Pushkar Camel Mela

Pushkar is one the towns of Rajasthan, India. In this article you are going to read about the Kartik Mela held every year in the month of November every year especially after Dipawali.

Different names and information

Pushkar fair, Pushkar camel fair, Kartik Mela or Pushkar ka mela. It is annual multi day livestock (camels) fair and cultural treat is also part of this. This fair starts with Hindu solar month of Kartik and ends on Kartik Pournima - full moon day of Kartik month. As per christian calendar the fair overlaps October - November of every year. It is one of the largest cattle fair in India which leads to treading of camels, horses and other domestic cattle. During this fair as per Hindu belief bath in Pushkar lake is the ritual of getting rid on all bad things. Along with cooler atmosphere the fair has attractions of competitions like cattle races, tug of war, matki phod, dance competitions, longest mustache, bridal competition, and much more showing the cultural shades of Rajasthan. From Kartik Ekadashi (Devuthani Ekadashi) to Kartik Purnima are the peak celebration days. Many Hindus come to Pushkar to bath in Pushkar lake and worship Lord Bramha in temple. This fair is worlds largest camel trading fair.

Image credit: Maps of India

Geography of Pushkar

Pushkar is center-east part of Rajasthan. Aravali mountains are on the east side of the Pushkar. Sanganer airport, Jaipur is the nearest one at 146km. Reaching Jaipur by air or train is quite easy. Ajmer at 10km from Pushkar is nearest railway station.

Other attractions

If you want to attend Pushkar fair then you will enjoy a stay in old school camp type tents. These camps are having variety of non-luxury to high-luxury package. You can book these tents from your favorite travel website. 

You can enjoy most entertaining compositions, also watch and listen to India's famous fusion bands. Sunset safari is its kind of experience in Rajasthan.

At Shiplgram Handicraft Bazar you can shop for many accessories and other decorative things with a taste of Rajasthani culture.

Hot air balloon flight will give you pleasure of watching the aerial view of the fair. The booking can be done on the spot or advance booking is also available with your travel agent.

History

The term 'Pushkar' literally means 'to be born due to a flower'. It is stated in the Hindu mythology that once the deities released a swan with a lotus flower in its beak and made it drop on earth where god Brahma performed a huge yagna. The place where the lotus fell came to be known as Pushkar. 

Map Credit: Google maps.

Thanks for reading till the end. I hope this has given you pretty much knowledge. Other articles about Hindustan are also on this blog. You can read them also. Please comment any opinion below. If you want to know more about some other place in India then you can tell me about that in comment section. The requested subject article will be published in your service shortly.

Kedarnath

As you heard the name Kedarnath you think about the temple of lord Kedarnath which is situated at the Kedarnath town of Uttarakhand. Also you may think about the Kedarnath mountain which is situated in Gangotri in Uttarakhand. But here you are going to note down only about the Kedarnath town point by point. This article may help you to increase your general knowledge. So lets Start.

Image Credits Ganga Valley Adventure

• Kedarnath is very important due to temple of Kedarnath.
• Kedarnath is a nagar panchayat.
• Kedarnath is situated in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand state in India.
• It is one of the Char Chota Dham according to Hinduism.
• During Styayug king Kedar ruled the town Kedarnath hence the name is given in his honor.
• Kedarnath is located at distance of 223km from Rishikesh, Uttarakhand.
•  It is close to the source of Mandakini river.
• It is 3,583m above sea level which is exactly 11,755 ft.
• The town is built on barren stretch land on the shores of Mandakini river
• It is surrounded by scenery of Himalayas and green pastures make it very attractive place for pilgrimage and trekking during the months May to October
• Kedarnath is one of the most notable as it has females only 2% of total population according to census.
• Also in Kedarnath none of the population is under 6 years of age.
• During winter due to heavy snowfall the temple is closed and no one stays in Kedarnath for 6 months from November to April.
• During November to April the palki with utsav murti of lord Kedarnath is transferred to the place called Ukhimath near Guptakashi
• Tirthapurohit of 55 villages and other nearby villages are dependent on Kedarnath livelihood
• On 16th June 2013 landslide occurred with loud thunder followed by gushing of huge amount of water from Chourabari Tal (Gandhi Tal) call down Mandakini river which washed away everything in its path.
• All 17th June 2013 flash flash flood occurred which affected the pilgrimage of Kedarnath and many of the pilgrims were reported missing.
• According to reports during the flash flood near about 1,00,000 people were airlifted.
• You can visit Bhiarav temple on the eastern side of the town along with the Kedarnath temple.
• As per believes of local people Bhairav protects the town during November to April.
• Also you can have picnic on the source of Gandhi sarovar or Chourabari tal which is a lake cum glacier near Kedarnath.
• Pin code of Kedarnath is 246445.
• It is situated in the Garhwal region of Himalayan Ranges.
• Dense forests of alpine and rhododendron trees surround the town.
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You can read separate articles on Kedarnath Temple and Kedarnath Mountain.

Map Credit - Google Maps

All the readers are requested to comment their suggestions for better experience of this blog. Also if you are knowing anything which is left in this article you are most welcome to comment that information.

Kedarnath temple

In this blog you are going to read about the Kedarnath temple. this blog will be helpful to you for your general knowledge purpose so please read this blog till the end and share with all the GK aspirants.

Image Credit - Shri Badrinath Kedarnath Temples Committee

• Kedarnath mandir or Kedarnath temple is Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.
• It is situated in the Kedarnath town Garhwal Himalayan range on the Shores of Mandakini river in Uttarakhand state of India.
• Due to extreme weather conditions the temple is open from Akshay Treethiya to Kartik Purnima in short form April to November.
• During winter means from November to April the deities is means the Utsav Murti is brought to place known as Ukimath and worshiped there for 6 months.
• Kedar Khand is the historical name of the region.
• Shiva is worship as Kedarnath means the Lord of Kedar Khand.
• You have to trek for 11 mile (18 km) to reach the temple.
• Pony and Machan services are also available to reach the temple.
• Kedarnath temple was built by Pandavas during Mahabharat era after Mahabharat War to atone their sins committed during war.
• Adi Shankaracharya revived this temple during their stay in 8th century CE.
• Kedarnath is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas - Sources of Cosmic lights.
• Jyotirling is hindu shrine of shiva.
• It is one of the 275 paadal petra sthalams according to Tevaram.
• It is one of the Char Chota Dham pilgrimage of northern Himalaya.
• The temple is the highest among 12 Jyotirlingas.
• Kedarnath was the worst affected area during the 2013 flash floods in north India.
• River Mandakini is tributaries of Ganga river.
• The temple is situated at height of 3583 metre from the sea level and it is 223 kilometre from Rishikesh, Uttarakhand.
• The kedarnath lingam is having circumference of 3.6 metre and a height of 3.6 metre.
• Adi Shankaracharya is believed to have mahasamadhi at Kedarnath. Behind the temple the Samadhi Mandir of Adi Shankaracharya is also there.
• The head priest of the Kedarnath temple is called Raval and he belongs to the Veershaiva community of Karnataka. Raval instructs pujari assistants for the worship of the Kedarnath
• During pooja of lord Shiva of Kedarnath the mantras will be pronounced in the Kannada language. This has been a custom from hundreds of years.
• Shri Badrinath and Shri Kedarnath Mandir act that is the Uttar Pradesh state government act number 30 / 1948 as act number 161939 administrates the temple.
• There are more than 200 shrines dedicated to Lord Shiva in Chamboli district itself.
• As per scientists of Wadia Institute, Dehradun the temple was buried under snow for 400 years form 13th to 17th century - when a small ice age occurred. But it is still safe. The markings of glacier can be seen on the walls of the temple.
• Dimensions of the temple are - height = 85ft, lenght = 187ft and width = 80ft.
• The walls of temple are 12 ft wide.
• The ceiling of the temple is carved from a stone.
• The temple is constructed on 6ft high block of stone.
• The interlocking of stones technique is used to construct the temple.
• The temple and town are surrounded by three mountains viz Kedarnath mountain (22000ft), Kharchkund (21600ft) and Bharatkund (22700ft).
• It is assumed that five rivers named Mandakini, Madhuganga, Kshirganga, Sarswati and Swarngauri inter-flow (Sangam) at this place. But only Mandakini river is visible.

Map Credit - Google Map

तवांग विहार

तवांग का बुद्ध विहार यह अरुणाचल प्रदेश का मुख्य धार्मिक स्थल है| तिब्बतियन लोग भी इस मोनेस्ट्री को बहोत मानते है| आइये इसके बारेमे कुछ जानकारी लेले|

इमेज क्रेडिट: CPREE, चेन्नई 

१) भारत का सबसे बड़ा बुध्द विहार: तवांग मठ|
२) तवांग शहर से २ की.मी. की दुरी पर यह मठ स्थित है|
३) तवांग नदी की घटी में यह मठ है|
४) इसे मेराक लामा लोद्रे ग्यात्सो ने सन १६८१ में स्थापित किया था|
५) यह बुद्ध धर्म की अन्तेर्राष्ट्रीय धरोहर है|
६) पत्थरों से बने प्रवेश द्वार का नाम ककालिंग है|
७) यह दुनिया की दूसरी सबसे बड़ी बुद्ध मोनेस्ट्री है जो की ल्हासा के मोनेस्ट्री से धार्मिक तौर पर जुडी हुई है|
८) यह गेलुग स्कूल ऑफ़ महायाना बुद्धिज़्म से जुडी हुई है|
९) तोर्ग्या पर्व बड़ी धूमधामसे यहाँ मनाया जाता है - इस समय अरुणाचल प्रदेश और तिब्बत से कई श्रद्धालु उत्सव में भाग लेने आते है|
१०) यह मोनेस्ट्री ताना मंदेखंग नामक पहाड़ी पर बनि है|
११) मोनेस्ट्री बनने से पहले यहाँ पर काला वान्गपो नामक राजा का राजमहल था|
१२) मोनेस्ट्री में जगह जगह पे मंडला चित्रकारी की हुई है|
१३) जून से ओक्टोबर के बिच आप इस जगह को देखने जा सकते है|
१४) तवांग में अगर आपको घूमने जाना है तो स्पेशल इनर लाइन परमिट लेना पड़ता है जो दिल्ली, कलकत्ता, गुवाहाटी या तेजपुर से प्राप्त किया जा सकता है|
१५) १९५० में जब दलाई लामा को तिब्बत छोड़ना पड़ा तो वह इसी तवांग मोनेस्ट्री में कुछ दिन रुके और फिर भारत में शरण ली|
१६) पाचवे दलाई लामा न्गवांग लोबसांग ग्यात्सो के आशीर्वाद से यह मठ बना है|
१७) छठे दलाई लामा का जन्म इसी जगह हुआ है|
१८) इस मोनेस्ट्री का पूरा नाम है - तवांग गाल्डन नामगये ल्हत्से|
१९) "ता" का मतलब घोडा और "वांग" का मतलब चुना हुआ - मतलब एक चुने हुए घोड़े की वजह से यह जगह एक धार्मिक स्थल बन गयी इसीलिए इस जगह का नाम तवांग पड़ा है|
२०) समुद्र सतह से यह जगह १०,००० फीट उचाई पर स्थित है|
२१) यहाँ १८ फीट उची पद्मासन स्थिति में बुद्ध भगवान की स्वर्ण की मूर्ति है|
२२)  माना जाता है की पाल्देन ल्हामो देवी या श्री देवी मोनेस्ट्री की रक्षक है - इस देवी का वर्णन हिदुओ की काली माता के समान है|
२३)  तोर्ग्या उत्सव १० से १२ जनवरी के बिच मनाया जाता है|

गूगल नक्शा

यह तवांग मोनेस्ट्री के बारेमे लिखी गयी मालूमात है| अगर कोई मालूमात छुट गयी हो या कोई गलती हुई हो तो कृपया कमेंट में उल्लेख करे ताकि अन्य वाचको के लिए इस ब्लॉग में सुधार हो सके| यह मालूमात आपका सामान्य ज्ञान बढ़ाने हेतु यहाँ संकलित की गयी है| इस मालूमात से आप स्पर्धा परीक्षाओकी तैय्यारी कर सकते है|  अंत तक पढ़ने के लिए धन्यवाद|