‘Varah’, which means boar and is known to be an avatar of Hindu lord Vishnu, resides as a presiding deity at the Varaha temple. This highly renowned temple is believed to be the largest and the most ancient in the whole of Pushkar.
Pushkar’s enormous devotion towards the Lord can be understood by the Hindu mythology that revolves around it. As per it, the Lord in the form of Varaha rescued planet Earth from demon Hirnayakshm who was attempting to drown in the depths of water.
The temple was known to be built in 12th century, but with the statue combining the head of a Varah and the body of a man, being the reason for Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s upset behavior, it was destroyed.
Later on, in the first half of the 18th century, Raja Sawai Jai Singh II from Jaipur decided to reconstruct the temple into a magnificent structure dedicated to the lord. However, one can still find damaged stone lintels, carvings and architectural drawings at the present day structure of the temple.
Visit duration: Less than 1 hour
Attractions nearby: Brahma temple, Raghunath temple.
