Damodarji Temple and Damodar Kund

Getting there

• By air

  Rajkot Airport is about 100 km from Junagadh and is the nearest major airport with regular scheduled flights.

• By train

  Junagadh Junction railway station, part of Western Railway, serves the city on the Rajkot to Somnath line.

• By road

  Junagadh lies on National Highway 8D, which connects it with Rajkot and Veraval.

On the way

• The steps for the Girnar hill climb start near Damodar Kund.
• Revati Kund lies close to Damodar Kund, on the way to the Damodarji temple.

Why devotees come here

Damodar Kund is a sacred lake at the foot of the Girnar hills near Junagadh, Gujarat. Its Damodarji temple honours a four-armed form of Krishna, shown with Radha. The Gujarat state government protects the lake as a monument, and the steps up the Girnar hills start near it.

Damodar Kund is a lake at the foot of the Girnar hills near Junagadh, and Hindu belief holds it sacred. The Gujarat state government protects it as a monument. Shri Damodarji is the chosen deity, or Ishtdev, of the Giri Narayan Brahmin community and several other local communities. Each of his four arms holds a conch, a discus, a mace and a lotus.

Tradition says the idols were installed by Vajranabha, the grandson of Krishna. Another tradition links a Suryavanshi ruler named Chandraketpur with building or renovating the temples. The 15th-century Gujarati poet Narsinh Mehta, a devotee of Krishna, is closely linked with the life of the lake.

The temple complex covers 32 acres and is built of pink sandstone. It has an inner Nij Mandir and an outer Solaha Mandapa, each topped with a shikhara and held up by about 84 carved pillars. The Nij Mandir shikhara is 65 feet tall, and the Sabha Mandap shikhara is 30 feet tall.

Tips for your visit

• The government provides changing rooms, public toilets and other basic amenities at Damodar Kund.
• The Gujarat state government protects Damodar Kund as a monument.

Questions people ask