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Gujarat
has two of India's most important Hindu temples-the Shiva temple
at Somnatli ind the Krishna temple at Dwarka-both set on the shores
of the Arabian sea.
Dwarka is one of
the most important Hindu pilgrimages, together with Ayodhya, Benres,
Mathura, Gaya, Kanchipuram and Ujjain. A trip to the Dwark-adish temple,
also calledjagat mandir, is a yatra on par with dhams like the Badrinath-Kedarnath,
Puri Bhuvaneshwar and Rameshwaram pilgrimages. Krishna is said to
have come with the entire Yadava clan from the city of Mathuta to
build the fortified citadel of- Dwarka, the reason for this site being
specially auspicious. He eloped with princess Rukmani of Vidharbha
and her temple can be seen at Dwarka. There are numerous other temples
at Dwarka. South of Dwarka is the Harshidi mata temple, which is set
on a hill near the coastal highwayA close associate of lord Krishna,
Sudama has an important temple in his name at Porbandar.
Sonmath too has an association with lord Krishna. The lord is said
to have met his end at Bakhla tirth, Somnath, and his cenotaph can
be seen at Triveni tirth, the confluence of rivers and the sea. Somnath
is one of the 12 jyotirlingas of lord Shiva. Shiva is said to have
stated that he was omnipresent but specially at 12 places one of which
is Somnath. The temple of Somnath is therefore considerably important
for Hindus.
Another shore temple town that has associations with both Shiva and
Krishna is Gopnath, where the mystic poet Narsingh Mehta is said to
have attained enlightenment, seen lord Shiva and witnessed the Ras
leela of lord Krishna. The temple has a white flag on the dome and
saffron flags on both skies.
Narsingh
Mehta's Choro at junagadh is an important pilgrimage for those who
revere this saintly poet. Another important pilgrimage is Damodar
kund, on the outskirts of junagadh, in the Girnar foothills. Mount
Girnar has a number of Hindu and Jain temples of religious importance.
Virpur, near Gondal, and Khodiar, near Bhavnagar, are other important
pilgrim spots of Saurashtra.
For
believers in Shakti, important temples are Ambaji in north Gujarat
and Pawagadh east of Vadodara. Lord Krishna is worshipped as Ranchod
at Dakore in central Gujarat. At the northwest tip of peninsular
India are the temples of Narayan Sarovar and Koteshwar. The Narayan
sarovar lake is one of the The River Narmada is one of the holy
rivers of India, and ghats at Chandod, Shuklatirth and Garudeshwar
are important for pilgrims.
