| 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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Kolayat Festival
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