Pilgrimage to Khedbrahma, India: Home of Goddess Ambaji

There are many places of pilgrimage in the State of Gujarat in India. Some of them are really ancient and have a lot of importance as per the Hindu religion. The Goddess Ambaji is the family goddess of the people following the Nagar religion. Though, the main temple of Goddess Ambaji is situated at the town of Ambaji, one temple of Goddess Ambaji is also situated at the town of Khedbrahma in the Gujarat State in India. It is a belief in the Hindu religion that unless you perform the darshanas of Goddess Ambaji at Khedbrahma, your pilgrimage to main Ambaji temple is not considered valid. I had an opportunity to visit this ancient and historical city of Khedbrahma during my visit to India during last winter.

Khedbrahma is situated at round 78 miles away from Ahmedabad and is only around 24 miles from the main Ambaji temple. One can easily reach Khedbrahma by road through the government buses or hired cars or taxis. The other mode of travel like train is not a good option to reach here. This town of Khedbrahma was established due to the reason that one of the farmers found the statue of Lord Brahma from below the ground, when he was farming in his land. The temple of Lord Brahma was built here after that. There are very few temples of Lord Brahma in India. One such temple is at Pushkar and the other is here at Khedbrahma. This temple is very ancient and have very spiritual environment. There is an ashram of Bhrugu rishi here near the Lord Brahma temple. Bhrugu rishi had performed tapa here for 24 years here at this temple. The three Rivers named Hiranaxi, Mimaxi, and Kosamba meet here at the Khedbrahma, just opposite to the Lord Brahma temple. There is a vital importance of taking a holy deep here at this triveni sangam. The post death rituals of the dead ancestors can be performed here at the bank of these Rivers. There is a famous Chamunda Mata temple near this ashram. The temples of goddess Xirambadevi and Bhrugunath mahadev are also worth visiting here. The temple of Lord Brahma is situated in the middle of the town of Khedbrahma. There is one ancient stepped well near the Lord Brahma temple. This stepped well is still in excellent condition and people of Khedbrahma use this stepped well even today.

The famous Ambaji Mata temple is situated just outside the town of Khedbrahma. The temple is having a statue of Goddess Ambaji, which was brought from the town of Danta before around 1500 years. The morning and evening arti rituals here at the temple are worth attending. There is a large Lake here at the temple, which is called Mansarovar. There are some dharmashalas, which provide reasonably clean and decent rooms to the pilgrims in case they would like to make night halts here. Most of the pilgrims visit this ancient Ambaji temple on their way to main Ambaji temple ahead. The town of Khedbrahma is not having facilities of good hotels and the restaurants. Hence, it may not be very convenient to stay here. The traditional Gujarati food items are available here in some of the restaurants. It is suggested to carry the supply of drinking water with you during your visit, as the water available here is hard, containing dissolved salts in it.

I would strongly suggest all my AC readers to visit this holy and ancient town of Khedbrahma during their next visit to India.