History of Mount Abu
The history of Mount Abu is
as varied as the city itself. It was once a
part of the Chauhan kingdom of Rajasthan and
served as a summer resort for the Rajput kings
of the region. After that, it was leased by
the British government from the then Maharaja
of Sirohi for use as the headquarter of the
resident to Rajputana (another name for Rajasthan).
Mount Abu was the home of many
saints and sages in the old days. Legend says
that all the 330 million gods and goddesses
of the Hindu pantheon used to visit this holy
mountain. It is also the place where the great
saint Vashishth lived and performed a yagna
(sacrificial worship on a fire pit) to create
four Agnikula (four clans of fire) to protect
the earth from demons. The yagna was supposed
to have been performed near a natural spring,
which emerged from a rock shaped like a cow's
According to another legend,
once sage Vashishth's cow Nandini was trapped
in a deep gorge and could not free herself.
The sage appealed to Lord Shiva for assistance.
The Lord sent Saraswati, the heavenly stream,
to help flood the gorge so that the cow could
float up. Vashishth then decided to ensure that
such mishaps did not occur in future. He asked
the youngest son of Himalaya, the king of mountains
to fill the chasm permanently. This he did with
the assistance of Arbud, the mighty snake. This
spot came to be known as Mount Arbud
and the name was later changed to its present
This place is held in great reverence by the
Jains since Jain scriptures record that Lord
Mahavira, the 24th Jain Tirthankara (spiritual
leader) had visited Mount Abu and blessed the
During the British rule in
India, it was the favorite summer destination
of the British, who came here to escape the
dusty, dry heat of the plains particularly Rajasthan.
It also served as a sanatorium for the troops.
The small huts and cottages here tell stories
of those times even today.