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Rajasthan
( Mount Abu )
INTRODUCTION
Mount Abu is located in
the South-western corner of Rajasthan and is
Rajsthan's only hill station. It is also a
major pilgrim centre. The Aravalli range that
cuts across Rajasthan reaches its greatest
height at the guru Shikar. Interestingly, not
many people are aware that this is also the
highest point between the Nilgris in the south
and the Himalaya range up North. The origin of
Mount-Abu goes back several centuries. The
Padam Puran relates the story of how this holy
city came into existence. Once Nandini, the cow
belonging to the venerable sage Vashishtha, was
trapped in a deep chawn appealed to Lord Shiva
for assistance, Saraswati, the divine stream,
flooded the pit and the cow floated up. once
his cow way free, Vashishtha approached the
great Himalaya and asked him to fill the gorge
permanently to avoid further mishaps. The
youngest son of Himalaya, with the assistance
of Arbud, the mighty snake filled the chasm.
The place came to be called Mount Arbud and was
later reduced to its present name.
For those keen to learn
more about the history of Rajasthan it will be
interesting to note that this place was also
the site for one of the most sacred rites - a
Yagya. This was performed by the same sage
Vashishtha for the purification of the ancient
fighting caste, the Kshtriyas. From this
mystical fire rose mighty Rajputs who later
dominated the history of Rajasthan.
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