months of May and June are the hottest, with a maximum temperature of around 45 °C (113 °F). During the winter months, the maximum mean temperature is in the range of 25–10 °C (77–50 °F).[2] Rain mainly occurs during a short spell of two months during July and August. The recorded average rainfall is in the range of 400–600 millimetres (16–24 in). Rainfall is also recorded some times during winter months of January and February.
From April to September, strong winds blowing in the southwest to northeast direction add to the formation of sand dunes.
Hydrology
Foot bridge of arches to cross the inlet channel to the lake during parikrama of ghats and temples on ghats
The Pushkar Lake drains a catchment of the Aravalli hills covering an area of 22 square kilometres (8.5 sq mi). The lake has a water surface area of 22 hectares (54 acres). It is a perennial lake sourced by the monsoon rainfall over the catchment. The depth of water in the lake varies from season to season from 8–10 metres (26–33 ft). The total storage capacity of the lake is 0.79 million cubic metres (1.03 million cu yd). As the lake periphery is encircled by 52 ghats of various sizes, the surface water flow from the catchment into the lake is channeled through a series of arches under a footbridge, 110 metres (360 ft) long at the southern end. The footbridge facilitates the parikrama (circumambulation) that is performed by pilgrims around the lake covering all the 52 ghats (covers an area of 2 hectares (4.9 acres)).
Flora and fauna
Pushkar Lake, when full, is rich in fish and other aquatic life. The depth of the lake has substantially shrunk – to less than 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) from a maximum of 9 metres (30 ft) – resulting in the death of large fish weighing 5–20 kilograms (11–44 lb), caused due to the viscous water and the lack of oxygen for the fish to survive. Since the region where the lake and its valley is situated is arid, the flora and fauna recorded relate to desert plants, including cactus and thorny bushes, as well as desert animals like camels and cattle. Man-eating crocodiles used to be a menace in the Puskhar Lake, resulting in the deaths of people. Pilgrims were aware of this fact, yet many considered it lucky to be eaten by crocodiles. The crocodiles were caught with nets by the British and shifted to a nearby reservoir.
History
Pushkar Lake's history dates back to the 4th century BC. Numismatics, in the form of punched Greek and Kushan coins date the lake back to this time. Inscriptions found at Sanchi attest to the lake's existence to the 2nd century BC. This suggests Pushkar Lake was already pilgrimage site, even if it did not lie on the trade route.
In the fifth century AD, Jin Chinese Buddhist monk and traveller Fa Xian made reference to the number of visitors to Pushkar Lake.
A story tells of a 9th-century Gurjara king, Nahar Rao Pratihar of Mandore, chasing a white boar to the lakeshore on a hunting expedition. In order to quench his thirst, he dipped his hand into the lake and was astonished to see the Leukoderma marks on his hand had disappeared. Impressed with the sacred curative nature of the lake, he got the lake restored to its glory. After discovering the curative properties of the lake, people have since visited to immerse in its waters and hope to be healed of skin problems.
The creation of Pushkar Lake, as an artificial lake, is also credited to the 12th century when a dam was built across the headwaters of the Luni River. The 10th Sikh guru, Guru Govind Singh (1666–1708), is said to have recited the Sikh sacred text Guru Granth Sahib on the banks of the lake.
During the Mughal rule, there was a short break in the lake's importance due to the levy of a pilgrim tax and a ban on religious processions. In 1615–16, the Mughal Emperor Jahangir (1569–1627) built his hunting lodge (now in total ruins) on the shores of Pushkar Lake to celebrate his victory over the local Rajput Rana (king). He came to the lodge 16 times for hunting during his stay in Ajmer, about 23 kilometres (14 mi) from Pushkar. This act violated the local taboo on killing any animals in the precincts of the sacred lake. He also committed sacrilege by breaking an image of Varaha, the boar Avatar of the god Vishnu, as it resembled a pig and thus was seen ans offensive to Islamic sensibilities. Jahangir's grandson, Emperor Aurangzeb (1618–1707), later destroyed and desecrated several temples, which were later rebuilt. However, during the rule of Jahangir's father, Emperor Akbar (1542–1605), there was a revival of not only the lake but also the Ajmer's Dargah dedicated to Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti, of whom Akbar was a devotee.
The Rajput rulers of Amber, Bundi, Bikaner and Jaisalmer made great efforts to restore the importance of the lake and its surrounding temples. Credits given for modern additions to the building of ghats and the renovation/construction of temples go to Maharaja Man Singh I of Amber for the Raj Ghat and Man temple; Maha Rana Pratap for the Varaha temple; Daulat Rao Scindia for Kot Tirth Ghat, the Marathas-Anaji Scindia to the Koteshwar Mahadev temple and Govind Rao, the Maratha governor of Ajmer for Shiva Ghat; to the British Raj for combining the religious pilgrimage with a cattle fair to generate revenues to improving the lake and its surroundings; and gifting of the Jaipur Ghat and the Main Palace on the ghat in 1956 by the Maharaja of Jaipur.
Cultural attractions
Pushkar Lake and its precincts offer a plethora of monuments of national importance, such as the Pushkar city, the Brahma temple at Pushkar and the ghats on the periphery of the lakes. The lake is the central divine theme for the popularity of all the monuments seen in the town and the fairs held here.
Pushkar city
Pushkar city, with a population of 14,791 at the 2001 census, is one of the oldest cities in India. The city lies on the shore of Pushkar Lake. The date of its actual origin is not known, but legend associates Brahma with its creation concurrent with the lake; Brahma is said to have performed penance here for a darshan (sight) of god Vishnu. Thus, its uniqueness lies in the fact of its historic-religious-cultural background, and as a result it attracts approximately 100,000 visitors every month, apart from the very large congregation that occurs during the annual Pushkar Fair. However, Pushkar Lake is central to its sustenance as a religious centre. The tourist arrivals during 2005 were reported to be about 16.12 million (said to be the maximum among all tourist attractions in Rajasthan), out of which the foreign tourists were about 63,000.
Temples
Further information: Brahma temple at Pushkar
Apart from the sacred Lake, Pushkar is said to have over 500 temples (80 are large and the rest are small); of these many old temples were destroyed or desecrated by Muslim depredations during Aurangzeb's rule (1658–1707) but were re-built subsequently. The most important of these is the Brahma temple. Though the current structure dates to the 14th century, the original temple is believed to be 2000 years old. Pushkar is often described in the scriptures as the only Brahma temple in the world, owing to the curse of Savitri, but also as the "King of the sacred places of the Hindus". Although now the Pushkar temple does not remain the only Brahma temple, it is still one of very few existing temples dedicated to Brahma in India as well as the most prominent. Hindu pilgrims, including holy men and sages visit this temple after taking a ceremonial sacred bath in the Pushkar Lake. Other notable temples around the lake include Varaha temple – dedicated to Varaha (the boar incarnation of god Vishnu), Savitri temple and Gayatri temple, dedicated to the consorts of Brahma.
Ghats
Ghats (stone steps laid on a gradual bank slope to descend to the lake edge) at Pushkar are integral to the lake. Ghats are also used for sacred bathing and rites, such as ancestor worship. Out of 52 ghats used by pilgrims to take a holy bath in the lake, ten important ghats on the periphery of the lake, which have other contiguous ghats adjoining them, have also been declared as 'Monuments of National Importance'. These ghats are: the Varaha Ghat, the Dadhich Ghat, Saptarishi Ghats, Gwalior Ghat, Kota Ghat, Gau ghat, Yag Ghat, Jaipur Ghat, Karni Ghat and Gangaur Ghat. These ghats, as well as the sacred Pushkar Lake (which is also a declared heritage monument), have been refurbished over the centuries by the Royal families of Rajasthan and by the Maratha kings. These are now undergoing further works as part of a heritage improvement programme launched with funds provided by the Government of Rajasthan and several departments of the Government of India. There are strict codes to be followed while taking a bath in the ghats, such as removing shoes away from the ghats and avoiding the passing of unwarranted comments about Hindu religious beliefs by non-Hindus, since the ghats and the temples are linked to the divine lake. The sacred water of the lake is said to be curative of many skin diseases. Local belief is that water around each ghat has a special curative power. While many ghats have been named after the Rajas who built them, some ghats have particular importance. Varaha ghat is so named since Vishnu appeared here in his incarnation of a boar (Varaha). Brahma Ghat is so named since Brahma bathed here. The Gau Ghat was renamed as Gandhi Ghat after Mahatma Gandhi's ashes were immersed at this ghat. Nart Singh Ghat, close to Varaha Ghat, has a stuffed crocodile on display.
Gallery
Map ( Click on the photo, the map will open )
