Apteshwar Temple, Pushkar, Rajasthan

Apteshwar Temple, Pushkar, Rajasthan

Apteshwar Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, located in Pushkar Town near Ajmer in Rajasthan State, India. The Temple is situated in a cave next to famous Pushkar Brahma Temple. The Temple is also called as Atpateshwar Temple.

Legends

As per legend, Lord Shiva attended the Yagna performed by Lord Brahma in the guise of a tantric yogi holding a skull.  Lord Shiva was insulted and denied entry to Yagna for his appearance. Lord Shiva got irritated and filled the yagna site with skulls. Lord Brahma felt worried and started mediation to know the reason behind the presence of skulls in the Yagna site. He realized that tantric yogi was none other than Lord Shiva. Lord Brahma realized his mistake and requested Lord Shiva to attend the Yagna. Lord Shiva attended the yagna holding the skull and Lord Brahma in appreciation erected a temple in honour of Shiva as Atpateshwar, next to his own temple.

The Temple

The Temple is situated in a cave next to famous Pushkar Brahma Temple. Presiding Deity is called as Atpateshwar / Apteshwar. He is housed in the sanctum in the form of Lingam. The Linga  is large and is encircled by a snake made of copper. 

Festivals

Shivaratri is the most famous festival celebrated in this Temple with much fanfare.

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 650 meters from Pushkar Lake, 2 Kms from Pushkar Railway Station, 3 Kms from Pushkar Bus Station, 15 Kms from Ajmer Bus Stand, 15 Kms from Ajmer Railway Junction, 16 Kms from Ajmer, 44 Kms from Kishangarh, 46 Kms from Kishangarh Airport, 151 Kms from Jaipur and 154 Kms from Jaipur Airport. Pushkar is situated in centre-east part of Rajasthan, on the western side of Aravalli mountains. Pushkar is about 14 Kms from Ajmer, connected via Pushkar road (Highway 58) which goes over the Aravalli Range mountains. Pushkar has its own railway station. Ajmer is also the nearest major railway station. Nearest Airports are located in Kishangarh and Jaipur.

Location