A land where every day begins with a bell
Faith is everyday: shrines sit on street corners, under trees, in shop doorways and on the dashboards of trucks. Nobody thinks of them as tourist sights.
Many faiths, shared places: Hindus pray at the Sufi shrine in Ajmer, Muslims honour the folk saint Ramdevji, and Jain merchants paid for some of the finest temples in India.
- Hindus
- The large majority, close to nine in ten
- Muslims
- About one person in ten
- Jains and Sikhs
- Around one percent each
- Sacred script
- Devanagari, with Arabic script in mosques
- Busiest seasons
- Navratri, Diwali, Kartik and the monsoon fairs
- Royal faith: each ruling house had its family deity, from Eklingji in Mewar to Karni Mata in Bikaner, and kings saw themselves as servants of their gods.
- Merchant faith: Jain and Marwari trading families built temples, rest houses and stepwells as acts of devotion and public good.
- Village faith: folk heroes, hero stones and local goddesses matter as much to many villagers as the gods of the great temples.
- The visitor's place: you are welcome almost everywhere, as long as you dress modestly, take off your shoes and follow the customs of each place.
The Hindu gods you will meet
Krishna, the beloved child and cowherd
Why he matters: Krishna is perhaps the most loved god in Rajasthan, worshipped as a child, a flute-playing cowherd and a divine lover.
- Where to see him: Shrinathji at Nathdwara, Govind Dev Ji in the City Palace gardens of Jaipur and the Jagdish Temple in Udaipur, which is dedicated to Vishnu, of whom Krishna is a form.
- In art: the pichwai paintings of Nathdwara and the miniatures of Kishangarh are almost all about Krishna and Radha.
Shiva, the lord of Mewar
Royal patron: the Maharanas of Mewar ruled as regents of Shiva in his form as Eklingji, whose temple stands in the hills north of Udaipur.
- How to recognise him: look for the lingam, the smooth stone emblem of Shiva, with Nandi, his bull, kneeling outside facing the shrine.
- Mondays and Shivratri: his day of the week and his great night, in February or March, fill Shiva temples with devotees.
The goddess, in a hundred forms
Protector of the clans: every Rajput clan has its kuldevi, a family goddess, often a fierce form of Durga.
- Famous shrines: Karni Mata at Deshnoke for the Bikaner Rathores, Shila Devi inside Amber Fort for the Kachwahas, Chamunda at Mehrangarh in Jodhpur and Kaila Devi near Karauli.
- Her festivals: Navratri, the nine nights of the goddess in spring and autumn, and Gangaur, when women pray to Gauri, the wife of Shiva.
Rama, Hanuman and Ganesh
Rama: the hero of the Ramayana, whose name is in the village greeting ram ram sa. The Kachwahas of Jaipur claim descent from his son.
- Hanuman: the monkey god, loyal servant of Rama, worshipped as Balaji at the great pilgrim temples of Salasar and Mehandipur.
- Ganesh: the elephant-headed remover of obstacles, prayed to before any new beginning. Jaipur's Moti Dungri temple and the Trinetra Ganesh temple in Ranthambore Fort are much loved.
Brahma, the creator, at Pushkar
A rare temple: Brahma is one of the three great gods, yet temples to him are very few. The Brahma temple in Pushkar is the most important.
- The legend: Brahma is said to have performed a sacrifice at Pushkar without his wife Savitri, who cursed him to be worshipped almost nowhere else.
- Her temple: Savitri's own shrine stands on a hill above the town, and the climb at dawn is one of Pushkar's great pleasures.
What happens inside a Hindu temple
Darshan: worshippers come to see the deity and to be seen by it. At some temples, a curtain is drawn back at set times, and the crowd surges forward with joined hands.
The deity is alive: in many temples the god is woken, bathed, dressed, fed and put to rest each day, like an honoured guest or a king.
- Darshan
- Seeing the god and being seen
- Aarti
- Lamps waved before the deity, morning and evening
- Prasad
- Blessed food, taken with the right hand
- Parikrama
- Walking around the shrine clockwise
- Shoes
- Always off, before the first step
- Aarti: at dawn and dusk the priest waves a tray of lamps before the image while bells ring and devotees sing. Stand quietly at the back and watch.
- Prasad: sweets or food offered to the god and returned as a blessing. Accept it with your right hand, and never refuse or drop it.
- Parikrama: devotees walk around the sanctum clockwise, keeping it on their right. Follow the flow of people.
- The bell: worshippers ring the bell as they enter, to announce themselves to the god. You may ring it too.
- The priest: a pujari may mark your forehead with red paste, a tilak, and tie a red thread on your wrist. A small donation in the box is customary, never demanded.
- Closed hours: many temples close the sanctum in the afternoon while the god rests, so we plan visits for the morning or evening.
Folk heroes who became gods
Ramdevji, the saint of all faiths
Who he was: a fourteenth-century saint of the Tanwar Rajputs, remembered for his care for the poor and for people of every caste.
- Shared devotion: Hindus call him Baba Ramdev, and Muslims revere him as Ramsa Pir. His shrine at Ramdevra, near Pokaran, draws pilgrims of both faiths.
- The fair: in the monsoon month of Bhadrapada, pilgrims walk the desert roads carrying flags, and women of the Kamad community perform the terah taali dance with cymbals tied to their bodies.
Pabuji, the protector of camels
The legend: a fourteenth-century Rathore hero who died defending a woman's cattle. Herders credit him with bringing the first camels to Rajasthan, a story told as legend.
- The phad: his epic is sung at night by a Bhopa, a singer-priest, and his wife before a long painted scroll, with the bowed ravanhattha for music.
- Who worships him: the Raika and Rabari camel herders above all. Our journal on the Bhopa and the phad tells the story.
Tejaji, Gogaji and Devnarayan
Tejaji: a Jat folk hero worshipped as a protector against snakebite. His shrines are found in villages across Marwar, and a big cattle fair at Parbatsar bears his name.
- Gogaji: another snake deity, honoured at Gogamedi in Hanumangarh district by Hindus and, as Goga Pir, by some Muslims.
- Devnarayan: the hero-god of the Gurjar herders, whose epic is sung before one of the longest painted phads of all.
Hero stones and village guardians
Hero stones: carved memorial stones, often showing a warrior on horseback, mark where men died defending their village, cattle or honour. Many are still worshipped.
- Bhomiyaji and Jhunjharji: local guardian spirits of land and village, often heroes who died fighting. You will see their small shrines on field edges.
- Sati stones: a few stones remember women who died on their husbands' pyres. We explain them, and we never romanticise them.
The great Hindu temples, and when to go
Shrinathji, Nathdwara
What it is: the chief shrine of the Pushtimarg tradition, home to an image of Krishna as a child, brought from Govardhan near Mathura in 1672.
- How it works: the god is shown to devotees at set darshans through the day, each with its own dress and offerings. Phones and cameras are not allowed inside.
- When: an hour from Udaipur, and especially joyful at Janmashtami. Our journal on Nathdwara and Shrinathji explains more.
Karni Mata, Deshnoke
What it is: the temple of Karni Mata, a medieval holy woman revered as a form of Durga and the patron goddess of the Bikaner Rathores.
- The rats: thousands of rats, called kabas, live in the temple and are held sacred. Seeing a white one is considered lucky.
- When: about 30 kilometres south of Bikaner. It is busiest at the Karni Mata fair during Navratri.
Galtaji, Jaipur
What it is: a string of temples and sacred tanks in a narrow valley east of Jaipur, fed by a spring that pilgrims believe never runs dry.
- Who lives there: priests of the Ramanandi tradition, and hundreds of macaques, which is why it is called the monkey temple.
- When: early morning, carrying nothing that looks like food. Climb on to the Surya Mandir for the view.
Govind Dev Ji and Moti Dungri, Jaipur
Govind Dev Ji: the image of Krishna was brought from Vrindavan in the eighteenth century and installed in the palace gardens, aligned with the ruler's apartments.
- Daily life: the evening darshan draws much of the old city, and the singing is wonderful.
- Moti Dungri: Jaipur's best-loved Ganesh temple, busiest on Wednesdays, when families bring new cars and scooters to be blessed.
Eklingji and Nagda, near Udaipur
Eklingji: the family temple of the Maharanas, a cluster of shrines around a great Shiva temple in the hills north of Udaipur.
- Nagda: nearby, the carved Saas-Bahu temples date from the tenth or eleventh century and are almost always quiet.
- When: an easy morning from Udaipur, combined with Nathdwara.
Trinetra Ganesh, Salasar, Khatu Shyam and Kaila Devi
Trinetra Ganesh: inside Ranthambore Fort, where families still send wedding invitations to Ganesh by post.
- Salasar Balaji and Khatu Shyam ji: two of north India's busiest pilgrim temples, in Churu and near Sikar. Khatu Shyam's great fair falls in Phalgun.
- Kaila Devi: a goddess temple near Karauli in the east, crowded with pilgrims at its spring fair.
Tanot Mata, on the border
Where: in the far west of Jaisalmer district, close to the Pakistan border, an old shrine of the goddess worshipped by the Bhatis.
- The legend: soldiers say that during the war of 1965 shells fell around the temple and did not explode. Unexploded shells are displayed there, and the story is told as the goddess's miracle.
- Visiting: it lies in a border area, so we check access before we plan the drive.
The Jain temples: marble, merchants and non-violence
Who the Jains are: followers of the teachings of the tirthankaras, the enlightened teachers, of whom Mahavira was the last. Many Jain families of Rajasthan were merchants and bankers.
Non-violence: Jains avoid harming any living thing. Many eat no meat, eggs, root vegetables or honey, and monks may sweep the ground before them as they walk.
Patrons of beauty: Jain merchants and ministers paid for some of the most refined temple carving in India, as acts of merit.
- Teachers
- 24 tirthankaras, from Adinath to Mahavira
- Core value
- Ahimsa, non-violence to all living beings
- Two traditions
- Svetambara and Digambara
- Leave outside
- Leather belts, bags and shoes
- Greatest temples
- Ranakpur, Dilwara, Jaisalmer Fort
- Ranakpur: the fifteenth-century Chaumukha temple to Adinath, a hall of marble pillars traditionally counted at 1,444, no two alike.
- Dilwara: on Mount Abu, the Vimal Vasahi of the eleventh century and the Luna Vasahi of 1230, with ceilings carved so finely they look translucent. No photography inside.
- Jaisalmer Fort: a group of Jain temples in yellow sandstone, and a famous old library of palm-leaf and paper manuscripts kept by the community.
- Osian: the Mahavira temple of around 783 CE is among the oldest surviving Jain temples in western India.
- Other shrines: Lodurva near Jaisalmer, Nakoda near Barmer, Shri Mahavirji in Karauli district, and the gilded Soniji ki Nasiyan in Ajmer, with its model of the Jain universe.
- Temple rules: many Jain temples post their own rules at the gate, including some that apply to women. We explain them before you arrive, so there are no surprises.
Islam, and the Sufi shrine of Ajmer
Ajmer Sharif: the shrine of the Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, founder of the Chishti order in India, revered by people of every faith.
What people do: pilgrims offer a chadar, a cloth of flowers or embroidered silk, at the tomb, tie threads for wishes and listen to qawwali, Sufi devotional song.
- The saint
- Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, died 1236
- The Urs
- His death anniversary, in the Islamic month of Rajab
- Dress code
- Heads covered for men and women, modest clothes
- Oldest mosque
- Adhai Din ka Jhonpra in Ajmer, begun 1192
- The Urs: the saint's death anniversary brings huge crowds in the month of Rajab, whose date moves each year. Our Urs festival page explains it.
- The great cauldrons: inside the shrine, two giant cooking pots, the degs, are used to cook food for pilgrims on special days.
- Mughal devotion: Akbar walked to Ajmer to pray for a son, and Mughal emperors added gateways and mosques to the shrine.
- Mosques across the state: most old cities have a Jama Masjid, and Tonk, the only Muslim princely state of Rajputana, has fine mosques and a strong tradition of Islamic scholarship.
- Shared music: the Manganiyar musicians of the desert are Muslim, yet for generations they have sung for Hindu Rajput patron families, including songs to Hindu gods.
The Bishnoi, the saints and other paths
The Bishnoi: followers of Guru Jambheshwar, a fifteenth-century teacher from the desert. Their twenty-nine principles forbid cutting green trees and killing animals, and their temple at Mukam in Bikaner district is their holiest place.
Khejarli: in 1730, Amrita Devi and 363 Bishnoi villagers died near Jodhpur trying to stop the felling of their khejri trees. Our Bishnoi villages page explains how we visit them.
- Meera Bai: a sixteenth-century Rajput princess who married into the house of Mewar and devoted her life and songs to Krishna. Her temple stands in Chittorgarh Fort.
- Dadu Dayal: a sixteenth-century saint-poet who taught devotion beyond caste and ritual. His followers, the Dadupanthis, have their centre at Naraina, west of Jaipur.
- The Ramsnehis: a devotional order centred on Shahpura in Bhilwara district, known for their simple, image-free worship of Rama's name.
- The Nath yogis: an order of ascetics who were powerful at the court of Jodhpur in the early nineteenth century. Their great monastery, the Mahamandir, stands in the city.
- The Sikhs: most live in the irrigated north around Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh, where many farming families settled, and their gurdwaras welcome visitors.
- Buddhism: at Bairat, near Jaipur, the remains of an early Buddhist shrine and an edict of the emperor Ashoka show that the faith was here more than two thousand years ago.
Sacred groves, animals and water
Orans: sacred groves dedicated to a local god or goddess, where trees are not cut and animals graze freely. They are some of the last patches of native woodland in the Thar.
The khejri tree: sacred to the Bishnoi and worshipped by many villagers. Its leaves feed goats and camels, and its pods become sangri, the desert bean.
- The peacock: India's national bird, sacred to Krishna, wanders tame through villages and temple courtyards. Nobody here would harm one.
- Cows: sacred to Hindus, they wander the streets of every town, and many families feed one before eating themselves.
- Monkeys and langurs: honoured as servants of Hanuman, they live at temples such as Galtaji. Our page on langurs and temples explains how to visit them safely.
- Sacred water: Pushkar's lake has 52 bathing ghats, and stepwells, tanks and lakes across Rajasthan have shrines at their edges. Bathing at Pushkar during Kartik is believed to wash away sins.
- The rats of Deshnoke: held sacred as the future incarnations of Karni Mata's devotees, they are fed milk and grain by the priests.
The sacred calendar
Navratri: nine nights of the goddess, ending at Dussehra, when effigies of Ravana are burned. Goddess temples overflow, and Kota holds a famous Dussehra fair.
Diwali: the festival of lights, when homes and bazaars are lit with lamps and families worship Lakshmi, goddess of wealth. Shops open new account books.
Holi: the spring festival of colour, with a bonfire the night before. Joyful, wild and best enjoyed in a private, safe setting.
- Navratri
- Spring and autumn, nine nights of the goddess
- Diwali
- October or November
- Holi
- February or March
- Gangaur
- March or April
- Teej
- July or August
- Pushkar
- Kartik Purnima, October or November
- Gangaur and Teej: women's festivals honouring Gauri and Parvati, with processions of the goddess in Jaipur and Udaipur.
- Janmashtami: Krishna's birthday, celebrated with special devotion at Nathdwara and in every Krishna temple.
- Kartik Purnima at Pushkar: the full moon of Kartik brings pilgrims to bathe in the sacred lake, alongside the Pushkar camel fair.
- The Urs at Ajmer: the saint's anniversary in Rajab, with qawwali through the night.
- Jain festivals: Mahavir Jayanti in spring, and Paryushan, a period of fasting and forgiveness, in the monsoon.
- Village fairs: the Ramdevra fair in Bhadrapada and the Baneshwar fair of the Bhils, at the meeting of rivers near Dungarpur, around the full moon of Magh.
How to visit with respect
Dress modestly: long trousers or skirts and covered shoulders for everyone. A light scarf is useful for covering your head where needed. Read what to wear in temples.
Shoes off: leave them at the stall by the gate, often for a small fee. Socks are allowed in most places, and they save your feet on hot stone.
No leather in Jain temples: belts, wallets, bags and watch straps may need to stay outside.
- Cover
- Shoulders and knees, heads at Ajmer and gurdwaras
- Remove
- Shoes everywhere, leather in Jain temples
- Photography
- Ask first, never in most sanctums
- Hands
- Right hand for offerings and prasad
- Photography: many temples forbid it in the sanctum, and some forbid it anywhere. Look for the sign, or ask. Our photography tips cover the rules.
- Do not touch the image: only priests touch the deity. Stand back, join your hands and watch.
- Walk clockwise: keep the shrine on your right as you go round it.
- Feet and pointing: never point your feet at a shrine or a person, and do not sit with your back to the deity.
- Entry rules: a few temples restrict entry to certain people or parts of the building. We check in advance and explain, so nobody is embarrassed at the gate.
- Offerings and donations: both are welcome, never required. Ignore anyone who insists on a large payment for a blessing.
- Quiet voices: in a temple, a mosque or a gurdwara, speak softly and keep phones silent. Our full guide to temple etiquette has more.
How we arrange temple visits
At the right hour: we visit at morning or evening aarti, when temples are alive, or at quiet hours if you prefer calm.
With context: a guide explains the gods, the rituals and the stories before you go in, so nothing feels strange.
- Respecting worship: we never push into the front of a queue meant for devotees, and we ask before photographing anyone at prayer.
- Beyond the famous names: we include village shrines, hero stones and folk-music evenings, where faith is closest to daily life.
- A whole journey: our Sacred Rajasthan journey links Pushkar, Ajmer, Nathdwara, Ranakpur and Mount Abu at an unhurried pace.
- For the curious: our page on temples we arrange explains private visits, evening aarti and meetings with priests and scholars.
What most visitors miss
The roadside shrine: stop at a small goddess shrine on a country road at dusk, when the lamp is lit and the village children come to ring the bell.
A phad reading: a night under the stars listening to a Bhopa sing the epic of Pabuji before his painted scroll.
- Evening at Govind Dev Ji: the evening darshan in Jaipur, when the whole old city seems to arrive at once.
- The pilgrims on the road: in the monsoon, families walking to Ramdevra with flags. Stop and share water, and you will be thanked.
- Qawwali at Ajmer: sit at the edge of the courtyard on a Thursday evening and let the music carry on into the night.
- The Savitri climb: Pushkar's lake and temples seen from Savitri's hilltop shrine at sunrise, with the bells rising from the town below.