- Celebrated on a full moon kartik poornima in November
every year, the Kolayat festival is a reminder of
the living traditions of ancient India. Also known
as the Kapil Muni fair, the Kolayat festival is
a festive event of great religious significance
for the Hindus.
- Pilgrims and tourists congregate at the venue
of the Kolayat festival and Kapil Muni fair that
is located on the banks of the Kolayat Lake. Pilgrims
bathe in the Kolayat Lake on the day of the Kolayat
festival and wash away their sins. Fringed by thick
banyan trees, the Kolayat Lake creates an aesthetic
ambience that forms the ideal venue for the Kolayat
festival celebrations.
- According to popular legend, the legendary Kapil
Muni meditated on the banks of the Kolayat Lake
for the emancipation of mankind. In fact Kolayat
in Bikaner was known as Kapilayatan after the sage
Kapil Muni. The religious significance of Kolayat
and the Kolayat fair is evident from the fact that
both find a mention in the Puranas, one of the most
significant Hindu scriptures.
- All the 52 Ghats on the banks of the Kolayat Lake
are enlivened with colorful activity, religious
incantations and festivities during the Kolayat
festival. Offerings of sugar drops, sweetmeats and
milk pudding are made at the Kolayat temple that
houses a marble statue of the sage Kapil Muni.
- The Deepmala ritual lights up the Kolayat Lake
at twilight when hundreds of oil lamps are lit and
left to float on leaves over the placid waters of
the Kolayat Lake.
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