Pavagadh

 

Pavagadh is a Hill Station, and a municipality in Panchmahal district about 46 kilometres away from Vadodara in Gujarat. It is a tribal area, populated predominantly by the Rathwas. The area of this locality Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park was inscripted by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 2004.

Pavagadh is known for a famous Mahakali temple which draws thousands of pilgrims every day.

The temple dates back to 10th century and has three images of goddesses: the central image is of Kalika Mata (depicted in the form of a head, known as mukhwato and red in colour), flanked by Kali on the right and Bahuchara mata on the left.

On Chitra suddha Ashtami, a fair is held at the temple which is attended by thousands of devotees. The temple is also considered as one of the Shakti Peethas, as the toe of the goddess Sati is said to have fallen here.

The temple is one of the biggest tourist and pilgrimage centers in Gujarat, attracting large numbers of people every year. It is a Chodhri tradition to make a pilgrimage here at least once in a lifetime.

The temples of Jainism at Pavagadh are also noteworthy. They fall into three different groups: The first consists of the Bhavanaderi temple near the Naqqarkhana gate called the Navalakka temples, the second group is in honour of the tirthankaras Suparshvanatha and Chandraprabhu and the third group, situated on the south east of Pavagadh Hill (Mataji’s cliff),  near the Pārśva temple.

On the basis of their “stylistic and architectural features”, the date of construction of these temples is deduced to be the 14th–15th centuries. The temples are made up of pure white stone with elaborately carved seated and standing images of the Jain pantheon on the outer walls.

Source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavagadh

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalika_Mata_Temple,_Pavagadh

http://blog.travelyaari.com/pavagadh/navrarti-in-gujarat-manchi/

http://ultraliant.com/jaintirth/tirth.php?id=18

http://tourmet.com/pavagadh/

 

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