Lord Shiva Temple of Kuber Bhandari at Karnali Near Vadodara City in Gujarat State, India

Narmada is one of the holiest rivers in India that flows through the Central and Western parts of the country. There are many famous places of pilgrimage all through the river shore of Narmada. One of the most popular and the holy place at the shore of river Narmada is the temple of Kuber Bhandari, which is one form of Lord Shiva. This temple is very ancient and is said to be around 2500 years old.

This temple is situated at the village of Karnali, near the famous town of Chanod. Chanod is located near Dabhoi in the Vadodara district in Gujarat State in India. It is around 36 miles away from city of Vadodara. There are regular buses plying from Vadodara for this Kubereshwar temple. There is a mythological story about this temple. Lord Shiva was passing once through the thick forest around the shore of river Narmada with goddess Parvati. Goddess Parvati felt hungry and thirsty due to long walk in the hot sun. She requested Lord Shiva for some food and water. As the food and water was nowhere available nearby, Lord Shiva thought that it would be proper if he himself stays there in the form of food and water so that all the pilgrims can have food and holy water of river Narmada in this thick and remote place. Lord Shiva stayed there adopting the name of Kuber Bhandari who is considered to be the god of food and water. This lovely temple is situated at a height of around 800 feet above at the coast of river Narmada. There are around 680 steps to get down reaching to the river Narmada. River Narmada flows in all its glory here very quietly. There is a lot of importance of taking a bath here at this spot in the river prior to going for the darshanas of Lord Kuber Bhandari. However, you must be very careful while taking a bath here in the river as the water is quiet deep here with lot of crocodiles moving in the river. The atmosphere of the temple is so peaceful that you can really experience the divine peace here. Most of the visitors perform dhyan and pranayama activities here at the temple.

There is a lot of importance of taking a complete round of river Narmada as per the old mythological stories. If you complete this round on your feet, it is considered the most vital pilgrimage. The total distance of around 650 miles is to be covered in this round through the thick forests of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. There are now buses also available for such round if you are not able to take up this round on your feet. The temple of Lord Kuber Bhandari becomes full of pilgrims on every no moon day of the Gujarati month. There is a strong belief that if you do not have any children, you must come here and pray for a child that would certainly give you the child. Once you are blessed with the child, you will have to come here again and thank the Lord Kuber Bhandari. The morning and evening arti rituals are really very impressive and can fill you with lot of faith towards Lord Shiva.

There are many other temples also located in this village of temples, Karnali. One can reach Karnali either by road directly from Vadodara or by boat service through the river Narmada that takes around an hour. The boat charges are around Rs.500 ($12) for a complete boat that can accommodate around 12 people. There is also a Shaktipeeth temple of Ma Gayatri just near this famous temple. This place is an ideal outing for one day from Vadodara giving you the most peaceful and divine experience of your life. Though, there are no good hotels available for food and drinks, the temple management provide the good Gujarati meal at lunch time free of cost to all the pilgrims. There are some rooms also available to stay in case you want to reside for a night here to enjoy the most spiritual and divine experience of your life by doing boating in the river at night. There is a big fair held here every year on Shivratri day, which is the birthday of Lord Shiva. Thousands of visitors come here on this auspicious day to show their faith in Lord Shiva. However, this temple is closed in case of heavy flood in the river Narmada during the monsoon season.

If you are fond of visiting holy, peaceful, and spiritual places, this place is just for you. Make sure to visit this holy temple during your next visit to India.