Holy Vaishnav Temple of Shamlaji in Gujarat State in India

State of Gujarat is full of holy places of pilgrimage for Vaishnav community. The most famous and the important place of pilgrimage for Vaishnav community is Shamlaji. Shamlaji temple is situated at the bank of river Meshwa in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat State. Shamlaji is the ancient temple made before thousands of years and has become a very important tirthdham for all Hindus.

Shamlaji is situated around 73 miles away from Ahmedabad, which is the largest city of Gujarat State. The best way to reach Shamlaji is to travel either by State transport bus or a hired car or taxi. The direct buses are now available from Ahmedabad and all the major cities of Gujarat State for Shamlaji. It is around 18 miles away from Modasa and around 30 miles from Himmatnagar. Shamlaji is also the railway station on the meter gauge line from Ahmedabad to Khedbrahma. This town of Shamlaji was called Harishchandrapuri and Gadadharpuri in ancient times. Shamlaji has a large water fall emerging from below the ground. It is believed that water of this fall never gets dried off, even during high summer. The main temple of Shamlaji is around 320 feet high and having a beautiful construction and design. The two large statues of elephants welcome all the pilgrims just at the entrance of the temple. The statues of Lord Krishna, Vasudev, and Gadadhar Shyamlal are installed in the main temple. There is a large open area opposite the main temple, which is called Ratna Choc. All the walls of the temple are painted with the main events of Ramayana and Mahabharata. There are statues of the couples performing sex in various poses as shown in Kama sutra, just outside of the main temple. There is a Lord Ranchodrai temple near the main temple. One more temple of Lord Shiva is also situated here in an underground tunnel. There is a large pond, called Karmabai's pond. The famous brother-sister temple is located just above the pond. There is also a temple of 100 Mahabharata fame Kaurava brothers near the main temple along with the temple of Gandhari, their mother. It is stated in ancient Hindu religion books that Lord Brahma performed tap here for 1000 years. Lord Shiva was very happy due to this tap and gave permission to Lord Brahma to perform the most holy yajna here at Shamlaji. You will need around one full day to see this temple along with the other adjoining temples.

There are lots of dharmshalas available to stay for all the pilgrims. However, dharmshalas provide only very basic facilities only and it is not advisable to stay here for the night. The best option is to start in early morning hours from Ahmedabad and reach back by late evening. You must also make sure to carry your food and the drinking water bottles as the quality of food and water may not be up to the standards. The fairs are held at Shamlaji on every full moon nights. Many pilgrims go to this famous temple on their feet from as far as Vadodara, Surat, and Valsad. The largest and the most popular fair is held during the Kartak Sud 11 to Vad 2. Kartak is the first month in Gujarati calendar and generally coincides with November. Lots of pilgrims come to Shamlaji during such fairs and enjoy for about 3 days. Lot of nearby villagers consider the visit to such fairs very important and never miss out. Lots of entertainment activities like native folk dances, dramas, and music competitions are held during such fairs. However, there will be great rush of people during such fairs and it may become difficult to get the basic facilities and some of the pilgrims have to stay in the open area. If you happen to travel from Ahmedabad to Udaipur by road, you can surely plan to visit this ancient, historical temple on your way by stopping for around couple of hours here at Shamlaji.

I am very sure that the information given in this article shall prompt many Indians, particularly Gujaratis to visit this holy and sacred temple of Shamlaji in Gujarat State of India.