Ajmer is the most sacred
of all Muslim places of pilgrimage in India . In 1193, after
Prithviraj Chauhan had lost Ajmer to Sultan Mohammed of
Ghori, the Persian saint, Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, who had
come with Ghori, settled and preached here.
Later in 1556, when Emperor Akbar captured Ajmer , he visited
the tomb of Khwaja on foot to pray for a son. The boon was
granted and the fame of Ajmer spread far and wide.
The entrance to the complex is the Dargah
Bazaar, through a high gateway that leads into the first
courtyard. The tomb surrounded by silver railings is enshrined
in a domed marble chamber in the centre of the second courtyard
near the magnificent mosque of Shah Jahan. Devotees sprinkle
rose petals over the grave when they pray here.
The tomb attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every
year on the anniversary of the saint's death, the Urs, in
the 7th month of the lunar calendar. Sweetened rice filled
in degs are served to devotees on Urs.
