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Holy Places
The most ancient holy places in Gujarat
are Dwarka, the seat of the Yadava
kingdom of Lord Krishna and the Somnath temple at Veraval which is dedicated to
Lord Shiva. Ambaji, Palitana, Girnar and Pavagadh are hill top shrines similarly
dating back in history. Ambaji and Becharaji are two most popular
goddesses of Gujarat and the temples dedicated to these two goddesses are
the centres of pilgrimage for Hindus. Women observe vow of the goddess
Becharaji to obtain fertility. Other religious spots include Bhadreswar,
Dhakor in Kheda district, Shamlaji in the Sabarkantha district etc
Jains have their holy places at Miran Datar in Mehsana
district, Palitana
in the Shetrunjaya hill, in Taranga and the Jamial Shah Pir on the Datar hill near the
Girnar. Parsis have their holy places at
Udvada, near Surat. The holy flame brought
here by these worshippers of the sun-god still burns and inspires this small and
significant community. Besides these major holy places there are several
other temples in Gujarat. In fact Gujarat is a land of temples, which
besides their historical and religious significance, are noteworthy
for their architectural splendor.
Somnath
The
temple of Somnath is one of the oldest holy places in India. The
story of Chandra, the Moon-god associated with the shrine, adds to the
mystery of it. Among the twelve Jyotirlingas of Shiva, the one at Somnath
has precedence over all the others. Somnath had a chequered history. Every
time it was destroyed, it rose again with added splendour. Its destruction
at the hands of Mahmud of Ghazni was the precursor of the loss of India's
independence and its final renovation followed India regaining her lost
freedom. It was destroyed by Allauddin Khilji and Aurangazeb, and every
time it was rebuilt. Ahalyabai Holkar of Indore rebuilt the temple adjacent
to the original site.
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Shakti Temples- Pavagadh
Pavagadh in the centre of Gujarat has temples dedicated to goddesses Mahakali
and Bhadrakali. According to a legend Jayasimhadev, last of the Patai Rayal
rulers of the place was attracted during a Navratri festival to a beautiful
woman taking part in the Garba celebration. The beautiful woman was none other
than goddess Kali, who on being requested by the king to be his prime queen,
uttered a curse, as a result of which the Patai Raval lost his throne to Mahmug
Begado, the Muslim Sultan of Gujarat.
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Palitana
Palitana
is a holy place for the Jains, a small mercantile community of Gujarat. The
top of the Shetrunjaya, a nearby hill of 603 meters height, is covered
with about 863 temples, some of which are of pure marble and dates as far
back as the eleventh century. The Shetrunjaya is one of the five sacred
hills of the Jains. The other two in Gujarat being the Girnar and the
Taranga on which are also constructed temples dedicated to Jain Tirthankaras.
These holy places have a number of Dharmashalas where pilgrims can stay.
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Ambaji Temple
The Ambaji temple dedicated to Ambaji, a popular goddess
of Gujarat is located on the Arasur hill in the Aravali Range in Banaskantha
district. The mother goddess is a manifestation of Lord Shiva's consort
Parvathi. It is one of the 64 Shakthipith's, where pieces of the body
of Sathi, Shiva's consort fell. The marble shrine here does not have any
idol. Ambaji Fair dedicated to Amba, Mother goddess is celebrated on the
Purnima (full moon days) of the months of Kartik, Chaitra and Bhadrapada.
Ambaji is at a distance of 179 kms from Ahmedabad.
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Dhakor
Dhakor originally known as Dankpur, is an ancient temple
town in Kheda district, sacred to Lord Krishna. There are many temples
in Dhakor of which the temple of Ranchodrai has an idol of Krishna which
is said to be brought here from Dwarka, by a devotee. The town is located
40 kms east of Nadiad and about 94 kms. from both Vadodara and Ahmedabad.
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BAPS Swaminarayan Temple
Located on the Kalawad Road in Rajkot, the temple is a magnificent
structure built in pink stone and marble during1998-99.It follows the
Swaminarayan Sampradaya founded by Bhagwan Swaminarayan and belongs to
the Vaishnav tradition which is a form of Hindu religion.
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Ramkrishna Ashram & Jagat Mandir
Ramkrishna Ashram is the second, most important place for the followers
of Swami Vivekananda after Kolkata.Jagat mandir, a temple dedicated to
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa is also located there on Yagnik Road
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