Rajasthan is a state in northern India. The state covers an area of 342,239 square kilometers or 10.4 percent of the total geographical area of India. Its capital is Jaipur with the stretch of 484.6 km². It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population and is famous for its many historical forts, temples and palaces (havelis), which predominantly drives tourism in the state.
History
Archaeological evidence indicates that early humans lived along the banks of the Banas River and its tributaries some 100,000 years ago. The Indus (Harappan) and post-Indus civilizations (3rd–2nd millennium BCE) are traceable at Kalibangan in northern Rajasthan, as well as at Ahar and Gilund, both near the city of Udaipur in the south. Pottery fragments at Kalibangan date to 2700 BCE. The discovery near Bairat (in north-central Rajasthan) of two rock inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE indicate that the area was at that time under the rule of Ashoka, the last great emperor of the Mauryan dynasty of India. The whole or parts of present-day Rajasthan were ruled by Bactrian (Indo-Greek) kings in the 2nd century BCE, the Shaka satraps (Scythians) from the 2nd to the 4th century CE, the Gupta dynasty from the early 4th to the late 6th century, the Hephthalites (Hunas) in the 6th century, and Harsha (Harshavardhana), a Rajput ruler, in the early 7th century.
Rajasthan has a rich tradition of both oral narrative and written literature.
The most-famous song is “Kurja,” which tells the story of a woman who wishes to send a message to her absent husband by a kurja (a type of bird), who is promised a priceless reward for his service. In the literary tradition, Chand Bardai’s epic poem Prithviraj Raso (or Chand Raisa), the earliest manuscript of which dates to the 12th century, is particularly notable.
Rajasthan abounds in objects of antiquarian interest.
Early Buddhist rock inscriptions and carvings are found in caves in the southeastern district of Jhalawar; the area around Ajmer has a number of mosques and Muslim tombs, the oldest of which dates to the end of the 12th century; and Bikaner, in the northwest, has a spectacular 15th-century Jain temple. Splendid princely palaces, many elaborately decorated with wall paintings, are scattered throughout the state; the palace at Udaipur is especially notable. Those and other historic structures (e.g., temples) are often within several historic Rajput hill forts, six of which—including those at Chittaurgarh, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, and Jhalawar—were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2013.
Cultural life in Rajasthan is characterized by numerous religious festivals.
Among the most popular of those celebrations is the Gangaur festival, during which clay images of Mahadevi and Parvati (representing the benevolent aspects of the Hindu mother goddess) are worshipped by women of all castes for 15 days and are then taken out to be immersed in water. Another important festival, held at Pushkar near Ajmer, takes the form of a mixed religious festival and livestock fair; Hindu pilgrims come seeking salvation during the celebration, while farmers from all corners of the state bring their camels and cattle to show and sell. The tomb of the Sufi mystic Khwājah Muʿīn al-Dīn Chishtī at Ajmer is one of the most-sacred Muslim shrines in India. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, many from foreign countries, visit the shrine each year on the occasion of the saint’s ʿurs (death anniversary).
