March 4, Sunday
There are three main deities which form the Hindu Trinity: Brahma is the creator (depicted as either 1 head with 4 faces or with 4 heads), Vishnu is the preserver (the embodiment of mercy and goodness, depicted as having blue skin and he has 4 arms, his wife is Lakshmi) and Shiva is the destroyer (self controlled, destruction opens the path to reincarnation, depicted in many forms, sometimes having 4 arms) The story goes that ____ was married and at some point decided to marry a second wife. Since this is not done in the Hindu religion, wife number 1 was very angry and she only agreed that her husband could take a second wife under the following conditions: 1) He would agree to only have 1 temple dedicated to him (and it is located in Pushkar) and 2) No religious ceremonies would be performed in his temple, only in the sacred Pushkar lake.
“Although the present temple structure dates to the 14th century, the temple is believed to be 2000 years old. The temple is mainly built of marble and stone stabs. The temple sanctum sanctorum holds the central images of Brahma and his second consort Gayatri.” The story goes that Brahma was married to Savitri and at some point decided to take a second wife, Gayatri. Since this is not done in the Hindu religion, wife number 1 was very angry and she cursed Brahma so that he could only be worshiped in Pushkar. Therefore, no temples to him elsewhere. But then, I did see statues of Brahma elsewhere, so people haven’t paid attention to Savitri’s wishes !
In front of the temple to Brahma. Shoes off at the bottom of the steps
Cameras are not allowed inside any of the temples either, neither are bags or purses, so you have to leave everything in a small locker and take the key with you. Seems to work OK. The temple itself was coloured a bright orange. Marble slabs on the surrounding walls were carved with the names of people who had donated money to the temple in remembrance of loved ones who had passed away. The statue of Brama and his second wife are in silver, and there are silver coins imbedded on the marble floor of the altar.
Streets of Pushkar
Uma walking ahead of me
I never thought I would ever be standing in front of a black bull without being scared to death.
As you can see, there are cows/bulls everywhere in the streets, allowed to roam at will. Nandu explained that this was because they are sacred and considered as their mothers. There are poop droppings everywhere so you need to watch where you step.
Lots of material for sale
More street views of Pushkar
The material is even used to provide shade
We walked along the streets for awhile stopping at other temples along the way, but where foreigners were not allowed to enter.So pics from outside only
Another of the big temples in Pushkar, there are a total of over 300 in this town, but many are very small.
A colourful roof top house on a building
Outside display on one of the temples
Another big temple where tourists are no longer allowed
Detail of the temple spire
Clocktower in the middle of the town
Nearing the Pushkar Lake, "sacred monkey" start showing up. Check out the baby trying to climb up to the top balcony to find mama.
Mamas and their babies
Pushkar is described as the blue city, mainly because of the blue and white temples along the Ghats (steps leading down to sacred waters). There are 52 Ghats around the sacred lake.
My first glimpse at the 52 ghats that surround the lake
People are lined up ready to bathe in the "sacred waters"
Tourists are restricted to this one area
That was me about 10 minutes before, sitting where the man with the orange shirt is sitting now.
I agreed to have a small ceremony done by a sacred man in honour of my family members. It was meant to be a very spiritual experience and it was. I actually had tears coming down my cheeks as I repeated the words the holy man was saying. I dropped flower petals and spices mixed with the sacred waters into the lake into the water. I had been told that I would be required to make a donation to the poor in exchange for this ceremony and was asked by the sacred man to tell him how much I would give. When I quoted the amount, which I thought was very generous, he looked at me as if insulted, saying that since I was praying for all the members of my family that did not seem like a very large amount; and he quoted what he thought I should give. He spoiled the entire experience for me. I should have just said that this was not my religion and I was doing it more as a cultural experience, instead I gave him the amount he had quoted ! VERY DUMB ! He then asked for a donation for himself and his family so that he could eat and pray for my dead family members ! Ruined, ruined, ruined. He turned what had been for me a beautiful experience, into a horrible money grubbing show. What a crock !
A gathering of "sacred cows" on a plaza near my hotel
5 am and I was wide awake. Although there don’t seem to be that many people in the hotel, there is a group of Indians on a pilgrimage, so they were up early in order to go to the temple to worship, but they were incredibly load. I thought Italians were loud. You should hear Indian women when there is a group of them together! After they left at around 6 am I managed to get back to sleep. Breakfast is included with the price of the hotel room, however it wasn’t much more than cereal, bananas, papayas, toast plus tea or coffee. Cold cereal and bananas it is, with a cup of black tea; the toast had been made hours before and were inedible.
At 9 am Neema was there to introduce me to my guide for the morning, Nandu. Very nice polite man, probably in his late 20s or early 30s. We took a taxi to get to the one and only Temple dedicated to Brahma. There are three main deities which form the Hindu Trinity: Brahma is the creator (depicted as either 1 head with 4 faces or with 4 heads), Vishnu is the preserver (the embodiment of mercy and goodness, depicted as having blue skin and he has 4 arms, his wife is Lakshmi) and Shiva is the destroyer (self controlled, destruction opens the path to reincarnation, depicted in many forms, sometimes having 4 arms) The story goes that ____ was married and at some point decided to marry a second wife. Since this is not done in the Hindu religion, wife number 1 was very angry and she only agreed that her husband could take a second wife under the following conditions: 1) He would agree to only have 1 temple dedicated to him (and it is located in Pushkar) and 2) No religious ceremonies would be performed in his temple, only in the sacred Pushkar lake.
“Although the present temple structure dates to the 14th century, the temple is believed to be 2000 years old. The temple is mainly built of marble and stone stabs. The temple sanctum sanctorum holds the central images of Brahma and his second consort Gayatri.” The story goes that Brahma was married to Savitri and at some point decided to take a second wife, Gayatri. Since this is not done in the Hindu religion, wife number 1 was very angry and she cursed Brahma so that he could only be worshiped in Pushkar. Therefore, no temples to him elsewhere. But then, I did see statues of Brahma elsewhere, so people haven’t paid attention to Savitri’s wishes !
As with all temples, you must take your shoes off to enter. It is a wonder why the floors are so dirty since no one is allowed to enter with food or drink or shoes. I’m never without shoes or sandals on my feet in public places. I can’t stand having dirty feet. There is bird poop everywhere and the marble floor looks like it hasn’t seen a good was in a long time. Definitely have to buy a pair of thick dark socks !
In front of the temple to Brahma. Shoes off at the bottom of the stepsCameras are not allowed inside any of the temples either, neither are bags or purses, so you have to leave everything in a small locker and take the key with you. Seems to work OK. The temple itself was coloured a bright orange. Marble slabs on the surrounding walls were carved with the names of people who had donated money to the temple in remembrance of loved ones who had passed away. The statue of Brama and his second wife are in silver, and there are silver coins imbedded on the marble floor of the altar.
Streets of Pushkar
Uma walking ahead of me
I never thought I would ever be standing in front of a black bull without being scared to death.As you can see, there are cows/bulls everywhere in the streets, allowed to roam at will. Nandu explained that this was because they are sacred and considered as their mothers. There are poop droppings everywhere so you need to watch where you step.
Lots of material for sale
More street views of Pushkar
The material is even used to provide shadeWe walked along the streets for awhile stopping at other temples along the way, but where foreigners were not allowed to enter.So pics from outside only
Another of the big temples in Pushkar, there are a total of over 300 in this town, but many are very small.
A colourful roof top house on a building
Outside display on one of the temples
Another big temple where tourists are no longer allowed
Detail of the temple spire
Clocktower in the middle of the town
Nearing the Pushkar Lake, "sacred monkey" start showing up. Check out the baby trying to climb up to the top balcony to find mama.
Mamas and their babiesPushkar is described as the blue city, mainly because of the blue and white temples along the Ghats (steps leading down to sacred waters). There are 52 Ghats around the sacred lake.
My first glimpse at the 52 ghats that surround the lake
People are lined up ready to bathe in the "sacred waters"
Tourists are restricted to this one area
That was me about 10 minutes before, sitting where the man with the orange shirt is sitting now.I agreed to have a small ceremony done by a sacred man in honour of my family members. It was meant to be a very spiritual experience and it was. I actually had tears coming down my cheeks as I repeated the words the holy man was saying. I dropped flower petals and spices mixed with the sacred waters into the lake into the water. I had been told that I would be required to make a donation to the poor in exchange for this ceremony and was asked by the sacred man to tell him how much I would give. When I quoted the amount, which I thought was very generous, he looked at me as if insulted, saying that since I was praying for all the members of my family that did not seem like a very large amount; and he quoted what he thought I should give. He spoiled the entire experience for me. I should have just said that this was not my religion and I was doing it more as a cultural experience, instead I gave him the amount he had quoted ! VERY DUMB ! He then asked for a donation for himself and his family so that he could eat and pray for my dead family members ! Ruined, ruined, ruined. He turned what had been for me a beautiful experience, into a horrible money grubbing show. What a crock !
A gathering of "sacred cows" on a plaza near my hotelThe morning was coming to an end and I was no longer interested in doing much else. I was emotionally burned out. There was an opportunity to go on a camel safari in late afternoon, but it was for 3 hours duration; much too long for my back to take. So I passed on that “deal” and decided to just return to the hotel and rest. Which is exactly what I am doing after I finish writing this blog.
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