Pushkar
(“blue lotus”) City and celebrated sacred
site (tirtha) a few miles north and west
of the city of Ajmer in the state of
Rajasthan. Pushkar’s center is a natural
lake, and its major importance is as a
bathing (snana) place—according to
tradition, its lake is so holy that Pushkar
is said to be the religious preceptor
(guru) of all other sacred sites. Pushkar’s
lake is surrounded by temples. Of these,
the best-known is dedicated to the god
Brahmaand is his only temple in all of
India. Two nearby temples dedicated to
the Goddess are said to be Shakti
Pithas, a network of sites spread
throughout the subcontinent and
sacred to the Goddess. Each Shakti Pitha
marks the site where a body part of the
dismembered goddess Satifell to earth.
The two temples in Pushkar mark the
places where both of Sati’s wrists fell.
Pushkar’s largest festival is known as
Kartik Purnima(October–November),
and falls on a full moon(generally asso-
ciated with enhancing the sanctity of
bathing places). Aside from being a time
for bathing, this event is also marked by
the holding of an enormous livestock
market, particularly for camels and
horses. The state government is currently
promoting this as a tourist attraction,
and it has drawn over 200,000 people in
recent years. See also pitha.
Pushkara (“Blue Lotus”) Dvipa
In traditional mythic geography, the
name of the seventh and outermost
of the concentric land masses (dvipas)
making up the visible world. See
also cosmology.
Pushpa
(“flower”) The tenth of the sixteen tradi-
tional upacharas(“offerings”) given to
a deityas part of worship. In this offer-
ing (based on the model of treating the
deity as an honored guest) the deity is
given flowers, valued both for their color
and their fragrance. The actual act of
offering can be performed in various
ways and often depends on the wor-
shiper’s inclinations. In some cases the
flowers will simply be presented before
the deity’s image, with the understand-
ing that the deity has taken them,
whereas in other cases flowers will
be placed on the deity’s image, or a
garland hung around its neck. In
either instance, the underlying motive
is to show love and respect for the
deity and to minister to its needs as
one would to a living person. This par-
ticular act of respect and love can also
be accorded to other human beings;
garlanding a person with flowers is a
sign of high esteem or congratulations.Pushpak Viman
(“Flower chariot”) In Hindu mythology,
the most famous of the aerial cars.
Pushpak Viman is built by the divine
architect Vishvakarma. Vishvakarma’s
daughter Sanjnahas married the Sun
but is so overwhelmed by his brilliance
that she begs her father to reduce his
luster so she can stand to be with him.
Vishvakarma does this by trimming
some bits off the sun, which are later
fashioned into the Pushpak Viman as
well as several divine weapons. For
some time the Pushpak Viman is held
by the minor deity Kubera, who obtains
it as a reward for performing intense
physical asceticism (tapas). It is later
taken from Kubera by the demon-king
Ravana, who uses its powers to wreak all
sorts of tyranny, culminating in the
abduction of Rama’swife Sita. After
slaying Ravana, Rama uses the Pushpak
Viman to return to the city of Ayodhya
and then returns the car to Kubera.Pushti Marg
Religious community founded by the
philosopher Vallabhacharya(1479–1531),
whose teachings remain the sect’s pri-
mary influence. Vallabhacharya charac-
terized his philosophical position as
“pure monism” (Shuddadvaita); his fun-
damental position is that the god
Krishnais the Supreme Being and thePushti Marg