Spiritual Saurashtra - III

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Harsidhi, Hathla, Porbandar, Somnath ....




Driving through the unabated stream of pilgrims to Devbhoomi Dwarka, we touched the scenic coastal road towards Porbandar. The phoenix like imposing structure of Jagat Mandir was getting miniaturized with every passing minute. The coastal side of the road was lined with hundreds of gently rotating windmills. It turned out to be a futile attempt to count them, as the number seemed infinite. The endeavor to tap the unconventional energy was simply astonishing.

The water bodies between the road and the Arabian Sea had numerous species of birds languishing in search of prey. A smallest of a provocation, would alert them to fly swiftly, as a reflex action, for safety… only to return in a short while. With limited exposure to aquatic avian species, it was an impossible task for us to identify them. Nonetheless, the sight was beautiful and worthy of capturing on the shutter box. The traffic mostly consisted of buses and smaller vehicles, either bringing in or ferrying out pilgrims from Dwarka. The villages abutting the highway were far and few.

An hour-long drive, through the monotonous vistas, brought us to a place known as Miyani. The chauffeur guided us to visit the nearby Harsiddihi Mata Temple. As per the folklore, Krishna desired to defeat the Asuras and Jarasangha. He therefore invoked Amba Mata. His prayers bore fruits and with her blessings he was able to eliminate Asuras. As an expression of his gratitude, he built a temple atop the hill, Koyla Dungar. The Yadav clan was very happy and they aptly named her Harshal Mata or Harsiddhi Mata. The temple had exquisite carvings on the outer walls and a very serene pious interior. We sought the blessing of the ‘Happy Mother” and continued our journey towards Bhanvad.

The agricultural farms on both sides of the road had significantly narrowed our path. Peacocks and peahens were in abundant number in the vast green fields en route. The moment they realize any the stoppage of a car or human movement, they would vanish out of sight in a lightening speed. It was enchanting to watch their choreographed movements from a distance.

The chauffeur kept updating our knowledge of the region. We did appreciate his gesture and offered a patient ear. Meher, the local warriors, was the prominent community in this part of Saurashtra. They enjoyed a reputation for the quality of culture, generosity and the hospitality. The local believe that 'Meher blood is like the blood of the Gir Lion. Be a guest in a Maher house - he will give his head for you! Betray a Meher - he will take your head from you.' A half-an-hour drive through this narrow stretch of road brought us to Hathla, the place where 7th Century famous temples of Shani Dev and Panoti Devi were located.

Hundreds of footwear, of varying sizes, shapes and colours, lying outside the temple gate, greeted us. By seeing the sheer number of footwear, we apprehended that the darshan, was few hours away. Our apprehension was foolish and ill founded. The temple was completely deserted and other than few of us, there was none present to seek blessings. The sole priest had all the time upon the earth to narrate the myths surrounding the temple.

At Hathla, as per the legend, Shani Dev came riding on an elephant, which brought limitless eternal pleasure for all living beings; vegetation, insects, birds, animals and human beings. Normally Shani Dev is depicted dark in color, clothed in black; holding a sword, arrows and two daggers and mounted on a black crow. At Hathla, he was mounted on an elephant and the village derives its name from Hathi, the elephant. Shani Dev is portrayed as a cause of great agony as well as the one who offer greatest solace to its devotees.

Goddess Panoti, apparently crushed by Hanuman, under his giant feet was also being revered there. This shrine to appease evil forces was quite spacious and laterally elongated. The exterior had no sculptures and unlike other temples in the area was just plain. The remaining layers of pyramidal shikara seemed have undergone alternations, many a times, over a period of time. The footwear lying outside were the ritual offerings to Goddess Panoti. The casting away of footwear at this place rids the devotees of all their misfortune. The evil forces will also cease to trouble the followers, upon seeking her blessings.

A composite step-well and kund admeasuring about 11.3 m long and 6 m wide, was adjoining the temple. The short lateral flights of steps descended to a maximum depth with very little length. A space for meditation, Kuta - a pavilion, was created along the way. Soon after performing a pooja and making a small offering to the priest, we continued with our journey.

The stink of rotten fish and the sight of fishing crafts heralded our arrival at the ancient maritime town of Porbandar. The open overflowing drains and the foul disgusting stench emanating from the filth all around made us resolve to keep our stop at this town to the bare minimum. We straightaway proceeded to Kirti Mandir, the birthplace of Mohandas Karamchand … Mahatma Gandhi.

The 79 feet temple, signifying the 79–years’ lifespan of Mahatma, had a place marked with Swastik for the identification of the exact location of his birth. The life size oil paintings of Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba were on display at the center of the hall. Mahatma had desired that he should not be glorified as a God and therefore no floral tributes were allowed. His life and preaching was symbolically represented by the words, ‘The Truth” and “Non-violence”, on the plaque placed near his feet.

A few steps away, we reached Sudama Puri Ashram. This temple felicitates the great friendship between Sudama, an impoverished villager and Krishna, hailing from the royal family. The simple structure was constructed little over 100 years ago, with carved marble pillars and shikhar. The temple, situated in a garden with a small step-well, was open from all sides. As with most temple complexes in India, there was a small shrine dedicated to Ganesha.

Sudama and Krishna studies together at the ashram of Sandipani Rishi, and were great friends. Despite the difference in their social status, Krishna nurtured the friendship with Sudama. When Sudama was going through hardship, without adequate resources to feed his family, his wife Sushila suggested him to seek help from his friend, Krishna. Though initially reluctant, to approach his friend for succour, he agrees to visit Dwarka. Sudama was not interested in wealth, but he had an intense desire to seek Krishna’s darshan. He has nothing with him but some beaten rice, which he tied in a cloth as a present to the Dwarkadhish. He remembered that beaten rice was Krishna's most favorite in their childhood.

When Sudama reached the Krishna’s palace, he was not allowed to enter by the guards. Krishna was informed that one poor man, Sudama, who claims to be his friend, wishes to see him. Krishna jumped from his bed and rushed to see Sudama and welcomed him with all his affection and love. Rukmani, Krishna’s consort also treated him with due courtesy. Though Sudama was hesitant about the small present he had brought, Krishna snatched it from him and ate in his presence. The overwhelmed Sudama, felt it inappropriate to ask for an aid, the main purpose of his visit. However, Krishna realized his predicament and through Rukmini, an incarnation of Lakshmi, blessed him with his desires.

Sudama, during his return journey, pondered over the preceding events and considered himself very fortunate to have a great friend like Krishna. Upon his return, he was astonished to find a palatial mansion instead of his old dilapidated hut. He also found his family dressed in extremely nice attire awaiting his return. He lived an austere life thereafter expressing gratitude towards Krishna.

The ambient temperature was rising and the mercury had reached northwards beyond our heat-tolerance capacity. As a consequence we thoughtfully skipped our visit to the Porbandar beach. Our journey was continued but not before picking up few packets of Khajli, the flaky ghee-fried biscuits, the iconic snack of the town. There were tens of shops selling freshly fried aromatic biscuits; sweet, salty & masala, neatly packed in cardboard boxes and laced for the safety.

The bituminous highway almost merged with the beach after passing Porbandar and the road draped a soft layer of golden yellow sand drifted by the high winds. The Sun was very harsh and radiation from the waves became optically annoying. A quick pit-stop at the beachfront was a necessitated, to eliminate the possibility of dehydration and to quench the unbearable thirst. The solitary vendor, selling tender coconut water to highway travellers, seemed as an angel straight from the heaven. The coconut water proved to be nothing less than the nectar on that hot humid afternoon. The next, hunger pangs were overpowering, as the watch indicated the time as past 1 o’clock.

The dhabas, many of them, mostly deserted, along this costal highway, offered Punjabi, North Indian and ‘Chinese’ food, through their large signboards. Our preference of the day was authentic Kathiawadi cuisine. Our enterprising driver stopped at a village little away from Porbandar at Kandhali Krupa Dhaba. The shabby looking place and very low on housekeeping did not have the ambience worth describing. Though the restaurant was large enough to accommodate more than 100 patrons, we were required to share our table with few others. Such was the popularity of this eatery during the lunch-time. The ladies, in traditional attire, were incessantly roasting the bajra rotis, in quick succession.

Upon the waiter’s recommendation, our order was placed for Bajrano Rotlo, Sev Tamatarna Saag, Baingano Bharto, supplemented with thick curd, aromatic pure ghee and Gol, local jiggery. The meal, with freshly chopped onion rings and lime slices, was served in a jiffy. The consumption and the cooking rate seemed getting mismatched in respect of rotis.. A glass of buttermilk, spiked with ginger and coriander, concluded the session. The warmth in terms of service and food, topped with the reasonable pricing, made the experience awesome. We stretched ourselves on the Charpai, a wooden cot without mattress, under the cool shade of a mango tree, for a while.

A power nap later, we headed towards Somnath. The streetscape remained almost constant with dotting village every few km. Since it was harsh sunny afternoon, there were hardly any mortal souls in the sight. The whole of Saurashtra seemed to be having siesta. At every crossroad, there were tender coconut vendors and cold-drink stalls. Soon, we crossed Chorwad, the village, which gave the country the most industrious enterprising son.... Dhirubhai Ambani. There was a small plaque bearing his name on the godown wall, from which, he apparently began his trading career.

The nauseating stench of rotten fish lead us towards Somnath, through Veraval Port. It was difficult to miss the sight of hundreds of fishing crafts anchored at the jetty. The fishermen were busy mending their crafts and the fishing nets. Their helpers were draining out water from the boats. The colourful flags on the mast were fluttering with the sea wind.

Sagar Darshan Atithi Gruha, at Somnath, was our abode for the night. The booking was done online, sufficiently in advance. The path was through a narrow stinking lane, which passes through the fishing hamlet. The pilgrim facility complex was quite large, well managed and superbly maintained by the Somnath Mandir Trust. A spacious balcony overseeing the vast Arabian Sea and phoenix like shore temple, was attached to each room. The ships sailing on the distant horizon could be clearly seen without any obstruction. The hot water was made available only in the morning hours and we had no option but to make good with cold shower…. It wasn’t uncomfortable though.

Duly freshened up, we trekked towards the temple, which took about 10 minutes. The security at the entrance was strict and visible. The personal frisking was deep and detailed. For Jalabhishek, the Gangajal sourced from Himalayas and packed in PET bottle, was on sale within the temple. The abhishek was done by depositing the holy water in the Kumbh, which carries the water through an electrical pump, to the Shivling. The darshan of large black Shivaling, with elaborate flower decoration and sandlewood paste, was offered from a distance of about 8 ft. The queue was moving reasonably quick. Being a weekday, and not a Monday, we could secure the darshan in less than half-an-hour.

Somnath, is one of the twelve sacred Jyotirling and second in the state of Gujarat (the other being at Nageshwar). This temple has a history of construction, destruction and reconstruction. According to the legend, Somraj, the Moon God constructed the temple in gold and later Ravana, the great Shiva devotee, rebuilt it in silver. Thereafter Krishna built it in Wood and Bhimdev built in Stone. Mahmud of Ghazni, in the early 11^th century, having heard about the richness of the temple, he destroyed it. Thereafter he carried away all jewels and gold to his homeland in Ghazana (modern South-Eastern Afghanistan). The cycle of construction and destruction repeated 7 more times. Hindus rebuilt them each time, with renewed vigour. The current majestic temple, replica of earlier temple, was built, after the independence, as per the traditional designs at the original site. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Iron Man of India, commissioned the construction of this serene and symmetrical structure, in 1950.

In the courtyard, at Prabas Pata Museum, remains of the ancient temples, with numerous beautiful fragments, including an elaborate 11th century ceiling were carefully preserved and laid out on display. The ruined Rudreshvara Temple in the vicinity dates from the same era as the Somnath Temple and was laid out in a similar fashion. The sculptures on the walls and the entrance give a faint idea as to how the original Somnath Temple must have been.

After exploring the complex, we moved towards the deck from you can see vast expanse of the sea. In a small canopy, a large binocular was placed and the person manning the same was offering view of vessels sailing at the distance as also few places of religious importance with his ‘fabricated’ explanation. Further ahead, there was a concrete globe, atop a pillar, with an arrow piercing through it in the southward direction. It is believed that there exists no landmass from this point till the South Pole. As the sun was preparing to take a dip in the roaring waves, we took a leisurely walk back towards Sagar Darshan.

The dinner at the canteen was functional and simple fare at highly discounted rates. Later spent little time at the balcony watching the rugged sea offering lovely wistful charm and the arch of the moon floating in the clear sky in the company of millions of stars. The fatigue of the daylong road travel forced us to retire for the day…. a bit early.

Our new day began with the morning aarti at Somnath temple. The town had started showing the signs of waking up The breakfast was at the street-side eatery on the outskirts of the temple complex. The vehicle parking area was about half-a-km away from the main entrance and for security reasons all pilgrims were expected to disembark at the parking lot and walk towards the entrance. The flow of pilgrims was on the rise. We embarked upon the mission of exploring the historical sites associated with Krishna.

The first halt was at Bhalika Tirth, on the road towards Veraval. Kishna was resting under a banyan tree with his left foot atop his right knee. Bhilla, a tribal hunter, named Jara, mistook Krishna’s foot as a deer. He released an arrow, which pierced through the god’s toe, and fatally wounded him. The day was 18^th February 3102 BC, (the date arrived at by calculation of planetary position on that day), the first day of bright fortnight of Chaitra month.

The repentant Jara, with folded hands, sought pardon from Krishna. He was told by Krishna that in his previous birth he was Vaali and was shot by Ram, Krishna’s pervious incarnation. It was destined that the end of Krishna’s earthly incarnation would be at the hands of Jara, at the beginning of the Kali Yuga. He has fulfilled the purpose of re-establishing righteousness in this mortal world and it was the time for Krishna to retreat to Vikuntha. The scene was recreated at the site with a beautiful marble idol of Krishna in reclining position under the banyan tree with the repentant Jara standing nearby with folded hand. The legendary banyan tree has been there for the last 5000 years… so we were told…. though little difficult to believe.

Later, at a short distance, we walked to Dehotsarg Tirth, where on the sacred and peaceful banks of Hiran River, Krishna exited from this earth, leaving behind his mortal remains. In the vicinity, Krishna's elder brother Baldev or Balram disappeared through the Baldev Gufa. He went to Pataal, the netherworld, as he was considered to be an incarnation of Sheshnag, the king of snakes. The complex also houses Gita Mandir, which has eighteen marble pillars with chapters from the revered Bhagvat Gita inscribed on each of them. A beautiful lively idol of Krishna playing his flute adorned the Gita Mandir.

At Triveni Sangam, the holy confluence of Hiran, Kapila and mythical Saraswati Rivers, form a single stream and meets the Arabian Sea, few meters away. It is believed that Soma, the Moon god lost his Prabhas, the luster, due to a curse and to regain the same he took a dip in the Sarasvati river. The village was therefore named Prabhas Patan. Arjuna consigned to flames the mortal remains of Krishna at the Dehotsarg Tirth. Krishna’s sacred foot-prints were carved under the Pipal tree, which is being watered by devout Hindus to seek perpetual peace of their departed dear ones.

The Triveni Sangam Ghat was well laid out but poorly maintained. Devout Hindus visit this place to conduct the post-cremation rituals of their immediate relatives. Unfortunately, the leftover of pooja material and cooked rice-balls attract a lot of cattle, pigs and stray dogs; and who in turn spread the filth everywhere. It was expected of the administration to make suitable arrangements for cleaning so as to maintain the sanctity of the place.

To view the estuary, we took a boat ride and fed birds and fishes during the sail. There were numerous species of birds and fishes, which we could watch in the tranquil surrounding. We returned back to the ghat to mark the conclusion of the expedition … Spiritual Saurashtra.

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