Khodaldham is a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

temple complex dedicated to Khodal, a patron deity of Leuva Patel community, located in Kagvad in

Rajkot district Rajkot district is one of the 33 districts of the Indian state of Gujarat. Located in Saurashtra (region), Saurashtra peninsula, Rajkot city is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is the third-most advanced and the fourth-most po ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...

, India. The temple was opened in 2017.

History

The temple was constructed by Shree Khodaldham Trust, an organisation of Leuva Patel community from Rajkot. The temple construction started in 2012 with laying of the foundation stone. It was inaugurated on 21 January 2017. The inauguration ceremony was attended by more than 3,00,0000 people. The temple complex was constructed in three phases over a area of 158

bigha The bigha or beegah (, , Assamese: বিঘা) is a traditional unit of measurement of area of a land, commonly used in northern & eastern India, Bangladesh and Nepal. There is no "standard" size of bigha and it varies considerably from place ...

and at cost of .

Architecture

The temple is built in Mahameru Prasad design of

Maru-Gurjara architecture Māru-Gurjara architecture or Solaṅkī style, is the style of West Indian temple architecture that originated in Gujarat and Rajasthan from the 11th to 13th centuries, under the Chaulukya dynasty (also called Solaṅkī dynasty). Although or ...

. It is 289 ft 7 inch long, 253 ft wide and 159 ft 1 inch high. The height of the temple is kept 10 feet lower than the Somnath temple to respect its supremacy. The primary plinth ( jagati) of the temple is 18 feet high and the secondary plinth is 6 feet 5 inch high. The

kalasha A kalasha, also called Pūrṇa-Kalaśa, Pūrṇa-Kumbha, Pūrṇa-Ghaṭa, also called ghat or ghot or kumbh ( , Telugu: కలశము Kannada: ಕಳಶ literally "pitcher, pot"), is a metal (brass, copper, silver or gold) pot with a large ...

on the top of the temple is gold plated and 14 feet tall and weigh 6 ton. The flag mast is 40 feet high. About 650 statues adorning the exterior of the temple are chiseled by artisans from

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

. The pillars, beams,

torana A ''torana'' (; '' awr-uh-nuh') is a free-standing ornamental or arched gateway for ceremonial purposes in Hindu architecture, Hindu, Buddhist and Jain architecture of the Indian subcontinent. Toranas can also be widely seen in Southeast Asi ...

s and roofs are carved by artisans from

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

. The carvings include the 72 scenes from epics ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

'' and ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

''. About 230000 cubic feet of Bansi Paharpur pink stone is used for the construction. The central deity of the temple is Khodal, also known as Khodiyar. Other twenty deities installed in the temple are

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

Ram Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...

Sita Sita (; ), also known as Siya, Jānaki and Maithili, is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Sita is the consort of Rama, the avatar of god Vishnu, and is regarded as an avatar of goddess Lakshmi. She is t ...

Radha Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Prak� ...

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

as well as other goddesses such as

Amba Amba or AMBA may refer to: Title * Amba Hor, alternative name for Abhor and Mehraela, Christian martyrs * Amba Sada, also known as Psote, Christian bishop and martyr in Upper Egypt Given name * Amba, the traditional first name given to the first ...

Annapurna Annapurna (; ) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the 10th highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficulty and danger involved in its as ...

, Ashapura, Bahuchar, Butbhavani,

Brahmani Brahmani may refer to: *A number of Hindu goddesses such as ** Brahmani (Matrika) *Rivers: ** Brahmani River, a river in Odisha, India ** Brahmani River (Dwarka), a tributary of the Dwarka in Jharkhand and West Bengal {{Disambiguation ...

Chamunda Chamunda (, ), also known as Chamundeshwari, Chamundi or Charchika, is a fearsome form of Chandi, the Hindu mother goddess, Mahadevi and is one of the seven Matrikas.Wangu p.72 She is also one of the chief Yoginis, a group of sixty-four or ...

, Gatral, Gel,

Harsiddhi Harsidhhi, one of the aspects of Durga, is a regional Hindu goddess, popular in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, adjoining Maharashtra states of India. Kuldevi She is worshiped as Kuldevi by many Kshatriya, Brahmin, Rajput and Vaishya communities. Other ...

Mahakali Mahakali () is the Hindu goddess of time and death in the goddess-centric tradition of Shaktism. She is also known as the supreme being in various tantras and Puranas. Similar to Kali, Mahakali is a fierce goddess associated with universal po ...

, Momai, Nagbai, Randal, Sihori and Verai.

Gallery

File:Khodaldham.jpg, Temple from near File:Khodaldham temple view.jpg, Temple from far File: Khodaldham, kagvad.jpg, Temple during a Hindu religious gathering File: Kagvad dham.jpg, Garden outside the temple entrance File: Skyscraper reverence.jpg, Khodiyar Mataji Dhaja and Shikhar of the temple

References

External links

* {{Hindu temples in Gujarat Hindu temples in Gujarat Rajkot district Māru-Gurjara architecture Religious buildings and structures completed in 2017 21st-century Hindu temples Tourist attractions in Rajkot district