Bhalka Tirtha (Bhalka Pilgrimage) ( hi, भालका तीर्थ), located in the

Veraval Veraval also known as Somnath is a municipality and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is also known for the hub of fishing industries in India. Geography Veraval is located at . It has an average ele ...

in Saurashtra on the western coast of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, is the place where

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

left this holy body as the story goes , it is said he was killed by an arrow shot by a hunter named Jara, after which he worshipped

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

, an act referred to in the

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

as ''Shri Krishna Nijdham Prasthan Leela ( sa, श्री कृष्ण निजधाम प्रस्थान लीला)''. Bhalka is part of the Lord

circuit (

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...

Vrindavan Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...

Barsana Barsana is a historical town and ''nagar panchayat'' in the Mathura district of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Barsana is believed to be the birthplace and home of the Hindu goddess Radha, the chief consort of Krishna. It is in the Braj ...

Govardhan Govardhan also called Giriraj, is a key pilgrimage centre in India and a municipal town; a nagar panchayat; seat of a MLA Member of Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh; a Tehsil, in Mathura district in the India in state of Uttar Pradesh. Ab ...

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra (, ) is a city and administrative headquarter of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty ") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Pura ...

and

Dwarka Dwarka () is a city and a municipality of Devbhumi Dwarka district in the state of Gujarat in Western India. It is located on the western shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula on the right bank of the Gomti river at the mouth of the Gulf of Kut ...

). Bhalka is located just 4 km from Somnath Temple, a

Jyotirlinga A Jyotirlinga () or Jyotirlingam, is a devotional representation of the Hindu god Shiva. The word is a Sanskrit compound of ('radiance') and ('sign'). The Śiva Mahāpurāṇam (also ''Shiva Purana'') mentions 64 original ''jyotirlinga'' s ...

, situated in

, India. The site also has ancient history as

Prabhas Patan Prabhas Patan, also known as Somnath Patan or Prabhas Kshetra, historically named Dev Patan, is an area situated in Veraval, Gir Somnath district in Saurashtra region of Gujarat, India. Somnath temple, a place of pilgrimage due to its importance ...

was occupied during the

Indus Valley Civilisation The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...

, 2000–1200 BCE.

Background

Death of Krishna - Illustrations from the Barddhaman edition of Mahabharata

According to ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

'', the

Kurukshetra war The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...

resulted in the death of all the hundred sons of Gandhari. On the night before

Duryodhana Duryodhana ( sa, दुर्योधन, ) also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' He was the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra and his queen Gandhari. Bei ...

's death,

visited Gandhari to offer his condolences. Gandhari felt that Krishna knowingly did not put an end to the war, and in a fit of rage and sorrow, Gandhari cursed that Krishna, along with everyone else from the

Yadu This is a list of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes that are mentioned in the literature of Indic religions. From the second or first millennium BCE, ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes turned into most of the population in the northern ...

dynasty, would perish after 36 years. Krishna himself knew and wanted this to happen as he felt that the Yadavas had become very haughty and arrogant ''(adharmi)'', so he ended Gandhari's speech by saying "''tathastu''" (so be it). After 36 years passed, a fight broke out between the

Yadava The Yadava (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and ...

s, at a festival, who killed each other. His elder brother,

Balarama Balarama ( Sanskrit: बलराम, IAST: ''Balarāma'') is a Hindu god and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Bala ...

, left his body through

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

. Krishna retired into the forest and started meditating under a tree. The Mahabharata also narrates the story of a hunter who becomes an instrument for Krishna's departure from the world. The hunter Jara, mistook Krishna's partly visible left foot for that of a deer, and shot an arrow, wounding him mortally. After Jara realised the mistake, while still bleeding, Krishna told Jara, "O Jara, you were Vali in your previous birth, killed by myself as

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bei ...

Treta Yuga ''Treta Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the second and second best of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Krita (Satya) Yuga'' and followed by ''Dvapara Yuga''. ''Treta Yuga'' lasts for 1,296,000 years (3,600 divine year ...

. Here you had a chance to even it and since all acts in this world are done as desired by me, you need not worry for this". Then Krishna, with his physical body ascended back to his eternal abode, Goloka and this event marks departure of Krishna from the earth. The news was conveyed to

Hastinapur Hastinapur is a city in the Meerut district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. ''Hastinapura'', described in Hindu texts such as the ''Mahabharata'' and the Puranas as the capital of the Kuru Kingdom, is also mentioned in ancient Jain texts. ...

and

Dwaraka Dvaraka, Dwaraka, Dwarka may refer to: Places India * Dvārakā, ancient city in Gujarat, the capital of the Yadus in the Mahabharata :* Dvārakā–Kamboja route, an ancient trade-route and a branch of the Silk Road * Dwarka, Gujarat, also k ...

by eyewitnesses to this event. The place of this incident is believed to be Bhalka, near Somnath temple. According to Puranic sources, Krishna's disappearance marks the end of

Dvapara Yuga ''Dvapara Yuga'' ( Dwapara Yuga), in Hinduism, is the third and third best of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga Cycle'', preceded by ''Treta Yuga'' and followed by ''Kali Yuga''. ''Dvapara Yuga'' lasts for 864,000 years (2,400 divine ...

and the start of

Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. It is believed to be the present age, which i ...

, which is dated to February 17/18, 3102 BCE.See: Matchett, Freda, ''"The Puranas"'', p 139 and Yano, Michio, ''"Calendar, astrology and astronomy"'

Story

As per the writing in

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

, i.e.

in his earlier

Avatar (

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appear ...

s) is supposed to have given a boon to a Vanar king Vali (Hindu mythology) whom Rama killed stealthily by shooting an arrow, while hiding behind a bush when Vali was engaged in a battle with his younger brother

Sugriva ''This character is about the vanara, in the Ramayana.'' Sugriva ( sa, सुग्रीव, , ) is a character In the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. He is the younger brother of Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara kingdom of Kis ...

, thus fulfilling his promise of protecting Sugriva's life. The above action of the hunter in

avatar (

s) is supposed to be in compliance to the boon of

i.e.

in his earlier Avatar. It is believed that Krishna left his footprints. It is a common site of pilgrimage for people who visit Somnath.

Location

Bhalka Teerth is situated almost 4 kilometers away from the Somnath temple. Presently the government has planned to develop this temple also into a major tourist attraction. Somnath/Veraval City/Bhalka is very well connected via road and rail network. Nearest railway station is Veraval and the nearest airports are Diu &

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, with a population ...

. Bus services are available from

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per ...

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capita ...

etc.

Gallery

BHALKA-04.jpg, Bhalka Teerth BHALKA-07.jpg, Sign Board depicting the importance of the place BHALKA-05.jpg, Sign Board depicting the importance of the place

Notes

References

Sources

* {{Krishna Krishna Hindu temples in Gujarat Samadhis Hindu holy cities Hindu pilgrimage sites Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Vaishnavism Religious tourism Religious tourism in India Krishna temples