Dark matter is now unambiguously established as the dominant component of matter density of the universe. As per the Lambda-CDM model of cosmology, and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation measurements, it accounts for about 27% of the energy density of the universe and 85% of the matter content of the universe. In this talk, we will first outline the independent observational evidences that point to the existence of dark matter. We will then move on to discuss the early cosmology and relevance of particle physics in the context of early evolution of the universe. This will be followed by a short discussion of the CMB radiation, highlighting the imprint of dark matter on its anisotropies. In the later part of the talk, we will survey current approaches to probing dark matter through particle physics models, direct and indirect detection efforts, and ongoing searches at the Large Hadron Collider. While this includes aspects of our own research, the presentation aims to provide a broad overview of the present status of dark matter research. The talk is intended for a general physics audience and will be accessible to researchers and advanced postgraduate students without specialized training in particle physics or cosmology.