The Famous Pilgrimage Place of Karnali on the Bank of River Narmada in Gujarat State, India

There are very peaceful, silent, and calm places of pilgrimage situated on the bank of the holy River Narmada in India. Most of them are situated in the State of Gujarat, near the cities of Bharuch and Vadodara. One such beautiful spot is Karnali, which is situated around 40 miles away from the city of Vadodara. This lovely spot is also known as the "Banaras of South". It has all the aspects needed for an ideal place of pilgrimage and the calm and quiet place, which can be the most ideal for performing Dhyana and meditation at the bank of holy River Narmada.

One can easily reach Karnali by the State Transport buses, or the hired cars and taxis from the city of Vadodara. It can take around one and a half hour to reach Karnali from Vadodara by road. There are two famous temples here at Karnali, over and above many other temples. The first temple is of Lord Shiva, which is known as Rameshwar Mahadev temple. It is said that the lord Moon performed a very severe tapa here at the spot of this temple. The Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu were very happy due to this and created this famous temple here through the help of Lord Moon. This temple is very ancient, around 3000 years old. The other famous temple is of Kuber Bhandari. It is said that the King Kuber had reached this place after running away from the fear of King Ravan. Both these temples are situated on two different ghats of the River Narmada. The next famous temple is of Lord Garudeshwar. There are only two temples of Lord Garudeshwar in the entire country of India. One is near the city of Chenai in South India and the second one is here at Karnali.

The other temples, which must be visited during your stay here at Karnali, are the temples of Dakshinamurti, Satyanarayana, Lord Ganesh, and the Goddess Gayatri. The statue made up of white marble of Goddess Gayatri placed in this Gayatri temple is really very beautiful. The other statue of lord Nateshwar, dancing on the symbol of time, is also worth seeing here at this Gayatri temple. There are many temples, situated on opposite side to Karnali and these temples can be reached through a boat. This would provide additional fun and enjoyment of boating in River Narmada. There is an ashram, which is established by Gita Mandir, Ahmedabad management. There is one small ancient water fountain here in the garden of this ashram. The most rare flowers Neel Kamal can be seen in this water fountain during the peak winter. Such rare flowers can only be seen in Himalayan Mountains, over and above Karnali. Karnali is the town of temples. In spite of it, it is very peaceful and there is no torture of beggars and pundits here, as compared with the adjoining town of Chanod. However, one should be very careful while taking a bath here in the Narmada River here at Karnali, as the River water is very deep and consists of many twisters. The hazard of crocodiles in the river water at this point is also real. One should never put his hands in the River water while traveling in a boat.

Karnali is considered as one of the best place to carry out the post death rituals as specified in the Hindu religion. Many people come here to perform such rituals after the death of their parents and other relatives. The large fair is held here at Karnali on shivratri day every year, which is the birthday of Lord Shiva. There are no good hotels available here, but two dharmshalas are here that can provide a reasonable double room with bed to the visiting pilgrims at very nominal rates. I have visited this holy town of Karnali many times in my life and even have stayed here for 3 days to conduct the classes of yoga and pranayama. The traditional Gujarati food is easily available here. However, there is a ban on eating and serving nonvegetarian food items here at Karnali. The electricity is available here and clean drinking water is also made available in the recent past. If you are fond of visiting calm, quiet, and peaceful places without any sort of hassles, tensions, and running around, Karnali is the ideal place for you. Hence, make sure to include it in your itinerary of India during your next visit there.