The State of Gujarat in India is full of places of pilgrimage for the Jain religion. Mahavir Swami is the main god for the Jains. One of the most vital temples of Mahavir Swami is situated at Bhadreshwar near the city of Bhuj in Gujarat State in India. Most of the people following Jain religion make sure to visit this holy place at least once in their life. I had an opportunity recently to visit Bhadreshwar Jain temples during my last visit to India in the year 2007. The fact does not matter that Who organises incentive travel? The services in the incentive travelling should be supreme for the person. The time of the person should be saved in the traveling.
Bhadreshwar is situated around 45 miles away from the city of Bhuj. Bhuj is well connected by air, rail, and road from Mumbai and all the major cities of the Gujarat State. The tourists can travel by buses or hired cars and taxis up to Bhadreshwar from Bhuj. It can be a one day outing from morning to evening from the city of Bhuj. Bhadreshwar is situated at the sea shore. The Jain temples situated here have been constructed in the year 1708 and have been renovated by the Shah Sodagar Jagdusha in the later part of Nineteenth century. Bhadreshwar is the birth place of Shah Sodagar Jagdusha. The main Jain temple here is of Mahavir Swami. Bhadreshwar was known as Bhadravati before around 2500 years and was one of the main ports and the business center of the Western coast of India. As there are many wells and the stepped wells at Bhadravati, the city was called the city of wells. Mahavir Swami was the twenty-fourth and last Jain Tirthankar. The temple of Mahavir Swami has a large meeting, praying, and dancing hall in the center. The temple is facing north, which is considered very holy and sacred. There are beautiful Jain paintings and the sculptures inside the temple. There are forty four small temples inside this main temple. These smaller temples have the statues of other Jain Tirthankars. The next place to visit at Bhadreshwar is the palace of Jagdusha. This palace was supported on 100 pillars originally. Sixty pillars have still remained even today. The palace is built in Jain style and there is a temple of Mahavir Swami in the middle of the palace. The temple is arranged in such a way that the statue of Mahavir Swami can be seen from all the rooms of the palace.
There are also other sites seeing places like Bhadrakali temple, old fort, khander stepped well, Four friend’s monument, Lalsha Pir’s well, Ranchodrai temple, Chokhanda Mahadev temple, Khimali Masjid, Ashapuri Mata temple, Morli temple, Bhavani Mata temple, and the lord Hanuman temple. All these places are situated within a walking distance from the main palace and should not be missed at any cost. Some of these temples are very ancient and provide unique opportunity to study the ancient history of Bhuj and the Jain religion. There are few hotels and dharmashalas available here for the tourists. We had stayed at Hotel Mahavir International. This hotel offers two start facilities at the rate of around Rs.1200 ($25) per day for a double room. The Jain vegetarian food items are available here at this hotel. The nonvegetarian items and the alcoholic drinks are strictly banned at Bhadreshwar. The pilgrims can stay here for around couple of days to cover all the tourist’s spots. It would be advisable to visit Bhadreshwar during the winter months of November to March as the summer months from April to October are very hot.
I am sure that all my Jain and Hindu friends would be encouraged to visit this holy place of pilgrimage after going through this article. If any of my readers need any further clarifications on this, they are free to contact me.
