Temple of Garudeshwar Mahadev in Gujarat State of India

There are many ancient places and temples all along the bank of River Narmada in the Gujarat State in India. All such places are extremely holy and ancient. I was able to visit one such place recently during my visit to India and that is the ancient temple of Garudeshwar Mahadev. This ancient temple of Lord Shiva is situated on the Northern bank of the Narmada River near the town of Rajpipala in South Gujarat region.

This temple of Garudeshwar Mahadev is around 2000 years old and it is said that the Lord Shiva took the form of an eagle and saved all the common people from the attack of the evil elements. That is why this ancient temple was constructed by the local people. Garudeshwar temple can be reached easily from any major cities of the Gujarat State like Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, and Ahmedabad by the State Transport buses or hired car/taxi service. This ancient temple is situated at the bank of River Narmada and there is also a ghat made at the temple so that all the pilgrims can take holy bath here in the River Narmada. Recently, a new temple of Lord Guru Dattatreya is constructed here before around ten years. This Dattatreya temple is extremely beautiful and can be reached by traveling in the boat from the ancient temple of Garudeshwar Mahadev. The rowing boats are available that can accommodate around 16 people in one trip to take the pilgrims to this Guru Dattatreya temple.. The charges for such boat rides are around Rs.20 (forty cents) per person. This ride takes around thirty minutes to reach this newly built temple of Lord Dattatreya. The experience of the boat ride is really enjoyable as there is Satpuda Mountain range on both the sides of the Narmada River, which presents very nice landscape. The width of the bank of River Narmada at this point is so small that even a deer can cross the River in one jump. The statue of Lord Dattatreya is really very impressive and hypnotizing due to its piercing eyes. The statue is made of black granite stone and carved with beautiful wooden designs. This place may appear slightly isolated as there are no large crowds of pilgrims visiting this place. Very few pilgrims, who love to visit virgin and isolated places, visit this rare beauty spot of Garudeshwar Mahadev. There are regular artis taking place here at both the Lord Shiva and Guru Dattatreya temples in the morning and the evening. You must make it a point to attend such arti ritual, preferably in the evening as it creates a very holy and spiritual environment. We were lucky to attend the evening arti ritual and then, went back to Vadodara city in the late evening.

There are no hotels or guest houses available at Garudeshwar. But, one small Dharmshala is available here at the temple in case some pilgrims would like to stay for the night halt. The food prepared by the priest of the temple is the only source of dinner here at the temple. But if you really want to feel and enjoy the real wild life of the thick forest, you must stay here at the temple for one night at least. There is a famous Surpaneshwar fall, only around four miles away from this ancient temple. This fall is also worth visiting as the River water falls from the height of around eighty feet and present the most beautiful site. It would be the ideal plan to arrange one day long picnic from the cities of Vadodara, Surat, or Bharuch to cover both these places. The leisurely bath here at the River ghat is really enjoyable. However, the pilgrims must take care while taking a bath here as the water in the Narmada River is really deep at some places and also have some twisters that can pull the persons inside the River. There have been some incidents of drowning of the people at this spot. It would also be better to carry some light snacks and the mineral drinking water supplies with you as these are not available here in good quality. This is the ideal place for performing the meditation and lots of meditation camps of around three to six days duration are held here regularly during the winter season.

We really did enjoy our visit to this ancient temple of Garudeshwar Mahadev and it has become one of the major highlights of our entire visit to India. I would strongly suggest all my friends and readers to visit this unique place to feel the real heart beats of the holy River Narmada.