Khodiyar Mata Temple

Getting there

• By air

  Bhavnagar Airport is about 3.5 km from the town and is reasonably well connected to major cities of India.

• By train

  Khodiyar Mandir Railway Station on the Bhavnagar-Dhola line was built with the temple's development. Trains with frequent connections run to Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

• By road

  Frequent buses link towns and cities across Gujarat. Gujarat Tourism gives 4 hours by road to Rajkot and 5 hours to Ahmedabad.

Rules to know

• Donations are voluntary and go toward running the temple and its services.

Why devotees come here

Khodiyar Mata Temple stands on the bank of Lake Tataliya, on the Bhavnagar-Rajkot highway just before Rajpara village. It is about 15 km from Bhavnagar. Khodiyar Mata is the guiding deity of the Gohil Rajputs, and a ropeway behind the temple climbs to a shrine on the hilltop.

Khodiyar Mata is venerated here as Sahayak Devi, the guiding deity of the Gohil Rajputs. Devotees also call her Janbai or Khodiyar Ma, and the temple has a staunch following among them.

The legend is told in folktales and oral tradition. It places the story in the 13th century, when Maharaja Ranji Gohil came to rule the village of Vana. At that time, she was already worshipped as a Lokdevi, a deity of the people.

Maharaja Wakhatsinhji first set up a humble shrine in Rajpara out of devotion to her. Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji of Bhavnagar turned that shrine into the temple standing today, and in 1953 he founded the Shri Khodiyar Mandir Trust. Gujarat Tourism dates the present temple to the early 20th century. Today it lies on the edge of Tataliya Wali Lake, with a ropeway at the back that connects its base to the hilltop shrine.

Festivals

• Chaitra NavratriChaitra Navratri Aatham Havan

  The trust's news lists an Aatham Havan during Chaitra Navratri.

Tips for your visit

• Sundays, Tuesdays and full moon nights (Poonam) are the days devotees mark as especially significant.
• On auspicious days pilgrims often walk to the temple to reach the dawn aarti.
• Lapsi, a dessert made from broken wheat, is the temple's main prasad.
• Takhteshwar Temple and Velavadar Blackbuck National Park are both listed as nearby sights.

Questions people ask