Brahma Temple, Pushkar:
Though he may have no other temple
sacred to his mem ory, Brahama seems to have
take full advantage of the only one where
prayers are offered to him. Not only did he
perform a yagya or ritual fire ceremony
here, he also dropped a lotus from his hands
to create the lake where people bathe before
offering him prayers. A silver turtle at the
entrance of the marble temple is a symbol of
his means of transport (the gods had various
animals on which they moved along their
heavenly paths).
Pushkar is best known for its Brahma temple,
though it is by no means the only temple
here, with as many as four hundred temples
lining the banks of the lake. Spires form a
skyline that, when the vesper bells ring,
are worthy of the kingdom of haaven itself.
Though it is visited throughout the year,
Pushkar in November, during the time of its
annual fair, is a colourful mass of people
and celebrations coinciding with the largest
camel fair held in the world.
Eklingji Temple, Udaipur:
The founder of the Mewar dynasty that ruled
from Chittaurgarh, Bappa Rawal had a
miraculous dream in which he prayed before
an image of Shiva which resulted in the
removal of problem that had been troubling
him in his waking hours. He resolved then to
build a temple to Shiva, and so the complex
had its genesis, 24 km north of Udaipur.
Edlingji, this particular manifestation of
Shiva, has ever since been regarded as the
true ruler of the kingdom in whose name the
maharanas governed Mewar, and has been the
tutelary deity of the Sisodia clan.
Eklingji consists of a complex of 108
temples, coinciding with the number of beads
in the rudraksh necklace that sadhus use for
meditation. The temple dedicated to Eklingji
is the tallest of them all, its black stone
idol a representation of the linga with four
faces that have four images in the cardinal
directions of Surya, Brahma, Vishnu and
Rudra. The complex also has a life-size
image of Bappa Rawal, and its numerous
temples have carved images of Ganesh,
Ambamata, Kalika, as well as other
Shivalings, and brackets with images of
celestial nymphs.
Govind Devji Temple, Jaipur:
The family temple for the Kachchwahas of
Jaipur, and open to the public, the idols in
the temple, brought here from Vrindavan, are
believed to have been carved by Vajranath,
one of the freatest sculptors of the time,
and grandson of Krishna. No wonder, the
Krishna image has such a bewitching
countenance.
The temple was consecrated as part of the
City palace complex by Sawai Jai Singh II. A
simple temple, with an open pavilion
surrounded by columns, and with a tiered
courtyard, obeisance and ritual worship at
the temple is deemed high on the scale of
merit. Mounted on a silver throne, and
ornamented with gold jewellery, the idols
are particularly venerated during
janamashatmi, the monsoon celebrations
coinciding with Krishna's birth anniversary.
Shrinathji Temple, Nathdwara:
A Krishna temple with an image carved from a
single block of black marble, Nathdwara has
a history that is only a few centuries ago.
Faced by Aurangzeb's persecution, Goswami
Dev carried this particular idol from
Mathura in a chariot seeking to bring it to
Udaipur. However, a wheel of the chariot got
stuck in the sand and toil as they would,
the people could not pull it out. Seeing it
as an act of divine will, it was decided
that the image of the lord would be
consecrated on the very spot, and so the
temple of Shrinathji came to be.
At the temple, glimpses of the idol are
permitted for short intervals at fixed times
of the day, and it is believed that the
faithful see him in different moods
associated with his life. The curtain cloths
behind the idol have also given rise to one
of the better known are forms of Rajasthan,
its famous cloth paintings or pichwais. The
ruling house of Udaipur has always come to
pray at the temple, and as the head of his
clan, it is not surprising that the maharana
is also popularly known as Shriji among his
people. Nathdwara is 48 km from Udaipur.
Amber's Kali Temple:
A 16th century temple dedicated to the
goddess, it has exquisite silver doors. Also
in Amber are a number of other Shiva
temples.
Bijolia and Menal:
Located on the Kota-Chittaurgarh highway,
these are Shive temples dating back to the
10th century, and have carved images of
Shiva, Parvati and Nandi that are
particularly note worthy for their
craftsmanship.
Galtaji:
Rising sharply from a deep gorge are hills
where the medieval Hanuman temple, popularly
known as Galtaji, has a mass following.
Kaila Devi:
This hilltop timple has a following
throughout Rajasthan, and is 24 km from
Karauli. It becomes a point of pilgrimage in
the months of Chaitra (March-April) and
Ashadha (September-October).
Kolayat:
An ancient pilgrimage spot associated
with the great sage Kapil Muni, it is 50 km
from Bikaner, and has a number of temples
around the ghats of the lake.
Ranthambhor's Ganesh temple:
Famous as a tiger reserve, the fort
within the sanctuary has a Ganesh temple
that has a large following among the people
of Rajasthan. |
