Jambheswar
Fair ( FEB - MAR )
The Jambheswar Fair is held in the village Mukam of tehsil Nokha, Bikaner District,
twice a year on Phalgun Budi Amavasya and Ashvin Budi Amavasya, in memory of
the founder of the Bishnoi sect -Jambheswarji. His teachings are condensed into
120 sayings which propagate the cardinal virtues of self-control, truth and
non-violence. He taught 29 articles of religion and hence the term Bishnoi from
Bees (twenty) and Nau (nine). The Bishnois consider him to be an incarnation
of Vishnu. Near the Nokha Town, there are two temples of Jambheswarji, one in
the village Mukam (mukam literally means abode) and the other on the sand dune
of Samarthal.
The temple at Mukam has the samadhi of Jambheswarji and a life-size portrait
adorns the central hall. On the ground floor, there are five rooms, one of which
is used to store grain offered by the visitors and the rest serve as a guest
house. The grain which is offered at the temple is used to feed pigeons, peacocks
and birds throughout the year beside the temple, built specifically for this
purpose.
A large fair is held in February-March on Phagun Budi Amavasya every year. It
is attended by people from Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, apart
from the local visitors. The second fair which is a smaller, localised affair,
is attended by people coming in from neighbouring villages on camels, bullock
carts and even on foot. The number of shops is lesser and comprises mostly of
sellers from Nokha, Himmatsar and Bikaner. The visitors go to the temple at
Mukam and the sand dune at Samarthal (where Jambhaji used to preach) and take
part in the worship and rituals. It is customary to take some sand from the
tank called Talai at Mukam and deposit it at the foot of the dune at Samarthal.
The village Mukam is 15 kms. away from Nokha. Regular buses plying from Bikaner
to Jaipur, Bikaner to Salasar and Nokha to Sujangarh stop by at the Mukam bus
stand. Nokha is 60 kms. from Bikaner on the Bikaner-Jodhpur road. It is also
a rail head of the Northern Railway.
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