Chapter outline and page reference:
Ashrams 151
Agni Akhara Ashram 151
Antaryatra Ashram 152
Awahan Akhara Ashram 152
Bharti Ashram 152
Chamunda Ashram 153
Gauda Akhara Ashram 153
Indrabharthi Ashram 153
Juna Akhara Ashram 154
Kashmiri Bapu Ashram 154
Laxman Tekri Ashram 155
Mangalnath Ashram 155
Mauni Bapu Ashram 156
Niranjani Akhara Ashram 156
Osho Sadhna Ashram 157
Prasanna Devi’s Ashram 157
Prernadham Ashram 159
Punitachariji Sadhana Ashram 159
Ram Tekri Ashram 161
Samarth Shri Hariram Bapa Gohdiya Ashram 161
Sewanath Ashram 161
Sri Nathji Dalachhi Akhara Ashram 161
Triloknath Ashram 162
Udasin Akhara Ashram 163
Velnath Samadhi Ashram 164
Buddhist Relic Sites 164
Boria Stupa 164
Intwa 165
Caves 165
Anand Cave 165
Bhartruhari Cave 165
Ghodmukha Cave 166
Girnari Cave 166
Gorji’s Cave 166
Gurudatt Cave 166
Jambuvan’s Cave 166
Jogani Cave 166
Kalika Cave 166
Mahakal Cave 167
Muchkand Cave 167
Neminath Cave 168
Pandav Cave 168
Rajul Cave 169
Satpuda 169
Shiv Cave 169
Vagnath Cave and Temple 169
Valmiki Cave 171
Dams 171
Hasnapur Dam 171
Willingdon Dam 173
Dharamshalas 176
Jatashankar Dharamshala 176
Narayan Dharma Dharamshala 176
Sanatan Dharamshala 176
Habitations 177
Dungar Thana 177
Jambudi 177
Laldhori 177
Lamadidhar 178
Pakwad (Patawar) 178
Ranshivav 178
Ratanpara 179
Rudia Medi 179
Sakriambli 179
Kunds 179
Bhim Kund 180
Damodar Kund 180
Hanumandhara Kund 184
Kamandal Kund 184
Mali Parab Kund 187
Mrugi Kund 187
Revati Kund 190
Suraj Kund 192
Rest Houses 194
Rock Formations 195
Bhairav Jap 195
Ghodmukha 198
Schools and Training Centres 198
Mountaineering Training Centre 198
Rupayatan 199
Stairs at Girnar 199
Temples 212
Agiyarmukhi Hanuman Temple 212
Ambaji Temple 212
Annapurna Temple 222
Atmeshwar Temple 222
Bharatvan 223
Bhavnath Temple 224
Bordevi Temple 226
Brahmeshwar Mahadev Temple 230
Chadow Hanuman Temple 230
Chandramuleshwar Mahadev Temple 231
Damnagar Hanuman Temple 231
Damodarraiji’s Temple 232
Dayanath Mahadev Temple 234
Dev-kot 235
Dudheshwar Temple 235
Durdwan Hanuman Temple 236
Fatel Khodiyar Shrine 236
Gaumukhi Ganga Temple 237
Gayatri Temple 239
Hanumandhara Temple 240
Hanuman Temple 242
Indreshwar Mahadev Temple 243
Jadeshwar Temple 244
Jatashankar Mahadev Temple 245
Jina Baba’s Madhi (Chandra Mauleshwar Temple) 246
Joganeshwar Temple 247
Khodiyar Temples 247
Kumarapala Temple 250
Lambe Hanuman Temple 251
Mahakali Temple 251
Mahaprabhuji’s Bethak 252
Mallinath Temple 252
Malvela (Malvanaresh Om Shantinath Mahadev Temple) 252
Mathureshwar Temple 254
Melakavisi Temple 255
Momai Mata Temple 255
Neminath Temples 255
Patthar Chatti Temple and Sevadas Ashram 255
Rajrajeshwar Temple 257
Ramdev Pir Temple 257
Ramji Temple 259
Ramnath Mahadev Temple 259
Rishabh Deva Temple 260
Sachakaka 260
Samprati Raja Temple 260
Sarkharia Hanuman Temple 260
Savnath Temple 261
Seshavan Jain Temple 261
Shanteshwar Temple 261
Sitamadhi Temple at Sitavan 262
Soni-Parsvanath Temple 262
Vadaliya Hanuman Shrine 262
Vaghesvari Mata Temple 263
Vastrapatheshwar Temple 264
Vishnu Temple 265
Tombs of Pirs at Girnar 266
Wells, Springs and Waterholes 266
Ashapir Well 267
Gaumukhi Ganga 267
Hema Jaliya 267
Kaala Ghuno 267
Mugariyo Ghuno 267
Nalka Pani 267
Tatanio Ghuno 268
Miscellaneous 268
Chamudri 269
Char Chowk 269
Hidimba’s Swing 269
Hunting Platform 269
Narayan Dhara 270
Toda 271
Chapter preview (first three pages only):
Its pinnacles touch heaven’s lofty face,
Its rocks the earth’s foundation form;
Ever in blossom are the bushes that wave on its sides,
With fruits its trees are laden heavily.
[a poem about Mount Girnar, by Amarji 1882]
Figure 6. Vertical aerial view of some sites at Girnar. 1 – Dev-kot; 2 – Gomukhi Ganga; 3 – Bhairav Jap; 4 – Sevadas Ashram; 5 – Patthar Chatti (Laxminarayan Temple); 6 – Seshavan Temple; 7 – Bharatvan; 8 – Diksha Kalyanak Deri; 9 – Kevalgyaan Kalyanak Deri; 10 – Hanumandhara; 11 – Sitamadhi Temple; 12 – Ambaji Temple; 13 – Helipad; 14 – Gorakhnath Peak; 15 – Oghad Peak; 16 – Dattatrey Peak; 17 – Kamandal Kund (from WikiMapia 2012).
Anonymous (1983) articulated the importance of Mount Girnar: ‘Sacred hills like Girnar have been the source of inspiration to the people of India. They stand as stalwart, silent witnesses of faith, hope and love. Majestic and sublime they bestow a legacy of love and devotion. Monuments of wisdom, they are living legends of a rich and rare grandeur of the spirit that inspires us in our day and age – and will do so for all eternity.’ Describing the moving beauty of the vista one sees from Girnar, Booch (1943, page 40) told us that: ‘Outmatching the view of Bombay from Malabar Hill for the sheer grandeur of the panorama, is the wonderful bird’s-eye view one gets from Girnar of the outlying villages, towns, rivers, fields and greenery. After dusk, it is almost an idyllic sight to watch the lights and illuminations of the towns and villages below, one by one, now glimmering, now brightening — the whole scene appearing like a dreamland. It is no wonder, therefore, that Girnar has inspired many poets, historians and bards, each one of whom sees in it something more than a mere hill or a place of pilgrimage. To them Girnar stands as a symbol of the robust, undying spirit of the people inhabiting in and around Gir area. And having gone there once, you cannot but agree with them’.
It is often said that the Girnar Mountain Range has a total of 866 Hindu and Jain temples and hermitages, but the comment of Shah (2013), that: ‘Girnar mountain forest…houses over 135 temples’ may be a more realistic estimate. The large number of holy places or tirthas at Girnar is explained by the following story: ‘It is said that in ancient times there were deep miry areas where the mountains Girnar and Abu stand at present. One day a cow belonging to the sage Vasishtha fell into one of them and was found by Kacha, the son of Brihaspati, after a long search. When the incident was brought to the notice of Vasishtha, he requested Meru (a mythical mountain) to send his two sons Girnar and Abu to occupy and fill the ditches. Girnar required 68 tirthas to accompany him; and the boon was granted by the gods’ (Enthoven 1914). We are also told that Girnar is one of the seven great mountains which once possessed wings, and that the place is so holy that any person dying within a radius of 12 gaus (3/4 gau = 1 mile) from it is believed to attain moksha (Enthoven 1914).
According to a local legend or mahatmya, Girnar or Girinarayana was Parvati’s brother. Both Parvati and Girinarayana were the children of Himalaya, the mountains personified. Like other mountains in his mythic moment, Girnar originally had wings. Only after Brahma commissioned Indra to stabilise the earth by cutting off the wings of the mountains did they become known as achala, literally ‘the immoveable ones’. As the local story goes, when Indra came after Girnar to cut off his wings, Girnar got permission from his father to hide in the sea, but Parvati yearned for him and implored the gods to find him. Vishnu, Shiva, and the other gods discerned Girnar’s hiding place and sang praises to the sea. For their praises, they received a boon: they asked the sea to retreat a certain distance. So it is, according to the mahatmya, that Girnar, a piece of the Himalayas, now rises abruptly from the farming land of Saurashtra, some distance from the seacoast. In order to protect her brother, Parvati herself came from the Himalayas to dwell on Girnar as Amba, the mother of all the earth (Eck 1998, 2012).
Figure . Aerial photograph of some important sites on the central ridge of Mount Girnar. 1 – Dev-kot; 2 – Bhim Kund; 3 – Hathi-pagla (Gajpad) Kund; 4 – Anand Gufa (Cave); 5 – Mahakal Caves; 6 – Bhairav Jap; 7 – Sevadas Ashram; 8 – Patthar Chatti (Laxminarayan Temple); 9 – Gaumukhi Ganga; 10 – Rathanemi Temple; 11 – Sachakaka; 12 – Ambaji Temple; 13 – Helipad; 14 – Gorakhnath Peak; 15 – Oghad Peak; 16 – Dattatrey Peak; 17 – Kamandal Kund; 18 – Premchandji Cave; 19 – Satpuda (from WikiMapia 2012).
There is a story about how Girnar and Amba Mata came into existence (Barari 2007): ‘When Himalaya decided to give his daughter Parvati in marriage to Lord Shankara, the bride’s brother Giri was placed in charge of looking after the many guests expected on this big occasion. Lord Vishnu, one of the important guests, was very pleased with the way Giri took care of him at the time of the wedding and gave him a boon, according to which, Giri would be regarded as the most important of all the mountains and from then on, all the gods would live on the Giri mountain. Further, according to the boon, all sages doing penance on the Giri mountain would achieve their goals without any difficulty. Lord Vishnu also gave Giri the name Girinarayana. Girnar is a corruption from Girinarayana. It is said that in ancient times, mountains used
Dear johnbhai,
I visit girnar frequntly, I am once again going their during 2nd week of november for three days, will stay at Prernadham. Because information collected by you is not published yet, can I have places of intrest on and in foothill area of girnar part content of your collection be available me via mail, I am ready to pay for it if you please.
Yours always
-manees
Hi Manees
Seeing that you visit Girnar frequently, I might not have many suggestions of places to visit there that you are not already familiar with.
But I would be interested to know what sort of places you favour, such as natural, cultural, religious, educational, etc.
The Girnar parikrama this year starts on November 22, so I see that you will be there before this great mela begins.
It’s interesting that you are staying in Prernadham Ashram. Could I show you a few notes I put together about the place:
The Pujya Shri Lal Bapa Prernadham Ashram (phone: 0285–2621419/2624577) at Bhavnath Taleti, about 200 m north of Bhavnath Temple, was set up by Shri Guruvar Lal Bapa, who was born in 1924 AD at Babra Village near Amreli. He was inspired by two principles, ramroti (free food distribution) and service to cows. The ashram is now managed by Shri Hasubapu, who was born in Badela in 1960. Accomodation is available for visitors. In a large gaushala over 100 cows are maintained and fed with fodder grown in the ashram campus. Meals are provided to all visitors to the ashram throughout the year. For five days during the Shivaratri mela two meals per day are provided to thousands of pilgrims. Primary health care is provided for the needy (Prernadham 2011).
There are many places worth visiting at or near Bhavnath, but I hardly know where to begin. If it’s nature you prefer, there are plenty of incredible places to visit near Girnar Taleti. For example, only a couple of km south of Bhavnath is the ashram of Kashmiri Bapu. It’s a great walk through beautiful dry deciduous teak forest, where paradise flycatchers as well as many other gems can be spotted. Alternatively, a climb of about 2 km up the old and quiet western stairway takes you to Jatashankar Temple, a wonderful place in the forest to linger. If you wanted to continue up this stairway, you could visit the Svetambar Jain temple of Seshavan, which is near Bharatvan and the two small shrines with Neminath’s charan paduka, where he received diksh (initiation) and attained kevalgyan (enlightenment). From this place one can continue about 4-500 m to Sitamadhi Temple at Sitavan, and another 100 m to Hanumandhara Temple, quite remote places even by Girnar standards. On the other hand, if you went uphill from Seshavan you would reach Sevadas Ashram and Patthar Chatti (near Bhairav Jap), then Mahakal Cave, then Anand Cave, then Gomukhi Ganga Temple, on the way to Devkot, the compound of Jain temples. One could then return to Bhavnath by coming down the main stairway, passing a range of interesting places such as Bhartruhari Cave for instance. Or, from Gomukhi Ganga one could continue up to Rathanemi Temple, Sachakaka, and then Ambaji Temple, and also on to Gorakhnath Peak and Temple, and finally Dattatrey Peak and Kamandal Kund. It’s quite a long walk.
There are so many places at Girnar I could talk about, from Bordevi to Indreshwar Temple and Atmeshwar Temple, to Mathureshwar Temple and Ramnath Temple, from Hasnapur Dam and Jina Baba’s Madhi to Willingdon Dam and Datar Hill, etc, etc, etc. But sometimes maybe I get too carried away. So maybe I should stop here, and wait to hear specifically what you are interested in.
Above all, stay well and enjoy yourself.
J.
Hellow Jhonbhai, hope u r fine, I really enjoyed my last week visit of girnar because of refferance of this site. I am waiting for publication of your book, please do inform me via mail if possible.
Regards from manees
Hi Manees. I’m working on tidying up each of the 33 chapters in preparation for publication. It shouldn’t take too many weeks. But I’ll let you know first of all, when it’s available.
I very much look forward to my next visit to Girnar. I’m interested to hear of your activities and thoughts about your recent visit.
All the best.
John
Dear johnbhai,
Please upload some more content on this site if possible..
Hi Manees
Thanks again for your interest. I’m not sure what aspects of Girnar you would prefer to read about, so I’ll just select an assortment of topics. But to begin with I’ve presented as a separate post some notes of the Girnar stairway:
http://junagadhgirnar.com/stairs-at-girnar/
Respected John,
It is great honour for me to write to you. The amount of research work you have done for Girinarayan is commendable. I am sure there is great connect you share with this land. I have done my little work around understanding the sacredness of this holy land. Just to tell you, I have translated a book called Gebi Girnar from Gujrati to English. Now as per the readers demand bringing in group of people with me to visit Girnar in month of February. I would like to meet you in case you are in Junagadh,India. Also help you get in touch with Publisher to bring your book out for all of us.
It will be honour of you revert.
Gratitude,
Megha.
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