Eternal India Encyclopedia

708 / 822

A GREAT DESTINATION Eternal India
encyclopedia
Around Baroda
Champaner : 40 km from Baroda, in a picturesque setting, Cham-
paner was the capital of Gujarat, for some years during the late
15th and early 16th centuries.
It is situated at the foot of a wooded hill (hill of Pavagadh) atop
which are the ruins of a fort and the temple of Amba, the Mother
Goddess.
Two important festivals are held here each year.
In 1553, the Moghuls led by Humayun himself scaled the fort
walls with the use of iron spikes driven into the rocks and took the
fort and its city.
The Jamma Masjid is one of the finest mosques in Gujarat.
Dabhoi Fort : The 13th century fort of Dabhoi is 29 km south-east
of Baroda. It is a fine example of Hindu military architecture and
noted for the design of its four gateways particularly the Hira or
Diamond gate. There is a temple inside built like a Greek cross.
Pavagadh : Hill resort and picnic spot.
Dakar : Equidistant from Ahmedabad and Baroda (100 km from
Baroda) is Dakor, famous for the temple of Ranchodrai, sacred to
Shri. Krishna.
A grand fair is held here on Sharad Purnima, the sacred full
moon night that falls in October/November.
Surat : 129 km from Baroda, second largest city in Gujarat on the
banks of the Tapti. The Dutch, the Portuguese as well as the
English built their factories here when they came to India. It is an
important manufacturing town with a major textile industry. In the
12th century Parsis first settled in Surat, where they had fled from
Persia five centuries before. A fort built by Mohamad-bin-Tuglaq
is an attraction. Nearby are lovely beach spots of Hajira & Ubhrat
with cottages amidst palm groves.
Jamnagar: The princely state of Jamnagar was ruled by the Jadeja
Rajputs prior to independence. The city is built around a lake
(Sursagar lake) with an island in the middle reached by a bridge.
On this island, the Lakhota Fort has a museum with a good
collection of sculptures and archaeological finds.
Also on the island the Kotha Bastion has an old well from which
water can be drawn by blowing into a small hole in the floor.
Jamnagar has two local ports, Rosi and Bedi.
Junagadh : Situated at the base of Girnar hill. The Nawab of
Junagadh opted for Pakistan at the time of Independence in 1947
but the people; the majority of whom were Hindus voted to stay in
India. Junagadh is the link station for tourists going to Gir Forest.
Junagadh (meaning ancient fort) has Ashokan edicts dating from
250 B.C.
Junagadh Fort : Also known as Uparkot Fort, this citadel built by
a Rajput King, has walls over 20 metres high. The fort contains
Buddhist caves carved more than 1500 years ago. A double sto-
reyed cave has six richly carved pillars. There is also a five metre
long cannon cast in Egypt in 1531.
Girnar hills and temples : Atop the hill is the temple of Mother
Amba where newly married couples come to pray. There are 5
temples dedicated to the Jain saints the most imposing being the
shrine of Neminath, built in the 12th century.
Maqbara : The mausoleums of the rulers of Junagadh, weapons of
bygone days preserved in a hall.
Shrine of Narasimha Mehta : This institution bears the memory of
a saint poet of the 15th century. His moving songs, steeped in
devotional spirit are popular all over Gujarat.
Gir Forest: The Sasan Gir forest is the last home of the Asiatic
lion. It is 127 km from Junagadh & 700 km from Ahmedabad.
There are less than 200 lions left. The sanctuary covers 1400
sq.km and the best time to visit is between October and June.
Apart from lions there are also bears, hyenas, foxes and a number
of species of deer and antelope.
Palitana & Shatrunjaya hills : 214 km from Ahmedabad. Palitana,
a famous seat of Jain faith, lies at the foot of 600m high Sha-
trunjaya hills which itself can be called a city of deities. Almost
all the temples are Jain.
The river Shatrunjaya flows by. Its water is beneficial to
health. At the foot of the hill is the temple of mirrors, its dome
covered with coloured glass.
There are 863 marble temples on the hill, some of them dating
back to 11th century. The most important of these temples is that
of Shri. Adishwar, the earliest saint of the Jain faith. Among the
other temples are those of Kamarpal, Vinalshah, Sampriti Raja
andChowmuhi.
Somnath : 80 km from Junagadh. The temple of Somnath, at
Somnath Patan near Veraval, has had an extremely chequered
history, known in history as the temple plundered and ransacked
by Mohammed of Ghazni. Subsequently rebuilt.
It was destroyed again in 1297, 1394, and finally in 1706 by
Aurangzeb. After 1706 it was not rebuilt until 1950. Outside op-
posite the entrance is a large statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
(1875-1950) who was responsible for its restoration.
It is one of the 12 sacred Shiva shrines known as Jyotirlingam.
Hardly anything of the original temple remains.
A path from the temple, takes one to a lovely place known as
Parashuram Tapobhum. The sage Parashuram had passed some
time in penance here. By road Somnath is 370 km from Ahme-
dabad.
Dwaraka : Known in ancient days as Dwaravati, one of the four
most sacred places of India. This was the kingdom once ruled by
Sri Krishna. The original Dwaraka according to legends got sub-
merged in the sea soon after Sri Krishna left his body. Archaeo-
logical excavations have revealed five cities at the site, all now
submerged.
Dwarakadish temple : The most important temple at Dwaraka is
the Dwarakadish temple, also called Jagat mandir, dedicated to
Sri Krishna. The temple is on the banks of river Gomati.
Rukmini temple : 2 km from Dwarakadish temple is the temple of
Rukmini, one of the consorts of Shri Krishna.
The Shankaracharya math : This is one of the four monasteries
founded by Adi Shankara in four directions in the country.
Bet Dwaraka : 32 km from Dwaraka , an. island near Okha port.
There are modern Krishna temples on the island. Dwaraka is the
site for an important festival at Janmashtami which falls in Au-
gust or September.
Porbandar : 475 km from Ahmedabad Porbandar is the birthplace
of Gandhiji. Porbandar has several large cement and chemical
factories and a textile mill.