Somnath Temple Maha Shivaratri Festival Junagadh District News Gujarat India

Over one lakh devotees are expected to offer prayers at the famous Somnath temple in Junagadh district on the auspicious occasion of 'Maha Shivaratri Festival’, sources said.

"The darshan for devotees began early in the morning and nearly one lakh devotees are expected to offer prayer at the Somnath Mandir, which is one of the Jyotirling," sources in the Shree Somnath Trust, which manages the temple said.

Former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, who is the chairman of the Somnath Temple Trust, was among those who offered prayers, they said.

Meanwhile, a procession is to be taken out later this evening in Junagadh City, where a fair will also be held to mark the festival.

Sadhus from across the country will be participating in the procession before taking a dip in 'Mrug Kund Bhavnath Temple' in Junagadh Town, sources said.

Bhavnath Temple Mela Fair Shivratri Festival Junagadh City News Gujarat India

This year at, Bhavnath Mela, Cultural events to add excitement.

Government of Gujarat has organized variety of events during Maha Shivratri Festival Fair 2010 of Bhavnath Mandir in Junagadh City this month.

The cultural programmes will be kicked off in the evening of 8th February. Shree Hariom Pancholi group will present a Shiv Tandav Natika.

On 9th February evening, shri Kirtidan Gadhvi, Rasik Bagthariya and Haji Ramakdu will present Alakh Ni Aradhana programme. On 10th February Shri Dhirubhai Sarvaiya will present laughter programme. On same day shree Bharatdanbhai Gadhvi will present folk tales.

On 11th February, Shri Hardev Raval, Manjulaben Goswami and Mansuridas Desai will present Lok Dayro.

Meanwhile Junagadh District Administration has fixed rickshaw fair during Bhavnath Temple Fair.

Bhavnath Temple Fair Mela Junagadh Tourism Gujarat India

Bhavnath fair has potential to give new life to tourism in Gujarat.

The Juna-gadh ( Old- fort ) is one of the ancient surviving city of India.

Junagadh is situated under the Girnar Parvat & Datar hills; one of the most picturesque towns of Gujarat. The town was called Manipur,Karnakubja, Raivata etc and at present, it is called Junagadh .

It is deeply believed Lord Shiva & Lord Narayana took up their residence in the vicinity of Temple of Bhavnath & Lord Narayana as Damodarji near Damodar Kund . The town is known for its famous ancient rock fort, Buddhist caves, magnificent Jain temples, ancient step wells, Ashoka inscription, colorful religious festival etc. The most famous Bhavnath temple is located at the foot of Girnar, is ancient & the origins are unknown.

The Bhavnath Mela is held here for 5 days. The fair coinciding with the grandiose and very famous festival of Shivratri, Bhavnath fair, is dedicated to Lord Shiva.

Thousands sacred saints (Naga Sadhus) do visit Bhavnath during the fair. The saints come from various school of thoughts possesing common belief that the whole world is their home and they do not require any cloth on body. was accepted as part of their way of life.

The Bhavnath Fair is one of the most colorful & vibrant event in many ways. The fair offers true color of the life style of sacred sages of different groups, they gather for a ritual involving a blend of dance and martial arts & the same time passionate and intense.

Above all various colorful communities, tribes & devotees visit with gorgeous ornaments & handicraft wearing which captures the mind, eye & soul of any human being!

The fair conveys the message of richness of our true culture. The fair takes back to our ancient root, customs, practices, ritual, belief, and it offers insight of irresistible Gujarat.

It is very rare & even to imagine. Gujarat is gifted with Bhavnath Fair of Junagadh !!!

Kumbh Mela is held once in 12 years. Thousand of foreign tourists book tents and all available accommodation for the festival in year advance, just to the get glimpses of the mystic saints & to see the life style of most sacred sages. The Bhavnath festival has potential to attract thousands of high budget foreign tourists. If Bhavnath fair is marketed correctly at the International tourism fairs and forums such as WTM, ITB-Berlin etc, it can become one of the other major International Fair for Gujarat.

On tourism front, the Government of Gujarat has made a serious effort to promote various destinations of state through events & festivals such as Navaratri, International Kite festival & Tarnetar fair etc. It could be one of the most successful fair of Gujarat & will be a huge attraction of its unique elements of rarity. This could be clubbed to visit other tourist destination of Gujarat.

The tourism professionals & related official bodies need to identify committed tour operators with the help of proper documents, who are working & promoting in these lines presently. There are 100s of travel agents just to sale air ticket, some out bound package tours and LTC tours of various states. This is the avenue that we need to seriously explore to identify the right people, proper foreign contacts with tourism boards & tourism associations and above all a proper marketing company that could handle public relations in many countries.
.
The international print & electronic media needs to be galvanized. Special arrangements for foreign tourists to observe the event should be formulated.

Also infrastructure including accommodation and seating arrangements should be developed, some where near the festival starting point.

The state could attract many more thousands of high budget foreign tourists. Gujarat Is felt every where & running far ahead of most states in infrastructure, Industry development, safety , water management , best roads and education etc. Why not tourism?

The Bhavnath fair has potential to become the future of tourism in Gujarat. What Sanjeevani was to Lakshman in Ramayana, Bhavnath fair could be to Gujarat in tourism sector!!!

Bhavnath fair will be held on 9,10,11,12(Shivratri) February in year 2010.

Girnar Hill Mountain Parvat Temple Junagadh(Saurastra) Gujarat

Cracks appear in Sudarshan pond parapet.

Reports of cracks appearing in the parapets of Sudarshan pond sent officials of district administration and Junagadh Municipal Corporation into a tizzy on Wednesday. Inspection on the site did reveal cracks, however, no calamity was reported.

According to district administration officials, incessant rains in the valley of mount Girnar from Wednesday morning inundated Sudarshan pond, located at Bhavnath.

"Residents around the pond were asked to evacuate and the road from Girnar Darwaja to Bhavnath was blocked for some time. However, a major calamity was averted as the rains stopped," said JMC commissioner R M Sharma.

Meanwhile, a retired officer of roads and buildings department of JMC attributed the damage to the wall to random digging by the JMC. "In the past, JMC officials had done substantial amount of digging around the parapets of pond for creating parking lot or erecting stage for cultural programmes during fate. This has done great damage to the pond, causing near calamity like situation," said J N Vasavada.

Mahashivratri - Procession of Naga babas - Bhavnath Temple

Lakhs have thronged Junagadh to attend its famous five day Bhavnath fair which ends on Shivratri with the procession of Naga Babas.These saints are followers of Nag cult and live in thick forests or cave in mountains and hills.

They appear in public only once in a year.This is to attend the procession in the foot of the hill known as Mt. Girnar.The saints live completely bare and are said to possess super natural powers.

These naga babas bathe in a kund here and it is said that even the Lord Shiva comes to bath in the form of Naga baba.The festival ends with the mass bath of bare babas here.

Lots of foreigners attracted by the tales of the supernatural power visit Mt.Girnar.

This year over ten lakh people have visited the fair which is to end tonight. District administration has made special arrangements for the devotees.This place is very near Somnath temple, one of the 12 jyotirlingas of the Lord Shiva.

Though Shivratri is celebrated at Somnath at a big scale, the charm of five day fair shadows events at Somnath temple.The importance of Somnath can be realized from the fact that traditionally, the travel of 12 jyotirlingas start from Somnath Mandir.This is the first Jyotirlinga in the travel circuit.

Junagadh Samachar - Bhavnath Temple Maha Shivratri Fair

Over 10 lakh people across the country are expected to throng Gujarat's biggest Maha Shivratri' fair that began on Wednesday on a seven-acre land at the foot of Mount Girnar in Junagadh.

The six-day folk fair started with the hoisting of a religious flag at Bhavnath temple and chanting of mantras during the shashtra puja. A parade by about 2,000 sadhus of Sri Panch Dasnam Juna Akhada, Sri Panch Dasnam Ahwahan Akhahda and Sri Panch Agni Akhada too formed part of the first day ceremony. The fair looks more organized this time as many illegal constructions near the venue have been removed.

The security for the venue was planned in advance at a meeting of senior police officers of the district, sources said, adding that additional manpower has been requisitioned from Bhavnagar, Amreli and Porbandar districts.

A constant check is being kept on the fair with an eye on suspicious looking objects and persons. Many metal detectors have also been installed at different points. Besides, check-posts have also been erected on Bilkha Road, Dhararnagar, Vanthali Road, Rajkot-Dhoraji Road etc. A random checking of vehicles passing through the area was being carried out and antecedents of people staying in dharmashalas and guest houses in Junagadh verified.

Folk singers including Niranjan Pandya, Minakshi Gajjar, Devraj Gadhvi, Jitu Dwarkavala and Yogesh Goswami are expected to perform at culturual programmes at the fair. A live performance of Shiv Aradhana by artistes from Ahmedabad is slated on Thursday. The fair will conclude on February 23.

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.