To get from Udaipur to Pushkar, we had a 5.5 hour drive. Even though most of the highway was on a toll road, there were many times our driver had to slow down & maneuver around cows or goats in the road.

We passed a very large Krishna statue which was worth a small detour to see it. And, we got to be in more pictures with the locals.

Our hotel in Pushkar is a tented camp only used during the festival. It’s not luxurious; but, it is a new way to enjoy our time in India.

Later in the afternoon, out guide met us to show us Pushkar.

Even though Pushkar is a small town of only 24,000 people, it is the only place not only in India; but also, the only place in world where there is a Brahma Temple.

Brahma is the Hindu god known the Creator of the Universe & the God of Knowledge. However, he is the least worshipped Hindu god & here is why.

Brahma came to Earth to celebrate a fire festival in his honor in Pushkar. He told his wife Savitri when it was going to happen; however, she took her time getting ready in Heaven & missed the festival. All the Hindu gods were there & Brahma did not want to be embarrassed by not having a wife by his side at the festival in his honor, so to get the party started, he married someone else. When Savitri finally arrived & discovered Brahma took a second wife, she was furious.

She was so mad she put two curses on Brahma. Curse #1 was he would only be allowed to have one temple built in his honor which was in Pushkar. Curse #2 was no one can ask for a miracle at his temple; they can only ask for a miracle at the lake after visiting his temple.

For this reason, Hindus do not have Brahma in their home’s shrine. Only Vishnu the preserver & protecter and Shiva the destroyer of negativity are worshipped in their own homes.

Pushkar always has a lively bazaar; but, many out of town vendors come in for the camel fair doubling its size.

Pushkar’s Holy Lake is said to have started when Lord Brahma asked Vishnu to allow a temple to be built where he could be worshipped. Vishnu & Shiva had temples to worship them, so Brahma also wanted one. Vishnu dropped a lotus flower that circled the Earth three times before it landed in Pushkar & where it landed, a fresh spring came up creating the lake which is considered holy.

Historians know that people have been coming to the lake to worship since the 4th Century because images on Greek & Kushan coins. But, based on writings, it is believed worship here goes back to the 2nd Century BCE.

Today Hindu pilgrims come to Pushkar to bathe in the water, especially on the last day in the November fire festival when tens of thousands of pilgrims enter the lake.

While we were at the lake, our guide led us both in prayers that you make at the lake for your loved ones who have passed.

We were also able to enjoy the nightly ritual at the lake.

In the evening, we returned to the restaurant via a tractor ride. The restaurant is large & quite ornate. We were the only ones in it, so I felt like we were on the set of “Beauty & the Beast”. I kept waiting for the waiters to start singing, “ Be our guest… Be our guest…”

Must admit, we were treated like royalty.