Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Junagadh Events Saurashtra Gujarat India

Events in JUNAGADH:-

Shivratri Mela – In Junagadh-Saurastra, At the foot of Girnar mountain (Taleti) in the month of MAHA 9 starts on mela for next five days. About ten thousand people visit.
The city of Junagadh, situated at the foot of Mount Girnar, is famous as the site of many historical events, dating from the remote past. The Bhavnath Mahadev Temple, located at the foot of Girnar, is so ancient that its precise, origins are unknown. The Bhavnath temple is surrounded by many equally ancient and holy places. Buddhist caves are also found in and around at Upperkot, Junagadh.

In Junagadh,A visit to Tourism of Gujarat, offers a golden opportunity to the tourist to undertake a tour across Gujarat and also to the bright and charming Bhavnath fair, being celebrated in Gujarat, India. Tourism of Gujarat, offers travel related information that Bhavnath fair in Gujarat, India, is home to a multitude of tourists and devotees who throng the location to be part of the mammoth experience. Bhavnath Fair, in Gujarat, India, is held in Junagadh, annually, with the fair coinciding with the grandiose and very famous festival of Shivratri, being celebrated in the same month as the Bhavnath fair of Junagadh, in Gujarat, India. Bhavnath fair, is dedicated to Lord Shiva and a lot of revelry goes on in the Shiva temples and along with that the temples are visited by Naga Sadhus, and watching them is a novel and enigmatic experience.

The fair during Mahashivaratri is held for five days and takes place during February, and the events associated with it are colourful indeed. The mahapuja of Lord Shiva takes place at midnight, in this temple, on the 14th day of the dark half of the month of Magh. When the puja starts, naga bavas living nearby move towards the fair seated on elephants, holding flags, and blowing conch shells, sounding tungis and turis. It is firmly believed that Lord Shiva himself visits the shrine on this occasion. Girnar is said to be the abode of the nine Nathas, who are immortal and eighty-four siddhas or spiritually elevated souls all of whom also visit the temple, in their invisible spiritual bodies.

Visitors are served free meals by the organisers. Special stalls sell idols, rosaries brought by vendors from Ayodhya and Mathura, utensils of brass and copper, sweets and fruits.

Girnar Parikrama:- In Junagadh-Saurastra,Starts from Kartik 11 to 15 thousand people. The periphery of Girnar hills on foot about 40 km. Enjoy the religious and natural beauty.

Girnar Competition:- In Junagadh-The historical city, Girnar hill, home to several shrines held sacred by Hindus and Jains, will host an annual competition next month that will see school and college students scurry up and down 2,200 steps on its slopes.

Anyone who climbs up 5500 feet within 2 hours gets a certificate from the Government of Gujarat, and the winner gets lots of prizes.

The event Feb 3 is being organised by the Gujarat government's Sports, Youth Services and Cultural Activities Department and the Junagadh district administration.

The competition is open to all students in schools and colleges. The participants are categorised into 14-18 years and 19-35 years. The men in the former category have to traverse 2,200 steps uphill and downhill in a span of one hour and 15 minutes. The time limit for women in the same category is two hours. The criterion for the older category of candidates of both genders is the same.

Girnar Hill, around 300 km from Ahmedabad, has around 10,000 stone steps to climb before one finally reaches the ultimate peak of Dattatreya.

This Girnar competition was started in 1971 by a local newspaper, Phoolchab, as a way to mark its golden jubilee. The newspaper held the event until 1979 before handing it over to the Junagadh civic administration.

Mount Girnar is sacred to Hindus and Jains. It also attracts people with its charm of the nearby Gir forest that is home to Asiatic lions. The Girnar forest too has 35 lions.

Many 'sadhaks' or ascetics had laid their lives to rest on the mountain, most notably, the fourth Jain tirthankar Neminath, adding to its sanctity.

The mount is home to a beautiful Jain temple complex on a small plateau, followed by the Ambaji Mata temple situated on one of the peaks.

Then there are steps rising and descending to the Gorakhnath shrine. There is also a spot venerated as the place of the Pir, sacred to Muslims.

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