Swaminarayan Temple, Gadhada

Getting there

• By air

  Bhavnagar Airport is a nearby domestic airport for Botad district.

• By train

  Trains reach Gadhada by getting down at Botad or Ningala on the Ahmedabad to Bhavnagar line.

• By road

  The temple is about 125 km from Ahmedabad. Regular buses and private vehicles run from Ahmedabad and other big Gujarat cities.

Why devotees come here

The Swaminarayan Temple in Gadhada is one of six temples built by Swaminarayan, the founder of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. It stands in Botad district, Gujarat, with spires plated with gold. Gopinathji, a form of Krishna, is consecrated in the central shrine, and it is popularly called the Gadhada Swaminarayan Mandir.

Gadhada is a town and municipality in Botad district, on the bank of the River Ghela. The central shrine holds Gopinathji, a form of Krishna, with his consort Radha and Harikrishna, the name for Swaminarayan himself. The temple is one of six that Swaminarayan, founder of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, had built.

The court of Dada Khachar, a devotee of Swaminarayan, donated the land. Swaminarayan supervised the building work and helped lift stones and mortar himself. He installed the idols on 9 October 1828. He lived in Gadhada for more than 25 years, and his cremation place is at Lakshmiwadi, a little way out of town.

The temple is popularly known as the Gadhada Swaminarayan Mandir. The shrine has two stories and three domes. It is adorned with carvings. The spires are plated with around 70 kg of gold. Swaminarayan also celebrated Sharadotsava under a canopy near Lakshmiwadi.

Tips for your visit

• On poonam, the full-moon day, nearly 40,000 people come to pay obeisance.
• Lakshmiwadi, where Swaminarayan was cremated, is a little way out of town.

Questions people ask