Why devotees come here
Becharaji is a temple town and taluka capital in Mehsana district, Gujarat. Bahucharaji Temple is the primary temple of Devi Bahuchara Mata. About 1.5 million pilgrims visit it every year.
Bahuchara Mata is a Hindu deity, shown seated on a rooster, which symbolizes innocence. Devotees believe she grants favours. The temple is her primary temple, and it is considered a minor Shakta pitha. Legend says a Koli bandit attacked her caravan. Bahuchara showed mercy and ordered him to build a shrine to her. He built the first shrine under a varakhada tree in Shankhalpur. In the Becharaji Vesha legend, the Solankis of Kalri were saved from humiliation. They then became loyal devotees of the shrine.
One account credits King Sankhal Raj with building the original shrine in 1152 CE. The earliest surviving mention of the shrine is an inscription dated 1280 CE. In 1779, Manajirao Gaekwad, younger brother of the Baroda ruler, raised a third structure near the old shrine.
The complex has three shrines of Bahuchara Mata. The oldest, called Adyasthan, is a small temple enclosing a sprawling varakhadi tree, believed to be where she first appeared. The third shrine is the main temple today, and it holds a Bala Yantra, a quartz crystal that represents her. Stone carvings and wall paintings decorate the complex.
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