Pilgrimage to Jain Temple of Lord Ghantakarna Mahavir at Mahudi in the Gujarat State in India

The Jain religion has a large following in India, particularly in the Western part of the country in the States like Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. Jains are very religious type of people and have very strong faith in Lord Mahavir swami. There are mainly two types of Jains. One is called Shwetaambar and the other is known as Digambar. There are many places of pilgrimage for the Jains in India. However, Mahudi, which is located in the district of Mehsana in the Gujarat State, is their main pilgrimage spot. Both the types of Jains have strong faith in the Lord Ghantakarna Mahavir, whose statue is installed at the Jain temples in Mahudi.

Mahudi is situated at around 60 miles away from Ahmedabad near the towns of Kalol and Vijapur in the village of Aajol. One can reach Mahudi by road through the State Transport buses or hired car or taxi from the major cities like Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat. If you wish to travel by train, then, Taranga is the nearest railway station. However, the best option is to reach Mahudi by road through hired vehicles from Ahmedabad or Vadodara. Mahudi Jain temples are 2000 years old. The most beautiful present statue of Lord Ghantakarna Mahavir Swami is installed here at the temple before around 85 years. However, this derasar is in existence since 2000 years. The statue of Lord Ghantakarna is holding the bow and the arrow in his hands, which indicates that all the human beings have to continue their fights all through their lives against all sorts of the enemies. Most of the enemies are situated within us only. And it is extremely difficult to get rid of such enemies as compared to the external human enemies. The prasad of sukhdi is presented here to the Lord Ghantakarna, which is cooked at the kitchen of the derasar only. Once it is presented to the Lord, all the pilgrims can eat this sukhdis as much as they would like as a prasad. However, there is a strong restriction on taking this prasad of sukhdi outside the temple. It is believed that if anybody takes this prasad outside the derasar complex, some big tragedy always occur on such persons. There are many other derasars adjoining to this main derasar. One derasar is called heaven place. There is a belief that the person, who is able to climb up to this heaven place, would proceed straight to heaven after his death. The climb consists of only around 40 steps but these steps are very steep and almost vertical and the walkway is also extremely narrow so the fat and obese persons would not be able to pass through it.

There is also a large dining hall here. All the pilgrims are offered a square and nutritious Gujarati vegetarian meal here at very nominal charge of Rs.10 (25 cents) per head. You will need to buy a coupon in advance for this, which are sold at the entrance gate of the dining hall. There is one famous Kotyark temple of the Vaishnavs, which is located only around 3 miles from the derasar complex of Mahudi. The statue of Lord Shantinath, made up of panchdhatu, is installed here at Kotyark Vaishnav temple. The statue is four and a half feet tall with long hair, and its eyes are made of radium metal, which shines in the darkness. This Vaishnav temple should not be missed when you visit Mahudi. Most of the pilgrims visit Mahudi as one day outing from Ahmedabad or Vadodara. However, if somebody wants to have night halt here, the luxurious dharmashalas are available here within the derasar complex only. The clean and decent double rooms are offered here on first come first serve basis. I have myself visited Mahudi for around 4 to 5 times and I am happy to admit that I enjoyed each of my visits immensely.

I am sure that many Indians must be visiting Ahmedabad during their visit to India and I strongly urge to all of them to visit this most beautiful and religious place, even if you are not Jain and do not believe in Lord Ghantakarna. If any further clarifications are needed by any of my readers, they are free to contact me.