BALIKA TIRTHA ,SOMNATH, GIR , JUNAGAD .& GONDAL

BALIKA TIRTHA.
Balika tirtha is constructed on the site where lord Krishna is said to have been mistakenly shot in the foot. Nearby is ‘Dehotsang “where he succumbed to his mortal wound. There is a Tulasi tree planted in Lord Krishna’s memory. The idol inside the temple is of Krishna with the foot wounded and a Boya bowing to Lord.
By the side of temple there is a two storey building which is constructed by Brahmakumari”s organization. It houses an exhibition with beautiful sculptures depicting the Vedic culture of Hinduism. Adjacent to this there is a big Shiva Lingam about 20 feet height.
Nearby we visited a place named as “Baldev gufa’.According to legend Lord Krishna “s elder brother Balarama disappeared through this cave and went back to Swarga as he was considered to be incarnation of Sheshnag (Serpent God) .

SOMNATH. ,
We reached Somnath around 7 P.M. and after checking in hotel ,we proceeded straight away to ‘ Somnath Mahaadev Temple ‘for Harathi Darshan,which is scheduled at 8 P.M .Unlike Dwaraka at Somnath the crowd is well disciplined and things are well organized. The Harathi Darshan was witnessed by all in a very orderly manner.
Somnath Temple is the, biggest among all the 12 Jyothirlingas. The temple complex is very big spread over few square k.meters.The security checks are elaborate. Cameras etc are not allowed in the temple premises. We could not take any photos of lord and the Temple Because of tight Security. Rules.
The Legend says that the principal temple has been built in gold by the Moon God “Soma”, in silver by Sun God “Ravi”, in wood by Lord Krishna. The temple in stone was constructed in the 11 Th century by Solanki Rajpuths.As History goes series of invasions occurred in the temple attracted of its riches. The present temple is constructed in the year 1951.
The temple is on the coast of Arabian Sea, its Shikhara nearly 50 meters tall presents a breath taking view. The temple’s imposing architecture included intricate carvings, impressive Nandi idol and the central Shiva Linga.In and around temple you find vast open places.
An exhibition of sculptures of Shiva, Parvathi and episodes from Shiva purana are depicted on the east side of the temple. The history of the Somanath temple from 11th century to the present is separately presented in a exhibition hall..

GIR SANCTUARY.
Next day we started from Somnath to Gir Sanctuary and reached Gir around 11 A.M.Gir is only the place outside Africa with wild Lions in its natural habitat. To enter the Gir Sanctuary one has to take permit. The permit charges are Rs 400 with Rs 100 charged for Camera. You are allowed to go either in your own vehicle or you can hire a vehicle with guide. The hiring charges are Rs 700 for maximum of six people. There are two trips one in the morning and one in the evening. Each trip is of duration approximately 3 to 4 hours and covers wide area of the forest. Surprisingly you will be traveling in open vehicle. We are told that Lion is a royal animal and it will not hurt human beings unless it is provoked. Only the instruction was that we should not get down from the vehicle.
We were there for three hours in the Jungle but we could not site the royal animal. There are 350 lions in the area of 1200 sq.k.meters of forest..Siting a lion is pure luck, but we could see deers, peacocks, Wild boars, Monkeys and variety of birds. It is thrilling experience to drive-in the forest mingling with the nature. There is a lake in the Sanctuary with full of crocodiles. You can just see them on the surface of water. We are told that there are 500 crocodiles in the lake.
The Gir forest resort where we stayed is quite cozy and comfortable.
Next day morning we are on the way to Junagad.

JUNAGAD.
Oldest part of Junagad (About 2300 years old) is “Upparkot Fort’. This fort was originally built by the Hindu Kings .The walls of fort are upto 20 meters height at certain places. There is also 300 feet deep Trench inside the walls used to be inhabited by crocodiles so as to protect from the invaders.
Just outside the entrance are the temples of Ganesh, Hanuman, and Shakthi.There is only one entrance. Entry and exit is only through this entrance.Closeby are there two cannons named as “Neelam ‘and ‘Mareck’.
Inside the fort there are two Step wells very deep; one is “Navghav Kuwa’ which is built in 11th century and the other “Adikadi Kuwa’ built in 15th century.
The local people say that when well (Adi Kadi kuwa) was excavated down into the hard stone no water was found. Two unmarried girls were sacrificed on the advice of royal priest. They say after the sacrifice the water was found. The well was named against their named “Adi’ and “Kadi’. Superstitions were prevailing those days which are unfortunately still there in some parts of the country. Apart from these wells Buddhist caves of 2500 years old are there around “Upper khot’. This fort is converted by Muslim rulers into grave yard later
Another historical place and mythologically famous is Mount Girnar.The highest point in Gujarat, Mount Girnar is a hillock with 866 Hindu and Jain temples.A hike up the mountain needs about 6 hours in one way with 10000 steps. The steps begin near Damodar Kund, a sacred small lake. The saint Bhagath Narsingh Mehta, a 15th century Saint’s temple is by the side of the Damodar kund.At the top of the temple we are told there is a Kalika temple. Trekking Girnar is really adventurous considering 10000 steps. Fair amount of pilgrims undertake trekking to have darshan of gods. As per the “Stala purana’, in those days mountains used to have wings and these winged mountains used to create anarchy. Hence Indra started cutting the wings of these Giris with his Vajrayudha.To escape from the anger of Indra Mount Girnar hid himself in the sea. Mount Girnar happens to be the brother of Parvathi a search was undertaken to find him.Atlast they found him in the sea. Parvathi got angry with the Sea and asked the sea to go further down by few Yojanas so that Mount Girnar can come out. Sea obliged. Mount Girnar settled there .Parvathi was angry with Indra and asked all the devatas including Indra to reside on the Mount Girnar.Hence it acquired such importance and they say all sins will be wiped out if you have darshan of Mount Girnar once in your life time..

The significant part of Junagad’s heritage spots are the stone edicts of Emperor Asoka found on the road towards Mt Girnar.These edicts are precepts of speaking in moral and ethical terms. The edict is in the language of’”Pali”.Ashoka when converted into Buddhism had edicts carved in stone and placed in sites all over across India (Ranging from Kandahar in West, Bangladesh East , Andhra Pradesh in South and in Junagad )
Another Heritage centre is “’Mahabath maqbara”which is built in over the grave of Nawab Mahabbath Khan. Its architecture mixes Hindu, Muslim and European influences.
Junagad Museum, and Durbar hall Museum are two famous Museums in Junagad.We could not see these Museums as they are closed down on Wednesday and we happened to be there on Wednesday.

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GONDAL
Next day we are on the way back to Ahmadabad. On the way back we halted at Gondal and went round the palace and museums.
Gondal is known for its palace, vintage car Museum and Swaminarayan Temple.. The riverside palace commissioned in 1875 by Bhagwath Singh is now a heritage hotel..Gondal is ruled by a family of car enthusiasts whose royal passion resulted in a fine collection of automobiles which are now part of Museum in the palace premises.
An old well decorated Railway coach is also part of the museum. The railway coach is converted into hotel room with bed room, drawing room, dining hall, and bar. Similar to present “Palace on wheels.’. The visitors are allowed to see the museum and Palace.The entry ticket per head is Rs 60 for Vintage car Museum and Rs 20 for Railway coach and Rs 10 for the palace.
Swaminarayan temple at Gondal is an imposing structure spread over large area. During our visit it was closed for renovation work.
We reached Ahmadabad around 7 P.M.After spending further a day at Ahmadabad We returned back after 10 days of interesting and exciting tour.


“The End’