Pushkara

   Pushkara (Blue Lotus) is the site of the only large shrine to the god BRAHMA, the creator god. (A smaller shrine to Brahma exists at Itar on the border of Raja-sthan and Gujarat). It is located at a blue lotus pond near Ajmer in Rajasthan in western India. The site was referred to in the MAHABHARATA as a place for the worship of Brahma; thus, it has probably been a pilgrimage site for nearly 2,000 years.

   Some sources consider Pushkara a premier pilgrimage place, visiting which is equal to visit-ing all other pilgrimage sites. The current shrine appears to have been built in the 1970s. It is known today for its huge annual camel festival, held on the full Moon in the month of Karttika (October–November). Thousands of camels are taken to the site to be consecrated, displayed, and raced.

   Further reading: Tarapada Bhattacharya, The Cult of Brahma (Varanasi: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 1969); C. Cesary, Indian Gods, Sages and Cities (Delhi: Mittal, 1987); Diwan Bahadur Har Bilas and P. Seshadri, Ajmer: Historical and Descriptive (Ajmer: Fine Art Printing Press, 1941); Trilok Chandra Miu-puria, Erwan Shrine and Brahma Worship in Thailand: With Reference to India and Nepal (Bangkok: Techpress Service, 1987).