Information of Khodiyar Temple, Rajpara, Bhavnagar, Gujarat

Khodiyar Temple is situated on the panel of Khodiyar Lake of Mithadharva village in Gujarat. It is situated at rajapara village in Bhavnagar district ofGujrat. It is dedicated to goddess Khodiyar. Every year thousands of devotees come to Khodiyar Temple in order to visit the goddess. This temple also attracts lots of tourists from different regions of India. Very frequently, devotees walk for long distance in order to visit Khodiyar Temple and to give offerings to the key deity.

Khodiyar Temple Religious Significance

Khodiyar Temple is a site of high religious significance. There is a great story which is related with the appearance of goddess Khodiyar. It is said that 'Lapsi' is the key offering to the deity. Created from wheat and sweet, lapsi is regarded as the most favourable food for goddess Khodiyar. In the day when goddess Khodiyar was born, considerable amount of lapsi is prepared for distributing to the devotees.

It is also believed that mother Khodiyar had saved the life of his brother who suffered from a deadly illness. As she magnificently saved the life of his brother she came to be famous as a goddess. Her divine vehicle is crocodile which represent her sovereignty. In order to give honour to goddess Khodiyar, the temple was created in the year 1911. Thus from historical point of view, it is highly important and more of all spiritual and religiously significant.

Khodiyar Temple Mythology & History

The legend of goddess Khodiyar dates back to 700 AD. It started from a village named Roishala of Vallabhipur region in Gujarat. King Shilbhadra was the ruler of that region and his best friend was Mamaniya Gadhvi. Mamaniya was truthful, modest and was an articulate Shiv devotee. The king used to converse with Mamaniya for long hours at his palace and refer to him for vital governance matters. Such coalition between king Shilbhadra and Mamaniya was coveted by several ministers in the king's council. They detested the presence of Mamaniya at the king's palace and the personal compartment of the king. However, they dare not to express their detestation about Mamaniya to the king. Thus, they did expressed their feelings to the queen.

One day one of king's ministers told to the queen that Mamaniya and his wife were barren as they did not had child after long years of wedding. This clarified by the minister that the presence of Mamaniya is discouraging for the king, the empire and queen's opportunity of having child. As a result, Mamaniya was desisted from entering into the palace. He was told by the guards that the king did not desire to see his discouraging face. Surprised by such decision, Mamaniya asked for the cause for such change in approach of the king. Then the guard told him that the king believe it gloomy to see a man without a child to be present in the palace.

Mamaniya felt distressed and left the palace without any argument. He was quite disheartened by the embarrassment caused after long time of bond and unselfish service to the king. The depression of Mamaniya could not be faced by his wife, but she could do little in order to please him. Thus, Mamaniya prayed to lord Shiv for having children and performed a ritual named Kamal worship. Mamaniya even decided to sacrifice his life to lord Shiv. However, before sacrificing his life, lord Shiv appeared near him and granted his wish. Since Mamaniya was not destined to become a father, the 7 daughters and 1 son of lord Nagdev agreed to take birth as his children. One among the 7 children that were born is termed as goddess Khodiyar.

Khodiyar Temple Architectural Significance

Khodiyar Temple is created attractively by various structures. It has an idol of the key divinity, i.e. goddess Khodiyar. Khodiyar Temple follows the classic Hindu architectural style. The temple is about 500 feet long and 300 feet tall. The design of the temple is astonishing while the columns possess intrinsic statues. There are large number of steps which direct to the main temple compound. Nowadays, Khodiyar Temple is being refurbished by Arashpahan stone.