Kolayat

Kolayat is a place of pilgrimage in the arid country west of Bikaner. Temples, pavilions and bathing steps surround its sacred lake, which is associated with the sage Kapila. Tradition holds that Kapila performed austerities here beneath a peepul tree. Pilgrims gather at the lake for the annual fair on the full moon of Kartik, bathing in its waters as part of the observance. In the desert landscape, the lake and its shrines form a distinctive religious centre.