watch on youtube
The history of Mount Abu is as diverse as the city itself.
It was once a part of the Chauhan kingdom of Rajasthan and
served as a summer resort for the Rajput kings of the region.
After that, it was leased by the British government from the
then Maharaja of Sirohi for use as the headquarter of the
resident to Rajputana (another name for Rajasthan).
Mount Abu was the home of many saints and sages in the old days.
Legend has it that all the 330 million gods and goddesses of the
Hindu pantheon used to visit this holy mountain. It is also the
place where the great saint Vashishth lived and performed a yagna
(sacrificial worship on a fire pit) to create four Agnikula (four
clans of fire) to protect the earth from demons. The yagna was
supposed to have been performed near a natural spring, which emerged
from a rock shaped like a cow's head. According to another legend,
once sage Vashishth's cow Nandini was trapped in a deep gorge and
could not free herself. The sage appealed to Lord Shiva for assistance.
The Lord sent Saraswati, the divine stream, to help flood the gorge
so that the cow could float up. Vashishth then decided to ensure that
such mishaps did not occur in future. He asked the youngest son of
Himalaya, the king of mountains to fill the chasm permanently. This he
did with the assistance of Arbud, the mighty snake.This spot came to be
known as Mount Arbud and was later changed to its present form Mount Abu.
This place is held in reverence by Jains as well since Jain scriptures
record that Lord Mahavira, the 24th Jain Tirthankar (spiritual leader),
also visited Mount Abu and blessed the city.
It was here that an elderly mystic, Balam Rashiya, fell in love with a
nubile teenager.The parents of the adolescent girl were bothered by the
unreasonable demand of the sage. They soon devised a plan, according to
which they placed a condition in front of the aging spiritualist. They
told him to dig a lake with his fingernails, before sunup, failing which
he would not get the hand of their daughter as his bride. The aging guru
accepted the stipulation and earnestly went to work to win over his bride.
Seeing the sage succeeding in his mission, the parents went to the gods,
beseeching them to save their daughter from becoming the bride of a very
old maharishi. The gods betrayed the sage by imitating a cock, which crowed
too early to announce the daybreak. The sage was heartbroken, thinking that
he had failed in his stipulated mission and would not have his much adored
teenager as his wife. In the divine process the love lake Nakki was born.
It is in the old scripture, Mount Abu is named after the mythical snake
Arbuda. It has been described as the most sacred place on earth. According
to Padma Purana one night’s stay at Mount Abu has the blessing equivalent to
the charity of giving one thousand cows. It was considered the abode of great
saints and Gods. Mount Abu finds mention in the Puranas, like Skund Purana,
Upanishads, and Mahabharata and in the travelogues of Magasthanese, Col. Todd
and many others. It was here that the four, fiery Rajput clans were born from
the fire of Havana performed by the sage, Rishi Vashishta. The place was plagued
by incessant tremors. Once again Lord Shiva came to its rescue. He pressed his
big toe at the sacred Achalgarh to steady the mountain. Likewise, the peak of
Mount Abu came to be known as Guru Shikhar after the guru of the Devas, Dattatreya
Muni. Similarly, Gaumukh, the Vashishta Ashram, became famous as the precincts
of the sacrosanct fire, which gave birth to the four Rajput Agnikula clans.
Nakki Lake is located centrally as a major attraction in Mount Abu. There
are few Jain temples built from carved stone and marble,dedicated to Jain
Tirthankaras. Dilwara Jain Temples are famous for beautiful and complex ar
_chitectural carving. Besides, The 'Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary' was esta
_blished in 1960. It covers 280 to 300 Sq. Km of the mountains and Jungle.
It is one of the popular wildlife reserve places in western part of India.
With best of scenic views, climate, sightseeing, attractions, adventurous
sports, shopping, arts, cultural heritage and honeymoon resorts,Mount Abu
one of the top honeymoon places in India. Water rides in Nakki Lake are
memorable for life time. Having said so, There is no doubt that Mount Abu
is a major tourist center and Nakki Lake is number one tourist spot.
There are many hotels located around Nakki Lake. Tourist can easily find
various hotels and resorts at Mount Abu thru this site. Various five star
& three star hotels located at Mount Abu are famous for their hospitality
and many are being developed. Hotels in Mount Abu are spread in such a way
that all the tourist attraction places and shopping places are nearby so
that tourists can visit most of them easily. Most Hotels even provide trans
_portation facility. You can view various sections on this site to get
fantastic virtual experience of visiting Mount Abu.
Mount Abu is a prominent name in that list and manages to attract a lot of
tourists. When rest of Rajasthan experiences comparatively less number of
tourists due to the scorching heat, Mount Abu experiences a high footfall
of tourists as it provides a respite from the scorching heat. Moreover,
there are a number of tourist attractions in Mount Abu. These tourist
attractions make the only hill station of Rajasthan a favorable place
for the tourists.
PLACE TO VISIT IN MOUNT ABU:
1. Achalgarh
2. Toad Rock
3. Guru Shikhar
4. Nakki Lake
5. Wildlife Sanctuary
6. Adhar Devi Temple
7. Dilwara Temples
8. Doodh Baori
9. Sunset Point
