Pushkar Mela: Rajasthan’s Camel Fair and Brahma Pilgrimage

India worships Vishnu and Shiva in thousands of temples across the country. Brahma, the creator god who made the universe, has almost none. Only one small town keeps his flame alive: Pushkar, in Rajasthan. Every year around Kartik Purnima, Pushkar hosts one of Asia’s largest camel fairs. Traders, camels, and pilgrims all converge on the same sacred lake.

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150+ Years Old · Asia’s Largest

Pushkar, Rajasthan · Kartik Purnima

Pushkar Mela, By the Numbers

2026 Dates

17-24 November

Kartik Purnima 2026

24 November

Visitors

~2,00,000

Camels & Livestock

~25,000

Trading Tradition150+ Years

Sacred Lakes (Panch Sarovar)1 of 5

Brahma Temples in IndiaVery Few — Pushkar Foremost

Rajasthan Tourism Download as image

Must Know

• Pushkar Mela (Pushkar Fair) is an annual camel and livestock fair held in Pushkar, Rajasthan.
• Pushkar sits in Ajmer district, on the shore of the sacred Pushkar Lake. Pushkar lies in Rajasthan’s Aravalli Range — a common exam trap wrongly pairs it with the Mahadeo Hills instead. See IndGeo0085 — The Nallamala Hills for the full UPSC 2015 pilgrimage-geography question this trap comes from.
• The fair’s timing follows the Hindu lunar calendar.
• It always ends on Kartik Purnima, the full moon day of the Kartik month.
• In 2026, the fair runs from 17 to 24 November, with Kartik Purnima falling on 24 November.
• Around 200,000 visitors and 25,000 camels and other livestock gather each year.
• It is billed as Asia’s largest camel fair.
• Pushkar’s Brahma Temple is one of very few temples in India dedicated to Brahma, the creator god.

Good to Know

• Traders have gathered in Pushkar for camel and cattle trading for more than 150 years.
• The fair began as a simple livestock trading event for desert herders and farmers.
• Camels were once essential for transport and farming across Rajasthan’s desert terrain.
• Pushkar Lake is one of five sacred lakes in Hindu tradition, called the Panch Sarovar.
• Hindu tradition holds Pushkar Lake as the most sacred among these five lakes.
• According to the Padma Purana, the lake formed when a lotus petal fell from Brahma’s hand.
• Brahma dropped the petal while searching for a place to perform a yajna, a fire ritual.
• The name “Pushkar” comes from the Sanskrit word for lotus.
• Pilgrims take a holy dip in the lake on Kartik Purnima for spiritual merit.
• Modern additions to the fair include camel races, tug-of-war, a longest-moustache contest, and a best-turban competition.
• An international hot air balloon festival is now held alongside the fair.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. In which Indian state is the Pushkar Mela held every year?

Rajasthan

Gujarat

Madhya Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

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Great to Know

• Multiple legends explain why Brahma has almost no temples elsewhere in India.
• In one version, Brahma performed a yajna at Pushkar, but his wife Saraswati arrived late.
• He married a second wife, Gayatri, so the ritual could finish on time.
• The enraged Saraswati, called Savitri in some versions, cursed him.
• She decreed that he could be worshipped only at Pushkar, nowhere else.
• A few other Brahma temples exist in India today, but Pushkar’s remains the most prominent.
• The fair itself blends trade, pilgrimage, and tourism into a single event.
• What began as a desert livestock market now draws visitors from across the world.