Madhavpur
Madhavpur (Ghed)
Madhavpur (Ghed) is a small but culturally significant village in District Porbandar, Gujarat, India. The town is named after one more name of Lord Krishna viz., Madhavraj. A scenic town, Madhavpur is situated on a sandy coastline and is endowed with coconut trees and fertile agriculture land. Attractions of the Madhavpur are the beautiful Madhavraiji Haveli Temple, Rukmani no choro, shiva temple, beach, osho ashram, vallabhacharyabethak.
History of Madhavpur
According to folk, Lord Krishna came to this village after kidnapping, Rukmani and got married to her at this very place. In the memory of that event, there is a temple built for lord Madhavray. A celebration of this event is held at Madhavpur in memory of this marriage every year in a cultural fair.
Attractions in Madhavpur
- Madhavraiji and Haveli: The current temple which is housing the idols Lord Krishna and his brother Balram known as Madhavraj and Trikamrai in this context, is a haveliu style temple built by Maharaja of Porbandar, about one hundred and fifty years ago.
- Madhavpur Fair:Madhavpur fair is an ideal occasion to get an interest and informative peep inside the lifestyle and culture of the MerTribals; re-enactment of Lord Krishna’s marriage through marriage with their life partners makes up for an interesting ceremony agog with all the splendour and activity befitting a large fair.
- Meditation Centre of Osho:Madhavpur also has one of the meditation centres of Osho, where prominent Oshosanyasi Swami BrahmVedant resides and gives lectures daily. There is no mandatory fee for staying in the ashram. It is mostly run on donation system. One can donate money as per his convenience and it is alright if someone does not have money. One is free to do any work in Ashram and mostly people wake up early to do their work. There is a Buddha hall, Ma Ramila Ma Annapurna Annxetra, Gokul, Govardhan and lot of construction is going on. Although the Ashram is in a remote part of Gujarat but it is one of the most beautiful and big Osho Ashrams in India.
- Madhavpur Beach: Madhavpur beach is not safe for swimming, but perfect for taking in the sea breeze.Madhavpur beach is indeed one of the loveliest sandy beaches you can find in Gujarat. This stunning beach presents a visual that is hard to compare with anything else. The beach has been named after the ruler Madhav Rao.Madhavpur beach has become popular amongst the other beaches because of its scheduled location. The waters here are clear and still bereft of any pollution. This makes indulgence in water sports a pleasure and those who enjoy beach walking, wading through hip high water or just playing in it can do secure in the knowledge that it is safe and clean to do so.
- VallabhachryaBethak:Madhavpur is also culturally significant due to 66th seat of the seats of Shri Vallabhachrya out of 84 seats, who is founder of one of six major schools of Hinduism. The seat, called as Bethak.
The Best Season to Visit
The best time to visit this place is in July – March. The months of April and May are generally too hot and humid and therefore not recommended though there are many tourists who do come to this place during these months to take advantage of the relative calm that prevails here due to lesser number of tourists.
How to Reach
By Road:Junagadh is 327 km away from Ahmedabad, 102 km from Rajkot and 113 km from Porbandar and is accessible by ST bus from each of these places, as well as from other cities in Gujarat by way of Veraval and Rajkot. Bus is recommended as the best way to get to Junagadh.
By Rail:Two express trains run on the Ahmedabad – Veraval line, one at night and one by day. Ahmedabad is 7.5 hours away by train. Junagadh is also on the Rajkot-Veraval line, with Rajkot 2.5 hours away, and Veraval 2 hours.