Veraval is a Municipality and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is 6 km from Somnath.

HISTORY

Veraval was founded in 13th or 14th century by Rao Veravalji Vadher, a Rajput. Veraval was once a fortified port town of the royal family of Junagadh. It was a part of the Kingdom of Junagadh till 1947 when Junagadh was merged with India. The city still bears some remnants of the old Nawabi heritage, the beautiful Nawabi summer palace being among them. There are ruins of the old Nawabi fort and Nawabi Gates in and around the place. The old walls of the port are now ruined, but the impressive Junagadh gate and the Patan gate are still seen, but are in a very bad state.

The Nawabi Palace with gothic features which is one of the main attractions. It is popularly known as Somnath College (the palace was converted into a college after it was abandoned by the Nawab). At present it is the building of a Sanskrit university. The town is often known as the gateway to the magnificent temple of Somnath and the pilgrimage centres of Prabhas Patan and Bhalkha. Veraval is also the nearest town to the Gir National Park (42 km away).

Before the rise of Surat, Veraval was the major seaport for pilgrims to Mecca. Its importance now is as a fishing port, one of the largest in India. Sea going dhows and wooden fishing boats are still being built by the Fishermen's without the use of any Hightech Machines. Traditional skills are passed down from father to son.[citation needed] About 25 km from the veraval a historical place is located at Savani village.

GEOGRAPHY

Veraval is located at 20.9°N 70.37°E. It has an average elevation of 0 metres (0 feet).

Subhash road,M.G.Road,Bus station, Somnath road are some of the famous roads in Veraval.

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of the 2001 India census, Veraval had a population of 141,250. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Veraval has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 71%, and female literacy is 53%. In Veraval, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

CLIMATE

Veraval has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year. Almost all precipitation falls during the summer monsoon season from June to September.

PEOPLE

Veraval has a predominant Gujarati population. Amongst Gujaratis, the sonis (Jewellers,mainly from the clans of Dhakan, Patt, Sagar, etc.), the Kharwa, Ahir and the Kolis casts form a sizable part of the local population. In addition there are also significant populations of Turks, Rajwadi bhois, Hadi, Lohanas, Maleks, Memons, Patnis and Raykas. There is also a sizable population Sindhis. Gujarati and Hindi are the most common languages in the town.

INDUSTRY

Fisheries have always been the main industries in the town and are dominated by the Kharwas (fisherfolk). The fishing is done mostly on traditional boats and trawlers. Veraval also has a large boat making industry. Veraval is home to a large number of fish processing factories in G.I.D.C [expand acronym] which export prime quality seafood to USA, Japan, SE Asian, Gulf and EU Countries. The seafood-industry which was started through government initiative now is in its prime and many importers are attracted towards Veraval from around the globe. Regional research centers of CIFT and CMFRI situated at Veraval have done Yeoman service in development of fisheries sector in Gujarat.

Veraval also is home to Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (Formerly:Indian-Rayon Industries Ltd) which is one of India's largest rayon manufacturing companies.

There are various chemical, thread and cement companies around Veraval which provide employment to the local youth. The major ones being Indian Rayon NUVO Ltd., Gujarat Ambuja Cement Ltd, Gujarat Siddhee Cement Ltd and Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd.

COASTLINE

Veraval also enjoyes a long coastline, lined with beaches. Beaches extend uninterrupted almost throughout the Veraval coast. Only a small portion of the beach has been commercialised and majority of the beach is still virgin. This Beaches are known for Beautiful Sunsets.

TRANSPORT

Veraval Junction is a fairly busy railway junction station for Western Railways and is served by more than 14 pairs of regional and long-distance trains.

Daily (or multiple daily) trains connect it to major cities in Gujarat such as Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara.

Daily connections are also available to many other towns in Gujarat such as Keshod, Jetalsar, Gondal, Wankaner, Surendranagar, Viramgam, Nadiad, Anand, Valsad, Vapi, Dahod and Godhra.

Daily long distance trains connect Veraval to several cities in India including Bhopal, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Ratlam, Ujjain and Mumbai.

Pune, Trivandrum, Kochi, Kollam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur, Mangalore, Karwar, Madgaon, Ratnagiri and Panvel are some of the cities connected by weekly long distance trains.

The nearest airports are Diu And Rajkot. Daily Flights connect Rajkot and Diu to Mumbai.

POINTS OF INTEREST

Somnath

Sasan Gir

Prabhas Patan

Bhalka

LORAN-C transmitter Veraval

G.I.D.C Fisheries Industries

Old Mosques

Beaches

Municipal Garden

sai baba's temple

WIKIPEDIA

Plain Tiger Butterfly on Tara Ganda

This was taken at the beach town of Somnath which just a few km outside Veraval. This kid was washing his horse in the sea.

Taken on a street photography trip in Gujarat, India in Jan 2012. The trip was run by Maciej Dakowicz for David, Matt and myself.

Statue of Sardar Patel outside the Somnath Temple in Gujarat. Sardar Patel played a significant part to rebuild the Somnath temple after Indian Independence.

The cornerstone for the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois was brought to the site by Nettie Tobin and accepted in 1912 by 'Abdu'l-Bahá during his only visit to the United States and Canada. Construction began in 1921 and was completed in 1953, with a delay of several years during the Great Depression and World War II. The Wilmette House of Worship is the largest and the oldest surviving Bahá'í House of Worship. Known by Baha'is as the "Mother Temple of the West" and formally as the "Bahá'í House of Worship for the North American Continent", it stands in north suburban Cook County, on the shores of Lake Michigan, at 42°04′27.88″N 87°41′05.89″W. The cladding is made of white portland cement concrete with both clear and white quartz aggregate. It has received numerous design awards, and is a prominent Chicago-area landmark. In 1978, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The height of the auditorium is 138 feet (42 m), and the diameter of the dome is 90 feet (27.5 m). The auditorium seats 1,192 visitors. Like some other Bahá'í temples, it has a gallery balcony from which choirs or soloists may perform. No instrumental music is allowed during services in the auditorium, although all kinds of music may be performed in the meeting room below. In general, no videography, photography, or any other activity inconsistent with quiet meditation is allowed in the auditorium. The building is open to visitors every day of the year. Currently, devotional services are held at 9:15 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 5.15 p.m. daily. A Visitor's Center, located underneath the main auditorium, includes restrooms, offices, a bookstore, library and research room, a viewing room for films, and a Foundation Hall, which is used for large meetings and holy day celebrations. The large underground area also contains offices not regularly open to the general public, including a media center, studios, and the Baha'i Archives, which can be visited by appointment.

The principal architect was Louis Bourgeois, but the interior cladding was designed by Alfred Shaw of Shaw, Metz, and Dolio. Engineering plans were prepared by Allen McDaniel of The Research Service of Washington, D.C. The general contractor was George A. Fuller, Co. Both the pioneering exterior and interior cladding were fabricated and constructed by John Joseph Earley and the Earley Studio.

The Bahá'í House of Worship is a place of worship for all people. The only decorative art inside and out involves shapes and designs made by intersecting lines. There are no images of people or places. The building itself is decorated inside and out with verses from the Baha'i Writings, all of them by Bahá'u'lláh. As there are nine entrances to the building, there are nine verses above the doors and nine inside the buildings above the alcoves.

The verses outside are engraved into the stone, in large legible letters. Above the doors are small engraved versions of the "Greatest Name", one of several Bahá'í symbols and an elaborate decorative design that includes the letters ABHA, representing the prayer "Alláh u Abhá" (God is Most Glorious) in Arabic. It is the numerical value of these four letters in the words abha and baha (for Bahá'u'lláh) that add up to total nine, one of reasons Bahá'í House of Worships are nine-sided.

The most decorative element on the outside of the building is the tracery on the nine towers. These are intertwined with the generally recognized symbols of many world religions, including the Cross, the star and crescent, the Star of David, and the original swastika design, an ancient symbol having arms bent at right angles, used for thousands of years as a representative symbol of world religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The only decorative symbol inside the auditorium is a large, lighted version of the Greatest Name in the exact center of the inside of the dome.

For many years the Bahá'í House of Worship was associated with a "home for the aged", operated by the U.S. Bahá'í community. The Bahá'í Home has since closed, although the building remains in use for a local Baha'i School and regional training center.

On April 30, 2007, the Bahá'í House of Worship was named one of the Seven Wonders of Illinois by the Illinois Bureau of Tourism representing the Chicago metropolitan area.

[Note from Wikipedia]

Links

Bahá'í House of Worship

Bahá'í House of Worship (Wilmette, Illinois)

Thanks Somnath for the idea ......

Vatva WDM3A 18618 gets away from Navagadh with train 19119, the 10:40 Ahmedabad Jn - Somnath InterCity Express. Monday 5th March 2018. I was hoping for a bit more of a smoke display out of here as it's a loopless single line station, effectivley a 'Halt', but no.

It was a moderately smokey example when given a thrashing and pretty good (but nowhere near as beastly as the previous loco on the move, 18828, but loads better than the utterly pants 18730 that I had next!). i suppose in this day and age I shouldn't complain at having three 18xxx ALCos in consecutive moves, given their 1980's vintage and that contemporaries are now getting relegated to shunting duties or scrapped at an alarming rate.

This photo gallery of Gujarat State in India has been made by Dutch travel photographer Hans Hendriksen. Should you want to buy a high-res file for publication, photo print or poster? Visit www.hanshendriksen.net to find all information about the author and how to order or publish his work.

Deze fotoserie van Gujarat, deelstaat van India, is gemaakt door reisfotograaf Hans Hendriksen. U wilt meer zien? Bezoek dan zijn populaire homepage www.hanshendriksen.net met fotogalerijen uit meer dan 30 landen, info over de auteur en hoe te bestellen/publiceren.

Cette photographie Voyage photo sur l'Inde Gujarat a été prise par Hans Hendriksen Voyage photographe néerlandais. Si vous voulez acheter un haute-rés. fichier pour la publication, tirage photo ou une affiche? Visite www.hanshendriksen.net pour y trouver toutes les informations sur l'auteur et la façon de commander ou de publier son travail.

Este India Gujarat fotografía viajes foto recibió un disparo por el fotógrafo de viajes neerlandés Hans Hendriksen. Si usted quiere comprar una de alta resolución de archivo para la publicación, impresión de fotografías o carteles? Visita www.hanshendriksen.net para encontrar toda la información sobre el autor y la forma de orden o publicar su trabajo.

Autor dieser Indien Gujarat Reise-Fotografie Galerie ist Hans Hendriksen, ein Niederländischer Reise-Fotograf mit Vorliebe für das Abbilden des Alltags. Mehr auf seiner Homepage www.hanshendriksen.net mit Informationen über den Autor und wie Sie seine Bilder bestellen/publizieren.

Автор серии иэ фотографии о Гуджарат Индии Ханс Хендриксен, голланкдский фотограф. Хотите еще? Зайдите на страничку www.hanshendriksen.net где вы можете найти 44 серий фотографий о разных странах, всю информачию об авторе и информачию о том как заказать и получить его работы.

Somnath temple has been a very interesting subject of Indian history. Destroyed six times during the 8th to the 18th cent., the current structure is the seventh version of the Somnath temple. It was built the seventh time by Sardar Patel in 1947. His statue stands right opposite the entrance.

Somnath is also one of the 12 Jyotirlings. This visit to Somnath raised my "Jyotirling" count to 3. Only 9 more to go now.:)

There is a nice garden behind the temple that faces the beach. Sadly, they release raw sewage out there(this is my guess as the stench was quite overpowering) and therefore it is impossible to stand there and enjoy the breeze.

CAMERAS NOT ALLOWED INSIDE THE TEMPLE

PS - An hour long Light and Sound show is organised here everyday. Starts at 8pm. This should not be missed at any cost.

The Somnath temple located in Prabhas Patan near Veraval in Saurashtra on the western coast of Gujarat, India, is the first among the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva. It is an important pilgrimage and tourist spot. The temple is considered sacred due to the various legends connected to it. Somnath means "Lord of the Soma", an epithet of Shiva.

The Somnath temple is known as "the Shrine Eternal". This legendary temple has been destroyed and rebuilt several times by Islamic kings and Hindu kings respectively. Most recently it was rebuilt in November 1947, when Vallabhbhai Patel visited the area for the integration of Junagadh and mooted a plan for restoration. After Patel's death, the rebuilding continued under Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, another minister of the Government of India.

The temple is open daily from 6AM to 9PM. There are 3 aarti daily; in the morning at 07:00, at 12:00 and in the evening at 19:00.

It is also believed that nearby Bhalka is the place where Krishna ended his lila on earth and left for his heavenly abode.

JYOTIRLINGA

The Shiva linga in Somnath is believed to be one of the 12 jyotirlingas in India, where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light. The jyotirlingas are taken as the supreme, undivided reality out of which Shiva partly appears.

The jyotirlinga shrines are the places where Shiva is believed to have appeared as a fiery column of light.[5][6] Originally there are believed to have been 64 jyotirlingas and 12 of them were considered to be very auspicious and holy.

Each of the twelve jyotirlinga sites take the name of a different manifestation of Shiva. At all these sites, the primary image is a lingam representing the beginningless and endless stambha pillar, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva. Even though there are believed to have been 64 jyotirlingas, twelve of them are considered to be very auspicious. In addition to the one at Somanath, the others are at Varanasi, Rameswaram, Dwarka etc.

HISTORY

The site of Somnath has been a pilgrimage site from ancient times on account of being a triveni sangam (the joining of three rivers — Kapila, Hiran and the mythical Sarasvati River). Soma, the Moon god, is believed to have lost his lustre due to a curse, and he bathed in the Sarasvati River at this site to regain it. The result is the waxing and waning of the moon, no doubt an allusion to the waxing and waning of the tides at this sea shore location. The name of the town Prabhas, meaning lustre, as well as the alternative names Someshvar and Somanath ("lord of the moon" or "moon god") arise from this tradition.

HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE

According to popular tradition documented by J. Gordon Melton, the first Siva temple at Somanath is believed to have been built at some unknown time in the past. The second temple was said to be built at the same site by the Seuna kings of Vallabhi around 649 CE. In 725 CE, Al-Junayd, the Arab governor of Sindh is said to have destroyed the second temple as part of his invasions of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The Gurjara-Pratihara king Nagabhata II is said to have constructed the third temple in 815 CE, a large structure of red sandstone.

There is no historical record of an attack on Somnath by Al-Junayd. However, Nagabhata II is known to have visited tirthas in Saurashtra, including Someshvara (the Lord of the Moon) at Somnath, which may or may not be a reference to a Siva temple. The Solanki king Mularaja possibly built the first temple at the site sometime before 997 CE, even though some historians believe that he may have renovated a smaller earlier temple.

Somnath temple, 1869

In 1024, during the reign of Bhimdev I, the prominent Afghan ruler Mahmud of Ghazni raided Gujarat, plundering the Somnath temple and breaking its jyotirlinga. He took away a booty of 20 million dinars. Historians expect the damage to the temple to have been minimal because there are records to pilgrimages to the temple in 1038, which make no mention of any damage to the temple. However, powerful legends with intricate detail had developed regarding Mahmud's raid in the Turko-Persian literature, which "electrified" the Muslim world according to scholar Meenakshi Jain.

The prior temple appears to have been a wooden structure which decayed in time (kalajirnam) and Kumarpal (r. 1143-72) rebuilt it in "excellent stone and studded it with jewels," according to an inscription in 1169.

In 1299, Alauddin Khilji's army under the leadership of Ulugh Khan defeated Karandev II of the Vaghela dynasty, and sacked the Somnath temple. According to Taj-ul-Ma'sir of Hasan Nizami, the Sultan boasted that "fifty thousand infidels were dispatched to hell by the sword" and "more than twenty thousand slaves, and cattle beyond all calculation fell into the hands of the victors."

The temple was rebuilt by Mahipala Deva, the Chudasama king of Saurashtra in 1308 and the Linga was installed by his son Khengar sometime between 1326 and 1351. In 1395, the temple was destroyed for the third time by Zafar Khan, the last governor of Gujarat under the Delhi Sultanate. In 1451, it was desecrated by Mahmud Begada, the Sultan of Gujarat.

In 1546, the Portuguese, based in Goa, attacked ports and towns in Gujarat including Somnath and destroyed several temples and mosques.

By 1665, the temple, one of many, was once again ordered destroyed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. In 1702, he ordered that if Hindus had revived worship there, it should be demolished completely.

Later the temple was rebuilt to its same glory adjacent to the ruined one by the joint efforts of the Marathas including the Peshwa of Pune, Raja Bhonsle of Nagpur, Chhatrapati Bhonsle of Kolhapur, Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore & Shrimant Patilbuwa Shinde of Gwalior rebuilt the temple in 1783 at a site adjacent to the ruined temple.

'Proclamation of the Gates' Incident during the British raj

In 1782-83 AD, Maratha king Mahadaji Shinde, victoriously brought back the Three Silver Gates from Lahore after defeating Muhammad Shah of Lahore. After refusal from Pundits of Guzrath and the then ruler Gaekwad to put them back on Somnath temple, these silver gates were placed in the temples of Ujjain. Today they can be seen in two temples of India, Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga and Gopal Mandir of Ujjain.

In 1842, Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough issued his famous Proclamation of the Gates, in which he ordered the British army in Afghanistan to return via Ghazni and bring back to India the sandalwood gates from the tomb of Mahmud of Ghazni in Ghazni, Afghanistan. These were believed to have been taken by Mahmud from Somnath. There was a debate in the House of Commons in London in 1843 on the question of the gates of the Somanatha temple. After much crossfire between the British Government and the opposition, the gates were uprooted and brought back in triumph. But on arrival, they were found to be replicas of the original. They were placed in a store-room in the Agra Fort where they still lie to the present day.

In the 19th century novel The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, the diamond of the title is presumed to have been stolen from the temple at Somnath and, according to the historian Romila Thapar, reflects the interest aroused in Britain by the gates.

RECONSTRUCTION OF THE SOMNATH TEMPLE

Before independence, Prabhas Patan was part of the princely state of Junagadh, whose ruler had acceded to Pakistan in 1947. After India refused to accept his decision, the state was made a part of India and Deputy Prime Minister Patel came to Junagadh on 12 November 1947 to direct the stabilization of the state by the Indian Army and at the same time ordered the reconstruction of the Somanath temple.

When Patel, K. M. Munshi and other leaders of the Congress went to Mahatma Gandhi with their proposal to reconstruct the Somnath temple, Gandhi blessed the move, but suggested that the funds for the construction should be collected from the public and the temple should not be funded by the state. He expressed that he was proud to associate himself to the project of renovation of the temple However, soon both Gandhi and Sardar Patel died and the task of reconstruction of the temple continued under Munshi, who was the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in the Nehru Government.

The ruins were pulled down in October 1950 and the mosque present at that site was shifted few kilometres away. In May 1951, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Republic of India, invited by K M Munshi, performed the installation ceremony for the temple. The President said in his address, "It is my view that the reconstruction of the Somnath Temple will be complete on that day when not only a magnificent edifice will arise on this foundation, but the mansion of India's prosperity will be really that prosperity of which the ancient temple of Somnath was a symbol.". He added "The Somnath temple signifies that the power of reconstruction is always greater than the power of destruction"

ARCHITECTURE OF THE PRESENT TEMPLE

The present temple is built in the Chalukya style of temple architecture or "Kailash Mahameru Prasad" style and reflects the skill of the Sompura Salats, one of Gujarat's master masons. The temple's śikhara, or main spire, is 15 metres in height, and it has an 8.2-metre tall flag pole at the top.

The temple is situated at such a place that there is no land in a straight line between Somnath seashore until Antarctica, such an inscription in Sanskrit is found on the Bāṇastambha (Sanskrit: बाणस्तम्भ, lit. arrow pillar) erected on the sea-protection wall. The Bāṇastambha mentions that it stands at a point on the Indian landmass that is the first point on land in the north to the South Pole at that particular longitude.

WIKIPEDIA

Veraval is a Municipality and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is 6 km from Somnath.

HISTORY

Veraval was founded in 13th or 14th century by Rao Veravalji Vadher, a Rajput. Veraval was once a fortified port town of the royal family of Junagadh. It was a part of the Kingdom of Junagadh till 1947 when Junagadh was merged with India. The city still bears some remnants of the old Nawabi heritage, the beautiful Nawabi summer palace being among them. There are ruins of the old Nawabi fort and Nawabi Gates in and around the place. The old walls of the port are now ruined, but the impressive Junagadh gate and the Patan gate are still seen, but are in a very bad state.

The Nawabi Palace with gothic features which is one of the main attractions. It is popularly known as Somnath College (the palace was converted into a college after it was abandoned by the Nawab). At present it is the building of a Sanskrit university. The town is often known as the gateway to the magnificent temple of Somnath and the pilgrimage centres of Prabhas Patan and Bhalkha. Veraval is also the nearest town to the Gir National Park (42 km away).

Before the rise of Surat, Veraval was the major seaport for pilgrims to Mecca. Its importance now is as a fishing port, one of the largest in India. Sea going dhows and wooden fishing boats are still being built by the Fishermen's without the use of any Hightech Machines. Traditional skills are passed down from father to son.[citation needed] About 25 km from the veraval a historical place is located at Savani village.

GEOGRAPHY

Veraval is located at 20.9°N 70.37°E. It has an average elevation of 0 metres (0 feet).

Subhash road,M.G.Road,Bus station, Somnath road are some of the famous roads in Veraval.

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of the 2001 India census, Veraval had a population of 141,250. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Veraval has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 71%, and female literacy is 53%. In Veraval, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

CLIMATE

Veraval has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year. Almost all precipitation falls during the summer monsoon season from June to September.

PEOPLE

Veraval has a predominant Gujarati population. Amongst Gujaratis, the sonis (Jewellers,mainly from the clans of Dhakan, Patt, Sagar, etc.), the Kharwa, Ahir and the Kolis casts form a sizable part of the local population. In addition there are also significant populations of Turks, Rajwadi bhois, Hadi, Lohanas, Maleks, Memons, Patnis and Raykas. There is also a sizable population Sindhis. Gujarati and Hindi are the most common languages in the town.

INDUSTRY

Fisheries have always been the main industries in the town and are dominated by the Kharwas (fisherfolk). The fishing is done mostly on traditional boats and trawlers. Veraval also has a large boat making industry. Veraval is home to a large number of fish processing factories in G.I.D.C [expand acronym] which export prime quality seafood to USA, Japan, SE Asian, Gulf and EU Countries. The seafood-industry which was started through government initiative now is in its prime and many importers are attracted towards Veraval from around the globe. Regional research centers of CIFT and CMFRI situated at Veraval have done Yeoman service in development of fisheries sector in Gujarat.

Veraval also is home to Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (Formerly:Indian-Rayon Industries Ltd) which is one of India's largest rayon manufacturing companies.

There are various chemical, thread and cement companies around Veraval which provide employment to the local youth. The major ones being Indian Rayon NUVO Ltd., Gujarat Ambuja Cement Ltd, Gujarat Siddhee Cement Ltd and Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd.

COASTLINE

Veraval also enjoyes a long coastline, lined with beaches. Beaches extend uninterrupted almost throughout the Veraval coast. Only a small portion of the beach has been commercialised and majority of the beach is still virgin. This Beaches are known for Beautiful Sunsets.

TRANSPORT

Veraval Junction is a fairly busy railway junction station for Western Railways and is served by more than 14 pairs of regional and long-distance trains.

Daily (or multiple daily) trains connect it to major cities in Gujarat such as Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara.

Daily connections are also available to many other towns in Gujarat such as Keshod, Jetalsar, Gondal, Wankaner, Surendranagar, Viramgam, Nadiad, Anand, Valsad, Vapi, Dahod and Godhra.

Daily long distance trains connect Veraval to several cities in India including Bhopal, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Ratlam, Ujjain and Mumbai.

Pune, Trivandrum, Kochi, Kollam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur, Mangalore, Karwar, Madgaon, Ratnagiri and Panvel are some of the cities connected by weekly long distance trains.

The nearest airports are Diu And Rajkot. Daily Flights connect Rajkot and Diu to Mumbai.

POINTS OF INTEREST

Somnath

Sasan Gir

Prabhas Patan

Bhalka

LORAN-C transmitter Veraval

G.I.D.C Fisheries Industries

Old Mosques

Beaches

Municipal Garden

sai baba's temple

WIKIPEDIA

Veraval is a Municipality and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is 6 km from Somnath.

HISTORY

Veraval was founded in 13th or 14th century by Rao Veravalji Vadher, a Rajput. Veraval was once a fortified port town of the royal family of Junagadh. It was a part of the Kingdom of Junagadh till 1947 when Junagadh was merged with India. The city still bears some remnants of the old Nawabi heritage, the beautiful Nawabi summer palace being among them. There are ruins of the old Nawabi fort and Nawabi Gates in and around the place. The old walls of the port are now ruined, but the impressive Junagadh gate and the Patan gate are still seen, but are in a very bad state.

The Nawabi Palace with gothic features which is one of the main attractions. It is popularly known as Somnath College (the palace was converted into a college after it was abandoned by the Nawab). At present it is the building of a Sanskrit university. The town is often known as the gateway to the magnificent temple of Somnath and the pilgrimage centres of Prabhas Patan and Bhalkha. Veraval is also the nearest town to the Gir National Park (42 km away).

Before the rise of Surat, Veraval was the major seaport for pilgrims to Mecca. Its importance now is as a fishing port, one of the largest in India. Sea going dhows and wooden fishing boats are still being built by the Fishermen's without the use of any Hightech Machines. Traditional skills are passed down from father to son.[citation needed] About 25 km from the veraval a historical place is located at Savani village.

GEOGRAPHY

Veraval is located at 20.9°N 70.37°E. It has an average elevation of 0 metres (0 feet).

Subhash road,M.G.Road,Bus station, Somnath road are some of the famous roads in Veraval.

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of the 2001 India census, Veraval had a population of 141,250. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Veraval has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 71%, and female literacy is 53%. In Veraval, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

CLIMATE

Veraval has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year. Almost all precipitation falls during the summer monsoon season from June to September.

PEOPLE

Veraval has a predominant Gujarati population. Amongst Gujaratis, the sonis (Jewellers,mainly from the clans of Dhakan, Patt, Sagar, etc.), the Kharwa, Ahir and the Kolis casts form a sizable part of the local population. In addition there are also significant populations of Turks, Rajwadi bhois, Hadi, Lohanas, Maleks, Memons, Patnis and Raykas. There is also a sizable population Sindhis. Gujarati and Hindi are the most common languages in the town.

INDUSTRY

Fisheries have always been the main industries in the town and are dominated by the Kharwas (fisherfolk). The fishing is done mostly on traditional boats and trawlers. Veraval also has a large boat making industry. Veraval is home to a large number of fish processing factories in G.I.D.C [expand acronym] which export prime quality seafood to USA, Japan, SE Asian, Gulf and EU Countries. The seafood-industry which was started through government initiative now is in its prime and many importers are attracted towards Veraval from around the globe. Regional research centers of CIFT and CMFRI situated at Veraval have done Yeoman service in development of fisheries sector in Gujarat.

Veraval also is home to Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (Formerly:Indian-Rayon Industries Ltd) which is one of India's largest rayon manufacturing companies.

There are various chemical, thread and cement companies around Veraval which provide employment to the local youth. The major ones being Indian Rayon NUVO Ltd., Gujarat Ambuja Cement Ltd, Gujarat Siddhee Cement Ltd and Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd.

COASTLINE

Veraval also enjoyes a long coastline, lined with beaches. Beaches extend uninterrupted almost throughout the Veraval coast. Only a small portion of the beach has been commercialised and majority of the beach is still virgin. This Beaches are known for Beautiful Sunsets.

TRANSPORT

Veraval Junction is a fairly busy railway junction station for Western Railways and is served by more than 14 pairs of regional and long-distance trains.

Daily (or multiple daily) trains connect it to major cities in Gujarat such as Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara.

Daily connections are also available to many other towns in Gujarat such as Keshod, Jetalsar, Gondal, Wankaner, Surendranagar, Viramgam, Nadiad, Anand, Valsad, Vapi, Dahod and Godhra.

Daily long distance trains connect Veraval to several cities in India including Bhopal, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Ratlam, Ujjain and Mumbai.

Pune, Trivandrum, Kochi, Kollam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur, Mangalore, Karwar, Madgaon, Ratnagiri and Panvel are some of the cities connected by weekly long distance trains.

The nearest airports are Diu And Rajkot. Daily Flights connect Rajkot and Diu to Mumbai.

POINTS OF INTEREST

Somnath

Sasan Gir

Prabhas Patan

Bhalka

LORAN-C transmitter Veraval

G.I.D.C Fisheries Industries

Old Mosques

Beaches

Municipal Garden

sai baba's temple

WIKIPEDIA

Veraval is a Municipality and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is 6 km from Somnath.

HISTORY

Veraval was founded in 13th or 14th century by Rao Veravalji Vadher, a Rajput. Veraval was once a fortified port town of the royal family of Junagadh. It was a part of the Kingdom of Junagadh till 1947 when Junagadh was merged with India. The city still bears some remnants of the old Nawabi heritage, the beautiful Nawabi summer palace being among them. There are ruins of the old Nawabi fort and Nawabi Gates in and around the place. The old walls of the port are now ruined, but the impressive Junagadh gate and the Patan gate are still seen, but are in a very bad state.

The Nawabi Palace with gothic features which is one of the main attractions. It is popularly known as Somnath College (the palace was converted into a college after it was abandoned by the Nawab). At present it is the building of a Sanskrit university. The town is often known as the gateway to the magnificent temple of Somnath and the pilgrimage centres of Prabhas Patan and Bhalkha. Veraval is also the nearest town to the Gir National Park (42 km away).

Before the rise of Surat, Veraval was the major seaport for pilgrims to Mecca. Its importance now is as a fishing port, one of the largest in India. Sea going dhows and wooden fishing boats are still being built by the Fishermen's without the use of any Hightech Machines. Traditional skills are passed down from father to son.[citation needed] About 25 km from the veraval a historical place is located at Savani village.

GEOGRAPHY

Veraval is located at 20.9°N 70.37°E. It has an average elevation of 0 metres (0 feet).

Subhash road,M.G.Road,Bus station, Somnath road are some of the famous roads in Veraval.

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of the 2001 India census, Veraval had a population of 141,250. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Veraval has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 71%, and female literacy is 53%. In Veraval, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

CLIMATE

Veraval has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year. Almost all precipitation falls during the summer monsoon season from June to September.

PEOPLE

Veraval has a predominant Gujarati population. Amongst Gujaratis, the sonis (Jewellers,mainly from the clans of Dhakan, Patt, Sagar, etc.), the Kharwa, Ahir and the Kolis casts form a sizable part of the local population. In addition there are also significant populations of Turks, Rajwadi bhois, Hadi, Lohanas, Maleks, Memons, Patnis and Raykas. There is also a sizable population Sindhis. Gujarati and Hindi are the most common languages in the town.

INDUSTRY

Fisheries have always been the main industries in the town and are dominated by the Kharwas (fisherfolk). The fishing is done mostly on traditional boats and trawlers. Veraval also has a large boat making industry. Veraval is home to a large number of fish processing factories in G.I.D.C [expand acronym] which export prime quality seafood to USA, Japan, SE Asian, Gulf and EU Countries. The seafood-industry which was started through government initiative now is in its prime and many importers are attracted towards Veraval from around the globe. Regional research centers of CIFT and CMFRI situated at Veraval have done Yeoman service in development of fisheries sector in Gujarat.

Veraval also is home to Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (Formerly:Indian-Rayon Industries Ltd) which is one of India's largest rayon manufacturing companies.

There are various chemical, thread and cement companies around Veraval which provide employment to the local youth. The major ones being Indian Rayon NUVO Ltd., Gujarat Ambuja Cement Ltd, Gujarat Siddhee Cement Ltd and Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd.

COASTLINE

Veraval also enjoyes a long coastline, lined with beaches. Beaches extend uninterrupted almost throughout the Veraval coast. Only a small portion of the beach has been commercialised and majority of the beach is still virgin. This Beaches are known for Beautiful Sunsets.

TRANSPORT

Veraval Junction is a fairly busy railway junction station for Western Railways and is served by more than 14 pairs of regional and long-distance trains.

Daily (or multiple daily) trains connect it to major cities in Gujarat such as Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara.

Daily connections are also available to many other towns in Gujarat such as Keshod, Jetalsar, Gondal, Wankaner, Surendranagar, Viramgam, Nadiad, Anand, Valsad, Vapi, Dahod and Godhra.

Daily long distance trains connect Veraval to several cities in India including Bhopal, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Ratlam, Ujjain and Mumbai.

Pune, Trivandrum, Kochi, Kollam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur, Mangalore, Karwar, Madgaon, Ratnagiri and Panvel are some of the cities connected by weekly long distance trains.

The nearest airports are Diu And Rajkot. Daily Flights connect Rajkot and Diu to Mumbai.

POINTS OF INTEREST

Somnath

Sasan Gir

Prabhas Patan

Bhalka

LORAN-C transmitter Veraval

G.I.D.C Fisheries Industries

Old Mosques

Beaches

Municipal Garden

sai baba's temple

WIKIPEDIA

Camel and pony rides available along the beach near Somnath Temple

Scopula sp., Geometridae - very small Moth at our butterfly garden - smaller than Cleome Rutidosperma leaf

Watch my recent butterfly video youtu.be/s-Tf9xcNGqU

Watch my recent travel vlog youtu.be/WGgZVVthI2M

Watch my butterfly release video youtu.be/WdPKZtPw0o4

This photo gallery of Gujarat State in India has been made by Dutch travel photographer Hans Hendriksen. Should you want to buy a high-res file for publication, photo print or poster? Visit www.hanshendriksen.net to find all information about the author and how to order or publish his work.

Deze fotoserie van Gujarat, deelstaat van India, is gemaakt door reisfotograaf Hans Hendriksen. U wilt meer zien? Bezoek dan zijn populaire homepage www.hanshendriksen.net met fotogalerijen uit meer dan 30 landen, info over de auteur en hoe te bestellen/publiceren.

Cette photographie Voyage photo sur l'Inde Gujarat a été prise par Hans Hendriksen Voyage photographe néerlandais. Si vous voulez acheter un haute-rés. fichier pour la publication, tirage photo ou une affiche? Visite www.hanshendriksen.net pour y trouver toutes les informations sur l'auteur et la façon de commander ou de publier son travail.

Este India Gujarat fotografía viajes foto recibió un disparo por el fotógrafo de viajes neerlandés Hans Hendriksen. Si usted quiere comprar una de alta resolución de archivo para la publicación, impresión de fotografías o carteles? Visita www.hanshendriksen.net para encontrar toda la información sobre el autor y la forma de orden o publicar su trabajo.

Autor dieser Indien Gujarat Reise-Fotografie Galerie ist Hans Hendriksen, ein Niederländischer Reise-Fotograf mit Vorliebe für das Abbilden des Alltags. Mehr auf seiner Homepage www.hanshendriksen.net mit Informationen über den Autor und wie Sie seine Bilder bestellen/publizieren.

Автор серии иэ фотографии о Гуджарат Индии Ханс Хендриксен, голланкдский фотограф. Хотите еще? Зайдите на страничку www.hanshendriksen.net где вы можете найти 44 серий фотографий о разных странах, всю информачию об авторе и информачию о том как заказать и получить его работы.

Krishna [1](/ˈkrɪʃnə/; Sanskrit: कृष्ण, Kṛṣṇa in IAST, pronounced [ˈkr̩ʂɳə] ( listen)) is considered the supreme deity, worshipped across many traditions of Hinduism in a variety of different perspectives. Krishna is recognized as the eighth incarnation (avatar) of Lord Vishnu, and one and the same as Lord Vishnu one of the trimurti and as the supreme god in his own right. Krishna is the principal protagonist with Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita also known as the Song of God, which depicts the conversation between the Royal Prince Arjuna and Krishna during the great battle of Kurukshetra 5000 years ago where Arjuna discovers that Krishna is God and then comprehends his nature and will for him and for mankind. In present age Krishna is one of the most widely revered and most popular of all Indian divinities.[2]

Krishna is often described and portrayed as an infant eating butter, a young boy playing a flute as in the Bhagavata Purana,[3] or as an elder giving direction and guidance as in the Bhagavad Gita.[4] The stories of Krishna appear across a broad spectrum of Hindu philosophical and theological traditions.[5] They portray him in various perspectives: a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero, and the Supreme Being.[6] The principal scriptures discussing Krishna's story are the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa, the Bhagavata Purana, and the Vishnu Purana.

Krishna's disappearance marks the end of Dvapara Yuga and the start of Kali Yuga (present age), which is dated to February 17/18, 3102 BCE.[7] Worship of the deity Krishna, either in the form of deity Krishna or in the form of Vasudeva, Bala Krishna or Gopala can be traced to as early as 4th century BC.[8][9] Worship of Krishna as Svayam Bhagavan, or the supreme being, known as Krishnaism, arose in the Middle Ages in the context of the Bhakti movement. From the 10th century AD, Krishna became a favourite subject in performing arts and regional traditions of devotion developed for forms of Krishna such as Jagannatha in Odisha, Vithoba in Maharashtra and Shrinathji in Rajasthan. Since the 1960s the worship of Krishna has also spread in the Western world, largely due to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.[10]The name originates from the Sanskrit word Kṛṣṇa, which is primarily an adjective meaning "black", "dark" or "dark blue".[11] The waning moon is called Krishna Paksha in the Vedic tradition, relating to the adjective meaning "darkening".[12] Sometimes it is also translated as "all-attractive", according to members of the Hare Krishna movement.[13]

As a name of Vishnu, Krishna listed as the 57th name in the Vishnu Sahasranama. Based on his name, Krishna is often depicted in murtis as black or blue-skinned. Krishna is also known by various other names, epithets and titles, which reflect his many associations and attributes. Among the most common names are Mohan "enchanter", Govinda, "Finder of the cows" or Gopala, "Protector of the cows", which refer to Krishna's childhood in Braj (in present day Uttar Pradesh).[14][15] Some of the distinct names may be regionally important; for instance, Jagannatha, a popular incarnation of Puri, Odisha in eastern India.[16]Krishna is easily recognized by his representations. Though his skin color may be depicted as black or dark in some representations, particularly in murtis, in other images such as modern pictorial representations, Krishna is usually shown with a blue skin. He is often shown wearing a silk dhoti and a peacock feather crown. Common depictions show him as a little boy, or as a young man in a characteristically relaxed pose, playing the flute.[17][18] In this form, he usually stands with one leg bent in front of the other with a flute raised to his lips, in the Tribhanga posture, accompanied by cows, emphasizing his position as the divine herdsman, Govinda, or with the gopis (milkmaids) i.e. Gopikrishna, stealing butter from neighbouring houses i.e. Navneet Chora or Gokulakrishna, defeating the vicious serpent i.e. Kaliya Damana Krishna, lifting the hill i.e. Giridhara Krishna ..so on and so forth from his childhood / youth events.

A steatite (soapstone) tablet unearthed from Mohenjo-daro, Larkana district, Sindh depicting a young boy uprooting two trees from which are emerging two human figures is an interesting archaeological find for fixing dates associated with Krishna. This image recalls the Yamalarjuna episode of Bhagavata and Harivamsa Purana. In this image, the young boy is Krishna, and the two human beings emerging from the trees are the two cursed gandharvas, identified as Nalakubara and Manigriva. Dr. E.J.H. Mackay, who did the excavation at Mohanjodaro, compares this image with the Yamalarjuna episode. Prof. V.S. Agrawal has also accepted this identification. Thus, it seems that the Indus valley people knew stories related to Krishna. This lone find may not establish Krishna as contemporary with Pre-Indus or Indus times, but, likewise, it cannot be ignored.[19][20]The scene on the battlefield of the epic Mahabharata, notably where he addresses Pandava prince Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, is another common subject for representation. In these depictions, he is shown as a man, often with supreme God characteristics of Hindu religious art, such as multiple arms or heads, denoting power, and with attributes of Vishnu, such as the chakra or in his two-armed form as a charioteer. Cave paintings dated to 800 BCE in Mirzapur, Mirzapur district, Uttar Pradesh, show raiding horse-charioteers, one of whom is about to hurl a wheel, and who could potentially be identified as Krishna.[21]

Representations in temples often show Krishna as a man standing in an upright, formal pose. He may be alone, or with associated figures:[22] his brother Balarama and sister Subhadra, or his main queens Rukmini and Satyabhama.

Often, Krishna is pictured with his gopi-consort Radha. Manipuri Vaishnavas do not worship Krishna alone, but as Radha Krishna,[23] a combined image of Krishna and Radha. This is also a characteristic of the schools Rudra[24] and Nimbarka sampradaya,[25] as well as that of Swaminarayan sect. The traditions celebrate Radha Ramana murti, who is viewed by Gaudiyas as a form of Radha Krishna.[26]

Krishna is also depicted and worshipped as a small child (Bala Krishna, Bāla Kṛṣṇa the child Krishna), crawling on his hands and knees or dancing, often with butter or Laddu in his hand being Laddu Gopal.[27][28] Regional variations in the iconography of Krishna are seen in his different forms, such as Jaganatha of Odisha, Vithoba of Maharashtra,[29] Venkateswara (also Srinivasa or Balaji) in Andhra Pradesh, and Shrinathji in Rajasthan.The earliest text to explicitly provide detailed descriptions of Krishna as a personality is the epic Mahabharata which depicts Krishna as an incarnation of Vishnu.[30] Krishna is central to many of the main stories of the epic. The eighteen chapters of the sixth book (Bhishma Parva) of the epic that constitute the Bhagavad Gita contain the advice of Krishna to the warrior-hero Arjuna, on the battlefield. Krishna is already an adult in the epic, although there are allusions to his earlier exploits. The Harivamsa, a later appendix to this epic, contains the earliest detailed version of Krishna's childhood and youth.

The Rig Veda 1.22.164 sukta 31 mentions a herdsman "who never stumbles".[31] Some Vaishnavite scholars, such as Bhaktivinoda Thakura, claim that this herdsman refers to Krishna.[32] Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar also attempted to show that "the very same Krishna" made an appearance, e.g. as the drapsa ... krishna "black drop" of RV 8.96.13.[33] Some authors have also likened prehistoric depictions of deities to Krishna.

Chandogya Upanishad (3.17.6) composed around 900 BCE[34] mentions Vasudeva Krishna as the son of Devaki and the disciple of Ghora Angirasa, the seer who preached his disciple the philosophy of ‘Chhandogya.’ Having been influenced by the philosophy of ‘Chhandogya’ Krishna in the Bhagavadgita while delivering the discourse to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra discussed about sacrifice, which can be compared to purusha or the individual.[35][36][37][38]

Yāska's Nirukta, an etymological dictionary around 6th century BC, contains a reference to the Shyamantaka jewel in the possession of Akrura, a motif from well known Puranic story about Krishna.[39] Shatapatha Brahmana and Aitareya-Aranyaka, associate Krishna with his Vrishni origins.[40]

Pāṇini, the ancient grammarian and author of Asthadhyayi (probably belonged to 5th century or 6th century BC) mentions a character called Vāsudeva, son of Vasudeva, and also mentions Kaurava and Arjuna which testifies to Vasudeva Krishna, Arjuna and Kauravas being contemporaries.[35][41][42]

Megasthenes (350 – 290 BC) a Greek ethnographer and an ambassador of Seleucus I to the court of Chandragupta Maurya made reference to Herakles in his famous work Indica. Many scholars have suggested that the deity identified as Herakles was Krishna. According to Arrian, Diodorus, and Strabo, Megasthenes described an Indian tribe called Sourasenoi, who especially worshipped Herakles in their land, and this land had two cities, Methora and Kleisobora, and a navigable river, the Jobares. As was common in the ancient period, the Greeks sometimes described foreign gods in terms of their own divinities, and there is a little doubt that the Sourasenoi refers to the Shurasenas, a branch of the Yadu dynasty to which Krishna belonged; Herakles to Krishna, or Hari-Krishna: Methora to Mathura, where Krishna was born; Kleisobora to Krishnapura, meaning "the city of Krishna"; and the Jobares to the Yamuna, the famous river in the Krishna story. Quintus Curtius also mentions that when Alexander the Great confronted Porus, Porus's soldiers were carrying an image of Herakles in their vanguard.[43]

The name Krishna occurs in Buddhist writings in the form Kānha, phonetically equivalent to Krishna.[44]

The Ghata-Jâtaka (No. 454) gives an account of Krishna's childhood and subsequent exploits which in many points corresponds with the Brahmanic legends of his life and contains several familiar incidents and names, such as Vâsudeva, Baladeva, Kaṃsa. Yet it presents many peculiarities and is either an independent version or a misrepresentation of a popular story that had wandered far from its home. Jain tradition also shows that these tales were popular and were worked up into different forms, for the Jains have an elaborate system of ancient patriarchs which includes Vâsudevas and Baladevas. Krishna is the ninth of the Black Vâsudevas and is connected with Dvâravatî or Dvârakâ. He will become the twelfth tîrthankara of the next world-period and a similar position will be attained by Devakî, Rohinî, Baladeva and Javakumâra, all members of his family. This is a striking proof of the popularity of the Krishna legend outside the Brahmanic religion.[45]

According to Arthasastra of Kautilya (4th century BCE) Vāsudeva was worshiped as supreme Deity in a strongly monotheistic format.[41]

Around 150 BC, Patanjali in his Mahabhashya quotes a verse: "May the might of Krishna accompanied by Samkarshana increase!" Other verses are mentioned. One verse speaks of "Janardhana with himself as fourth" (Krishna with three companions, the three possibly being Samkarshana, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha). Another verse mentions musical instruments being played at meetings in the temples of Rama (Balarama) and Kesava (Krishna). Patanjali also describes dramatic and mimetic performances (Krishna-Kamsopacharam) representing the killing of Kamsa by Vasudeva.[46][47]

In the 1st century BC, there seems to be evidence for a worship of five Vrishni heroes (Balarama, Krishna, Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Samba) for an inscription has been found at Mora near Mathura, which apparently mentions a son of the great satrap Rajuvula, probably the satrap Sodasa, and an image of Vrishni, "probably Vasudeva, and of the "Five Warriors".[48] Brahmi inscription on the Mora stone slab, now in the Mathura Museum.[49][50]

Many Puranas tell Krishna's life-story or some highlights from it. Two Puranas, the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana, that contain the most elaborate telling of Krishna’s story and teachings are the most theologically venerated by the Vaishnava schools.[51] Roughly one quarter of the Bhagavata Purana is spent extolling his life and philosophy.

Life[edit]

This summary is based on details from the Mahābhārata, the Harivamsa, the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana. The scenes from the narrative are set in north India mostly in the present states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Delhi and Gujarat.Based on scriptural details and astrological calculations, the date of Krishna's birth, known as Janmashtami,[52] is 18 July 3228 BCE.[53] He was born to Devaki and her husband, Vasudeva,[54][55] When Mother Earth became upset by the sin being committed on Earth, she thought of seeking help from Lord Vishnu. She went in the form of a cow to visit Lord Vishnu and ask for help. Lord Vishnu agreed to help her and promised her that he would be born on Earth. On Earth in the Yadava clan, he was yadav according to his birth, a prince named Kansa sent his father Ugrasena (King of Mathura) to prison and became the King himself. One day a loud voice from the sky (Akash Vani in Hindi) prophesied that the 8th son of Kansa's sister (Devaki) would kill Kansa. Out of affection for Devaki, Kansa did not kill her outright. He did, however, send his sister and her husband (Vasudeva) to prison. Lord Vishnu himself later appeared to Devaki and Vasudeva and told them that he himself would be their eighth son and kill Kansa and destroy sin in the world. In the story of Krishna the deity is the agent of conception and also the offspring.[citation needed] Because of his sympathy for the earth, the divine Vishnu himself descended into the womb of Devaki and was born as her son, Vaasudeva (i.e., Krishna).[citation needed] This is occasionally cited as evidence that "virgin birth" tales are fairly common in non-Christian religions around the world.[56][57][58] However, there is nothing in Hindu scriptures to suggest that it was a "virgin" birth. By the time of conception and birth of Krishna, Devaki was married to Vasudeva and had already borne 7 children.[59] Virgin birth in this case should be more accurately understood as divine conception. Kunti the mother of the Pandavas referenced contemporaneously with the story of Krishna in the Mahabharata also has divine conception and virgin birth of Prince Karna.

The Hindu Vishnu Purana relates: "Devaki bore in her womb the lotus-eyed deity...before the birth of Krishna, no one could bear to gaze upon Devaki, from the light that invested her, and those who contemplated her radiance felt their minds disturbed.” This reference to light is reminiscent of the Vedic hymn "To an Unknown Divine," which refers to a Golden Child. According to F. M. Müller, this term means "the golden gem of child" and is an attempt at naming the sun. According to the Vishnu Purana, Krishna is the total incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It clearly describes in the Vishnu Purana that Krishna was born on earth to destroy sin, especially Kansa.

Krishna belonged to the Vrishni clan of Yadavas from Mathura,[60] and was the eighth son born to the princess Devaki, and her husband Vasudeva.

Mathura (in present day Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh) was the capital of the Yadavas, to which Krishna's parents Vasudeva and Devaki belonged. King Kansa, Devaki's brother,[61] had ascended the throne by imprisoning his father, King Ugrasena. Afraid of a prophecy from a divine voice from the heavens that predicted his death at the hands of Devaki's eighth "garbha", Kansa had the couple locked in a prison cell. After Kansa killed the first six children, Devaki apparently had a miscarriage of the seventh. However, in reality, the womb was actually transferred to Rohini secretly. This was how Balarama, Krishna's elder brother, was born. Once again Devaki became pregnant. Now due to the miscarriage, Kansa was in a puzzle regarding 'The Eighth One', but his ministers advised that the divine voice from the heavens emphasised "the eight garbha" and so this is the one. That night Krishna was born in the Abhijit nakshatra and simultanously Ekanamsha was born as Yogamaya in Gokulam to Nanda and Yashoda.

Since Vasudeva knew Krishna's life was in danger, Krishna was secretly taken out of the prison cell to be raised by his foster parents, Yasoda[62] and Nanda, in Gokula (in present day Mathura district). Two of his other siblings also survived, Balarama (Devaki's seventh child, transferred to the womb of Rohini, Vasudeva's first wife) and Subhadra (daughter of Vasudeva and Rohini, born much later than Balarama and Krishna)Nanda was the head of a community of cow-herders, and he settled in Vrindavana. The stories of Krishna's childhood and youth tell how he became a cow herder,[64] his mischievous pranks as Makhan Chor (butter thief) his foiling of attempts to take his life, and his role as a protector of the people of Vrindavana.

Krishna killed the demoness Putana, disguised as a wet nurse, and the tornado demon Trinavarta both sent by Kamsa for Krishna's life. He tamed the serpent Kāliyā, who previously poisoned the waters of Yamuna river, thus leading to the death of the cowherds. In Hindu art, Krishna is often depicted dancing on the multi-hooded Kāliyā.

Krishna lifted the Govardhana hill and taught Indra, the king of the devas, a lesson to protect native people of Brindavana from persecution by Indra and prevent the devastation of the pasture land of Govardhan. Indra had too much pride and was angry when Krishna advised the people of Brindavana to take care of their animals and their environment that provide them with all their necessities, instead of worshipping Indra annually by spending their resources.[65][66] In the view of some, the spiritual movement started by Krishna had something in it which went against the orthodox forms of worship of the Vedic gods such as Indra.[67] In Bhagavat Purana, Krishna says that the rain came from the nearby hill Govardhana, and advised that the people worshiped the hill instead of Indra. This made Indra furious, so he punished them by sending out a great storm. Krishna then lifted Govardhan and held it over the people like an umbrella.

The stories of his play with the gopis (milkmaids) of Brindavana, especially Radha (daughter of Vrishbhanu, one of the original residents of Brindavan) became known as the Rasa lila and were romanticised in the poetry of Jayadeva, author of the Gita Govinda. These became important as part of the development of the Krishna bhakti traditions worshiping Radha Krishna.[68]

Krishna’s childhood reinforces the Hindu concept of lila, playing for fun and enjoyment and not for sport or gain. His interaction with the gopis at the rasa dance or Rasa-lila is a great example of this. Krishna played his flute and the gopis came immediately from whatever they were doing, to the banks of the Yamuna River, and joined him in singing and dancing. Even those who could not physically be there joined him through meditation.[69] The story of Krishna’s battle with Kāliyā also supports this idea in the sense of him dancing on Kāliyā’s many hoods. Even though he is doing battle with the serpent, he is in no real danger and treats it like a game. He is a protector, but he only appears to be a young boy having fun.[70] This idea of having a playful god is very important in Hinduism. The playfulness of Krishna has inspired many celebrations like the Rasa-lila and the Janmashtami : where they make human pyramids to break open handis (clay pots) hung high in the air that spill buttermilk all over the group after being broken by the person at the top. This is meant to be a fun celebration and it gives the participants a sense of unity. Many believe that lila being connected with Krishna gives Hindus a deeper connection to him and thus a deeper connection to Vishnu also; seeing as Krishna is an incarnation of Vishnu. Theologists, like Kristin Johnston Largen, believe that Krishna’s childhood can even inspire other religions to look for lila in deities so that they have a chance to experience a part of their faith that they may not have previously seen.On his return to Mathura as a young man, Krishna overthrew and killed his maternal uncle, Kansa, after quelling several assassination attempts from Kansa's followers. He reinstated Kansa's father, Ugrasena, as the king of the Yadavas and became a leading prince at the court.[73] During this period, he became a friend of Arjuna and the other Pandava princes of the Kuru kingdom, who were his cousins. Later, he took his Yadava subjects to the city of Dwaraka (in modern Gujarat) and established his own kingdom there.[74]

Krishna married Rukmini, the Vidarbha princess, by abducting her, at her request, from her proposed wedding with Shishupala. He married eight queens—collectively called the Ashtabharya—including Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Nagnajiti, Bhadra and Lakshmana.[75][76] Krishna subsequently married 16,000 or 16,100 maidens who were held captive by the demon Narakasura, to save their honour.[77][78] Krishna killed the demon and released them all. According to social custom of the time, all of the captive women were degraded, and would be unable to marry, as they had been under the Narakasura's control. However Krishna married them to reinstate their status in the society. This symbolic wedding with 16,100 abandoned daughters was more of a mass rehabilitation.[79] In Vaishnava traditions, Krishna's wives are forms of the goddess Lakshmi— consort of Vishnu, or special souls who attained this qualification after many lifetimes of austerity, while his two queens, Rukmani and Satyabhama, are expansions of Lakshmi.[80]

When Yudhisthira was assuming the title of emperor, he had invited all the great kings to the ceremony and while paying his respects to them, he started with Krishna because he considered Krishna to be the greatest of them all. While it was a unanimous feeling amongst most present at the ceremony that Krishna should get the first honours, his cousin Shishupala felt otherwise and started berating Krishna. Due to a vow given to Shishupal's mother, Krishna forgave a hundred verbal abuses by Shishupal, and upon the one hundred and first, he assumed his Virat (universal) form and killed Shishupal with his Chakra. The blind king Dhritarashtra also obtained divine vision to be able to see this form of Krishna during the time when Duryodana tried to capture Krishna when he came as a peace bearer before the great Mahabharat War. Essentially, Shishupala and Dantavakra were both re-incarnations of Vishnu's gate-keepers Jaya and Vijaya, who were cursed to be born on Earth, to be delivered by the Vishnu back to Vaikuntha.Once battle seemed inevitable, Krishna offered both sides the opportunity to choose between having either his army called narayani sena or himself alone, but on the condition that he personally would not raise any weapon. Arjuna, on behalf of the Pandavas, chose to have Krishna on their side, and Duryodhana, Kaurava prince, chose Krishna's army. At the time of the great battle, Krishna acted as Arjuna's charioteer, since this position did not require the wielding of weapons.

Upon arrival at the battlefield, and seeing that the enemies are his family, his grandfather, his cousins and loved ones, Arjuna is moved and says his heart does not allow him to fight and he would rather prefer to renounce the kingdom and put down his Gandiv (Arjuna's bow). Krishna then advises him about the battle, with the conversation soon extending into a discourse which was later compiled as the Bhagavad Gita.[82]Krishna asked Arjuna, "Have you within no time, forgotten the Kauravas' evil deeds such as not accepting the eldest brother Yudhishtira as King, usurping the entire Kingdom without yielding any portion to the Pandavas, meting out insults and difficulties to Pandavas, attempt to murder the Pandavas in the Barnava lac guest house, publicly attempting to disrobe and disgracing Draupadi. Krishna further exhorted in his famous Bhagavad Gita, "Arjuna, do not engage in philosophical analyses at this point of time like a Pundit. You are aware that Duryodhana and Karna particularly have long harboured jealousy and hatred for you Pandavas and badly want to prove their hegemony. You are aware that Bhishmacharya and your Teachers are tied down to their dharma of protecting the unitarian power of the Kuru throne. Moreover, you Arjuna, are only a mortal appointee to carry out my divine will, since the Kauravas are destined to die either way, due to their heap of sins. Open your eyes O Bhaarata and know that I encompass the Karta, Karma and Kriya, all in myself. There is no scope for contemplation now or remorse later, it is indeed time for war and the world will remember your might and immense powers for time to come. So rise O Arjuna!, tighten up your Gandiva and let all directions shiver till their farthest horizons, by the reverberation of its string."Krishna had a profound effect on the Mahabharata war and its consequences. He had considered the Kurukshetra war to be a last resort after voluntarily acting as a messenger in order to establish peace between the Pandavas and Kauravas. But, once these peace negotiations failed and was embarked into the war, then he became a clever strategist. During the war, upon becoming angry with Arjuna for not fighting in true spirit against his ancestors, Krishna once picked up a carriage wheel in order to use it as a weapon to challenge Bhishma. Upon seeing this, Bhishma dropped his weapons and asked Krishna to kill him. However, Arjuna apologized to Krishna, promising that he would fight with full dedication here/after, and the battle continued. Krishna had directed Yudhisthira and Arjuna to return to Bhishma the boon of "victory" which he had given to Yudhisthira before the war commenced, since he himself was standing in their way to victory. Bhishma understood the message and told them the means through which he would drop his weapons—which was if a woman entered the battlefield. Next day, upon Krishna's directions, Shikhandi (Amba reborn) accompanied Arjuna to the battlefield and thus, Bhishma laid down his arms. This was a decisive moment in the war because Bhishma was the chief commander of the Kaurava army and the most formidable warrior on the battlefield. Krishna aided Arjuna in killing Jayadratha, who had held the other four Pandava brothers at bay while Arjuna's son Abhimanyu entered Drona's Chakravyuha formation—an effort in which he was killed by the simultaneous attack of eight Kaurava warriors. Krishna also caused the downfall of Drona, when he signalled Bhima to kill an elephant called Ashwatthama, the namesake of Drona's son. Pandavas started shouting that Ashwatthama was dead but Drona refused to believe them saying he would believe it only if he heard it from Yudhisthira. Krishna knew that Yudhisthira would never tell a lie, so he devised a clever ploy so that Yudhisthira wouldn't lie and at the same time Drona would be convinced of his son's death. On asked by Drona, Yudhisthira proclaimed

Ashwathama Hatahath, naro va Kunjaro va

i.e. Ashwathama had died but he was nor sure whether it was a Drona's son or an elephant. But as soon as Yudhisthira had uttered the first line, Pandava army on Krishna's direction broke into celebration with drums and conchs, in the din of which Drona could not hear the second part of the Yudhisthira's declaration and assumed that his son indeed was dead. Overcome with grief he laid down his arms, and on Krishna's instruction Dhrishtadyumna beheaded Drona.

When Arjuna was fighting Karna, the latter's chariot's wheels sank into the ground. While Karna was trying to take out the chariot from the grip of the Earth, Krishna reminded Arjuna how Karna and the other Kauravas had broken all rules of battle while simultaneously attacking and killing Abhimanyu, and he convinced Arjuna to do the same in revenge in order to kill Karna. During the final stage of the war, when Duryodhana was going to meet his mother Gandhari for taking her blessings which would convert all parts of his body on which her sight falls to diamond, Krishna tricks him to wearing banana leaves to hide his groin. When Duryodhana meets Gandhari, her vision and blessings fall on his entire body except his groin and thighs, and she becomes unhappy about it because she was not able to convert his entire body to diamond. When Duryodhana was in a mace-fight with Bhima, Bhima's blows had no effect on Duryodhana. Upon this, Krishna reminded Bhima of his vow to kill Duryodhana by hitting him on the thigh, and Bhima did the same to win the war despite it being against the rules of mace-fight (since Duryodhana had himself broken Dharma in all his past acts). Thus, Krishna's unparalleled strategy helped the Pandavas win the Mahabharata war by bringing the downfall of all the chief Kaurava warriors, without lifting any weapon. He also brought back to life Arjuna's grandson Parikshit, who had been attacked by a Brahmastra weapon from Ashwatthama while he was in his mother's womb. Parikshit became the Pandavas' successor.Krishna had eight princely wives, also known as Ashtabharya: Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Nagnajiti, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Bhadra, Lakshmana) and the other 16,100 or 16,000 (number varies in scriptures), who were rescued from Narakasura. They had been forcibly kept in his palace and after Krishna had killed Narakasura, he rescued these women and freed them. Krishna married them all to save them from destruction and infamity. He gave them shelter in his new palace and a respectful place in society. The chief amongst them is Rohini.

The Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana, Harivamsa list the children of Krishna from the Ashtabharya with some variation; while Rohini's sons are interpreted to represent the unnumbered children of his junior wives. Most well-known among his sons are Pradyumna, the eldest son of Krishna (and Rukmini) and Samba, the son of Jambavati, whose actions led to the destruction of Krishna's clan.According to Mahabharata, the Kurukshetra war resulted in the death of all the hundred sons of Gandhari. On the night before Duryodhana's death, Lord Krishna 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 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).[83][84][85]

After 36 years passed, a fight broke out between the Yadavas, at a festival, who killed each other. His elder brother, Balarama, then gave up his body using Yoga. 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 he realised the mistake, While still bleeding, Krishna told Jara, "O Jara, you were Bali in your previous birth, killed by myself as Rama in Tretayuga. 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[86] ascended back to his eternal abode, Goloka vrindavan and this event marks departure of Krishna from the earth.[87][88][89] The news was conveyed to Hastinapur and Dwaraka by eyewitnesses to this event.[86] The place of this incident is believed to be Bhalka, near Somnath temple.[90][91]

According to Puranic sources,[92] Krishna's disappearance marks the end of Dvapara Yuga and the start of Kali Yuga, which is dated to February 17/18, 3102 BCE.[7] Vaishnava teachers such as Ramanujacharya and Gaudiya Vaishnavas held the view that the body of Krishna is completely spiritual and never decays (Achyuta) as this appears to be the perspective of the Bhagavata Purana. Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (an incarnation of Lord Sri Krishna according to the Bhavishya Purana) exhorted, "Krishna Naama Sankirtan" i.e. the constant chanting of the Krishna's name is the supreme healer in Kali Yuga. It destroys sins and purifies the hearts through Bhakti ensures universal peace.

Krishna never appears to grow old or age at all in the historical depictions of the Puranas despite passing of several decades, but there are grounds for a debate whether this indicates that he has no material body, since battles and other descriptions of the Mahabhārata epic show clear indications that he seems to be subject to the limitations of nature.[93] While battles apparently seem to indicate limitations, Mahabharata also shows in many places where Krishna is not subject to any limitations as through episodes Duryodhana trying to arrest Krishna where his body burst into fire showing all creation within him.[94] Krishna is also explicitly described as without deterioration elsewhere.[95]The worship of Krishna is part of Vaishnavism, which regards Vishnu as the Supreme God and venerates His associated avatars, their consorts, and related saints and teachers. Krishna is especially looked upon as a full manifestation of Vishnu, and as one with Vishnu himself.[96] However the exact relationship between Krishna and Vishnu is complex and diverse,[97] where Krishna is sometimes considered an independent deity, supreme in his own right.[98] Out of many deities, Krishna is particularly important, and traditions of Vaishnava lines are generally centered either on Vishnu or on Krishna, as supreme. The term Krishnaism has been used to describe the sects of Krishna, reserving the term "Vaishnavism" for sects focusing on Vishnu in which Krishna is an avatar, rather than as a transcendent Supreme Being.[99]

All Vaishnava traditions recognise Krishna as an avatar of Vishnu; others identify Krishna with Vishnu; while traditions, such as Gaudiya Vaishnavism,[100][101] Vallabha Sampradaya and the Nimbarka Sampradaya, regard Krishna as the Svayam Bhagavan, original form of God.[102][103][104][105][106] Swaminarayan, the founder of the Swaminarayan Sampraday also worshipped Krishna as God himself. "Greater Krishnaism" corresponds to the second and dominant phase of Vaishnavism, revolving around the cults of the Vasudeva, Krishna, and Gopala of late Vedic period.[107] Today the faith has a significant following outside of India as well.[108]The deity Krishna-Vasudeva (kṛṣṇa vāsudeva "Krishna, the son of Vasudeva") is historically one of the earliest forms of worship in Krishnaism and Vaishnavism.[8][39] It is believed to be a significant tradition of the early history of the worship of Krishna in antiquity.[9][109] This tradition is considered as earliest to other traditions that led to amalgamation at a later stage of the historical development. Other traditions are Bhagavatism and the cult of Gopala, that along with the cult of Bala Krishna form the basis of current tradition of monotheistic religion of Krishna.[110][111] Some early scholars would equate it with Bhagavatism,[9] and the founder of this religious tradition is believed to be Krishna, who is the son of Vasudeva, thus his name is Vāsudeva; he is said to be historically part of the Satvata tribe, and according to them his followers called themselves Bhagavatas and this religion had formed by the 2nd century BC (the time of Patanjali), or as early as the 4th century BC according to evidence in Megasthenes and in the Arthasastra of Kautilya, when Vāsudeva was worshiped as supreme deity in a strongly monotheistic format, where the supreme being was perfect, eternal and full of grace.[9] In many sources outside of the cult, the devotee or bhakta is defined as Vāsudevaka.[112] The Harivamsa describes intricate relationships between Krishna Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha that would later form a Vaishnava concept of primary quadrupled expansion, or avatar.[113]

Bhakti tradition[edit]

Main article: Bhakti yoga

Bhakti, meaning devotion, is not confined to any one deity. However Krishna is an important and popular focus of the devotional and ecstatic aspects of Hindu religion, particularly among the Vaishnava sects.[100][114] Devotees of Krishna subscribe to the concept of lila, meaning 'divine play', as the central principle of the Universe. The lilas of Krishna, with their expressions of personal love that transcend the boundaries of formal reverence, serve as a counterpoint to the actions of another avatar of Vishnu: Rama, "He of the straight and narrow path of maryada, or rules and regulations."[101]

The bhakti movements devoted to Krishna became prominent in southern India in the 7th to 9th centuries AD. The earliest works included those of the Alvar saints of the Tamil country.[115] A major collection of their works is the Divya Prabandham. The Alvar Andal's popular collection of songs Tiruppavai, in which she conceives of herself as a gopi, is the most famous of the oldest works in this genre.[116][117] [118] Kulasekaraazhvaar's Mukundamala was another notable work of this early stage.

Spread of the Krishna-bhakti movement[edit]

The movement, which started in the 6th-7th century A.D. in the Tamil-speaking region of South India, with twelve Alvar (one immersed in God) saint-poets, who wrote devotional songs. The religion of Alvar poets, which included a woman poet, Andal, was devotion to God through love (bhakti), and in the ecstasy of such devotions they sang hundreds of songs which embodied both depth of feeling and felicity of expressions. The movement originated in South India during the seventh-century CE, spreading northwards from Tamil Nadu through Karnataka and Maharashtra; by the fifteenth century, it was established in Bengal and northern India[119]While the learned sections of the society well versed in Sanskrit could enjoy works like Gita Govinda or Bilvamangala's Krishna-Karnamritam, the masses sang the songs of the devotee-poets, who composed in the regional languages of India. These songs expressing intense personal devotion were written by devotees from all walks of life. The songs of Meera and Surdas became epitomes of Krishna-devotion in north India.These devotee-poets, like the Alvars before them, were aligned to specific theological schools only loosely, if at all. But by the 11th century AD, Vaishnava Bhakti schools with elaborate theological frameworks around the worship of Krishna were established in north India. Nimbarka (11th century AD), Vallabhacharya (15th century AD) and (Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu an incarnation of Lord Sri Krishna according to the Bhavishya Purana) (16th century AD) all inspired by the teachings of Madhvacharya (11th century AD) were the founders of the most influential schools. These schools, namely Nimbarka Sampradaya, Vallabha Sampradaya and Gaudiya Vaishnavism respectively, see Krishna as the supreme God, rather than an avatar, as generally seen.

In the Deccan, particularly in Maharashtra, saint poets of the Varkari sect such as Dnyaneshwar, Namdev, Janabai, Eknath and Tukaram promoted the worship of Vithoba,[29] a local form of Krishna, from the beginning of the 13th century until the late 18th century.[6] In southern India, Purandara Dasa and Kanakadasa of Karnataka composed songs devoted to the Krishna image of Udupi. Rupa Goswami of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, has compiled a comprehensive summary of bhakti named Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu.[114]In 1965, the Krishna-bhakti movement had spread outside India when its founder, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, (who was instructed by his guru, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura) traveled from his homeland in West Bengal to New York City. A year later in 1966, after gaining many followers, he was able to form the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), popularly known as the Hare Krishna movement. The purpose of this movement was to write about Krishna in English and to share the Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy with people in the Western world by spreading the teachings of the saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In an effort to gain attention, followers chanted the names of God in public locations. This chanting was known as hari-nama sankirtana and helped spread the teaching. Additionally, the practice of distributing prasad or “sanctified food” worked as a catalyst in the dissemination of his works. In the Hare Krishna movement, Prasad was a vegetarian dish that would be first offered to Krishna. The food’s proximity to Krishna added a “spiritual effect,” and was seen to “counteract material contamination affecting the soul.” Sharing this sanctified food with the public, in turn, enabled the movement to gain new recruits and further spread these teachings.[10][120][121]In South India, Vaishnavas usually belong to the Sri Sampradaya[citation needed]. The acharyas of the Sri Sampradaya have written reverentially about Krishna in most of their works like the Thiruppavai by Andal[122] and Gopala Vimshati by Vedanta Desika.[123] In South India, devotion to Krishna, as an avatar of Vishnu, spread in the face of opposition to Buddhism, Shaktism, and Shaivism and ritualistic Vedic sacrifices. The acharyas of the Sri Sampradaya like Manavala Mamunigal, Vedanta Desika strongly advocated surrender to Vishnu as the aim of the Vedas. Out of 108 Divya Desams there are 97 Divya Desams in South India.While discussing the origin of Indian theatre, Horwitz talks about the mention of the Krishna story in Patanjali's Mahabhashya (c. 150 BC), where the episodes of slaying of Kamsa (Kamsa Vadha) and "Binding of the heaven storming titan" (Bali Bandha) are described.[124] Bhasa's Balacharitam and Dutavakyam (c. 400 BC) are the only Sanskrit plays centered on Krishna written by a major classical dramatist. The former dwells only on his childhood exploits and the latter is a one-act play based on a single episode from the Mahābhārata when Krishna tries to make peace between the warring cousins.[125]

From the 10th century AD, with the growing bhakti movement, Krishna became a favorite subject of the arts. The songs of the Gita Govinda became popular across India, and had many imitations. The songs composed by the Bhakti poets added to the repository of both folk and classical singing.

The classical Indian dances, especially Odissi and Manipuri, draw heavily on the story. The 'Rasa lila' dances performed in Vrindavan shares elements with Kathak, and the Krisnattam, with some cycles, such as Krishnattam, traditionally restricted to the Guruvayur temple, the precursor of Kathakali.[126]

The Sattriya dance, founded by the Assamese Vaishnava saint Sankardeva, extols the virtues of Krishna. Medieval Maharashtra gave birth to a form of storytelling known as the Hari-Katha, that told Vaishnava tales and teachings through music, dance, and narrative sequences, and the story of Krishna one of them. This tradition spread to Tamil Nadu and other southern states, and is now popular in many places throughout India.

Narayana Tirtha's (17th century AD) Krishna-Lila-Tarangini provided material for the musical plays of the Bhagavata-Mela by telling the tale of Krishna from birth until his marriage to Rukmini. Tyagaraja (18th century AD) wrote a similar piece about Krishna called Nauka-Charitam. The narratives of Krishna from the Puranas are performed in Yakshagana, a performance style native to Karnataka's coastal districts. Many movies in all Indian languages have been made based on these stories. These are of varying quality and usually add various songs, melodrama, and special effects.

In other religions[edit]

Jainism[edit]

Further information: Salakapurusa

The most exalted figures in Jainism are the twenty-four Tirthankaras. Krishna, when he was incorporated into the Jain list of heroic figures, presented a problem with his activities which are not pacifist. The concept of Baladeva, Vasudeva and Prati-Vasudeva was used to solve it.[neutrality is disputed] The Jain list of sixty-three Shalakapurshas or notable figures includes, amongst others, the twenty-four Tirthankaras and nine sets of this triad. One of these triads is Krishna as the Vasudeva, Balarama as the Baladeva and Jarasandha as the Prati-Vasudeva. He was a cousin of the twenty-second Tirthankara, Neminatha. The stories of these triads can be found in the Harivamsha of Jinasena (not be confused with its namesake, the addendum to Mahābhārata) and the Trishashti-shalakapurusha-charita of Hemachandra.[127]

In each age of the Jain cyclic time is born a Vasudeva with an elder brother termed the Baladeva. The villain is the Prati-vasudeva. Baladeva is the upholder of the Jain principle of non-violence. However, Vasudeva has to forsake this principle to kill the Prati-Vasudeva and save the world. [128][129]The story of Krishna occurs in the Jataka tales in Buddhism,[130] in the Vaibhav Jataka as a prince and legendary conqueror and king of India.[131] In the Buddhist version, Krishna is called Vasudeva, Kanha and Keshava, and Balarama is his older brother, Baladeva. These details resemble that of the story given in the Bhagavata Purana. Vasudeva, along with his nine other brothers (each son a powerful wrestler) and one elder sister (Anjana) capture all of Jambudvipa (many consider this to be India) after beheading their evil uncle, King Kamsa, and later all other kings of Jambudvipa with his Sudarshana Chakra. Much of the story involving the defeat of Kamsa follows the story given in the Bhagavata Purana.[132]

As depicted in the Mahābhārata, all of the sons are eventually killed due to a curse of sage Kanhadipayana (Veda Vyasa, also known as Krishna Dwaipayana). Krishna himself is eventually speared by a hunter in the foot by mistake, leaving the sole survivor of their family being their sister, Anjanadevi of whom no further mention is made.[133]

Since Jataka tales are given from the perspective of Buddha's previous lives (as well as the previous lives of many of Buddha's followers), Krishna appears as the "Dhammasenapati" or "Chief General of the Dharma" and is usually shown being Buddha's "right-hand man" in Buddhist art and iconography.[134] The Bodhisattva, is born in this tale as one of his youngest brothers named Ghatapandita, and saves Krishna from the grief of losing his son.[131] The 'divine boy' Krishna as an embodiment of wisdom and endearing prankster forms a part of the pantheon of gods in Japanese Buddhism .[135]Bahá'ís believe that Krishna was a "Manifestation of God", or one in a line of prophets who have revealed the Word of God progressively for a gradually maturing humanity. In this way, Krishna shares an exalted station with Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Muhammad, Jesus, the Báb, and the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh.[Members of the Ahmadiyya Community believe Krishna to be a great prophet of God as described by their founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. This belief is maintained by the Qur'anic Principle that God has sent prophets and messengers to every nation of the world leaving no region without divine guidance (see for instance Quran 10:47 and Quran 16:36).

Ghulam Ahmad also claimed to be the likeness of Krishna as a latter day reviver of religion and morality whose mission was to reconcile man with God.[138] Ahmadis maintain that the Sanskrit term Avatar is synonymous with the term 'prophet' of the Middle Eastern religious tradition as God's intervention with man; as God appoints a man as his vicegerent upon earth. In Lecture Sialkot, Ghulam Ahmed wrote:

Let it be clear that Raja Krishna, according to what has been revealed to me, was such a truly great man that it is hard to find his like among the Rishis and Avatars of the Hindus. He was an Avatar—i.e., Prophet—of his time upon whom the Holy Spirit would descend from God. He was from God, victorious and prosperous. He cleansed the land of the Aryas from sin and was in fact the Prophet of his age whose teaching was later corrupted in numerous ways. He was full of love for God, a friend of virtue and an enemy of evil.[138]

Krishna is also called Murli Dhar. The flute of Krishna means the flute of revelation and not the physical flute. Krishna lived like humans and he was a prophet.[139][140]Krishna worship or reverence has been adopted by several new religious movements since the 19th century and he is sometimes a member of an eclectic pantheon in occult texts, along with Greek, Buddhist, biblical and even historical figures.[141] For instance, Édouard Schuré, an influential figure in perennial philosophy and occult movements, considered Krishna a Great Initiate; while Theosophists regard Krishna as an incarnation of Maitreya (one of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom), the most important spiritual teacher for humanity along with Buddha

Veraval is a Municipality and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is 6 km from Somnath.

HISTORY

Veraval was founded in 13th or 14th century by Rao Veravalji Vadher, a Rajput. Veraval was once a fortified port town of the royal family of Junagadh. It was a part of the Kingdom of Junagadh till 1947 when Junagadh was merged with India. The city still bears some remnants of the old Nawabi heritage, the beautiful Nawabi summer palace being among them. There are ruins of the old Nawabi fort and Nawabi Gates in and around the place. The old walls of the port are now ruined, but the impressive Junagadh gate and the Patan gate are still seen, but are in a very bad state.

The Nawabi Palace with gothic features which is one of the main attractions. It is popularly known as Somnath College (the palace was converted into a college after it was abandoned by the Nawab). At present it is the building of a Sanskrit university. The town is often known as the gateway to the magnificent temple of Somnath and the pilgrimage centres of Prabhas Patan and Bhalkha. Veraval is also the nearest town to the Gir National Park (42 km away).

Before the rise of Surat, Veraval was the major seaport for pilgrims to Mecca. Its importance now is as a fishing port, one of the largest in India. Sea going dhows and wooden fishing boats are still being built by the Fishermen's without the use of any Hightech Machines. Traditional skills are passed down from father to son.[citation needed] About 25 km from the veraval a historical place is located at Savani village.

GEOGRAPHY

Veraval is located at 20.9°N 70.37°E. It has an average elevation of 0 metres (0 feet).

Subhash road,M.G.Road,Bus station, Somnath road are some of the famous roads in Veraval.

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of the 2001 India census, Veraval had a population of 141,250. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Veraval has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 71%, and female literacy is 53%. In Veraval, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

CLIMATE

Veraval has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year. Almost all precipitation falls during the summer monsoon season from June to September.

PEOPLE

Veraval has a predominant Gujarati population. Amongst Gujaratis, the sonis (Jewellers,mainly from the clans of Dhakan, Patt, Sagar, etc.), the Kharwa, Ahir and the Kolis casts form a sizable part of the local population. In addition there are also significant populations of Turks, Rajwadi bhois, Hadi, Lohanas, Maleks, Memons, Patnis and Raykas. There is also a sizable population Sindhis. Gujarati and Hindi are the most common languages in the town.

INDUSTRY

Fisheries have always been the main industries in the town and are dominated by the Kharwas (fisherfolk). The fishing is done mostly on traditional boats and trawlers. Veraval also has a large boat making industry. Veraval is home to a large number of fish processing factories in G.I.D.C [expand acronym] which export prime quality seafood to USA, Japan, SE Asian, Gulf and EU Countries. The seafood-industry which was started through government initiative now is in its prime and many importers are attracted towards Veraval from around the globe. Regional research centers of CIFT and CMFRI situated at Veraval have done Yeoman service in development of fisheries sector in Gujarat.

Veraval also is home to Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (Formerly:Indian-Rayon Industries Ltd) which is one of India's largest rayon manufacturing companies.

There are various chemical, thread and cement companies around Veraval which provide employment to the local youth. The major ones being Indian Rayon NUVO Ltd., Gujarat Ambuja Cement Ltd, Gujarat Siddhee Cement Ltd and Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd.

COASTLINE

Veraval also enjoyes a long coastline, lined with beaches. Beaches extend uninterrupted almost throughout the Veraval coast. Only a small portion of the beach has been commercialised and majority of the beach is still virgin. This Beaches are known for Beautiful Sunsets.

TRANSPORT

Veraval Junction is a fairly busy railway junction station for Western Railways and is served by more than 14 pairs of regional and long-distance trains.

Daily (or multiple daily) trains connect it to major cities in Gujarat such as Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara.

Daily connections are also available to many other towns in Gujarat such as Keshod, Jetalsar, Gondal, Wankaner, Surendranagar, Viramgam, Nadiad, Anand, Valsad, Vapi, Dahod and Godhra.

Daily long distance trains connect Veraval to several cities in India including Bhopal, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Ratlam, Ujjain and Mumbai.

Pune, Trivandrum, Kochi, Kollam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur, Mangalore, Karwar, Madgaon, Ratnagiri and Panvel are some of the cities connected by weekly long distance trains.

The nearest airports are Diu And Rajkot. Daily Flights connect Rajkot and Diu to Mumbai.

POINTS OF INTEREST

Somnath

Sasan Gir

Prabhas Patan

Bhalka

LORAN-C transmitter Veraval

G.I.D.C Fisheries Industries

Old Mosques

Beaches

Municipal Garden

sai baba's temple

WIKIPEDIA

Dr Dipankar Saha, RD and Member, Central Ground Water Board; Dr Somnath Bandyopadhyay, Associate Professor, Nalanda University (Accepted in Principle); Prof. Neera Agnimitra, Professor, Delhi University; Dr SK Sarkar, Distinguished Fellow, TERI; Anshuman, Associate Director, Water Resources TERI; Dr. L. V. Kumar, Former Head Water and Power Consultancy Services Ltd, Govt. of India and Practising Consulting Engineer; Dr Pavel Kabat, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria at the UNDP supported session, Technologies for Communities: Improving Groundwater Management in India at the 15th edition of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit on 6 February 2015. [Photo: UNDP India]

ID pls... Long Banded Silverline Butterfly ?? at Saramsha Garden at Ranipool near Gangtok East Sikkim

My YouTube Channel - www.youtube.com/user/paldasphotography

My Blog , my butterfly gardening work ---

color-wings-butterfly-gardening.blogspot.in/

Veraval is a Municipality and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is 6 km from Somnath.

HISTORY

Veraval was founded in 13th or 14th century by Rao Veravalji Vadher, a Rajput. Veraval was once a fortified port town of the royal family of Junagadh. It was a part of the Kingdom of Junagadh till 1947 when Junagadh was merged with India. The city still bears some remnants of the old Nawabi heritage, the beautiful Nawabi summer palace being among them. There are ruins of the old Nawabi fort and Nawabi Gates in and around the place. The old walls of the port are now ruined, but the impressive Junagadh gate and the Patan gate are still seen, but are in a very bad state.

The Nawabi Palace with gothic features which is one of the main attractions. It is popularly known as Somnath College (the palace was converted into a college after it was abandoned by the Nawab). At present it is the building of a Sanskrit university. The town is often known as the gateway to the magnificent temple of Somnath and the pilgrimage centres of Prabhas Patan and Bhalkha. Veraval is also the nearest town to the Gir National Park (42 km away).

Before the rise of Surat, Veraval was the major seaport for pilgrims to Mecca. Its importance now is as a fishing port, one of the largest in India. Sea going dhows and wooden fishing boats are still being built by the Fishermen's without the use of any Hightech Machines. Traditional skills are passed down from father to son.[citation needed] About 25 km from the veraval a historical place is located at Savani village.

GEOGRAPHY

Veraval is located at 20.9°N 70.37°E. It has an average elevation of 0 metres (0 feet).

Subhash road,M.G.Road,Bus station, Somnath road are some of the famous roads in Veraval.

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of the 2001 India census, Veraval had a population of 141,250. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Veraval has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 71%, and female literacy is 53%. In Veraval, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

CLIMATE

Veraval has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year. Almost all precipitation falls during the summer monsoon season from June to September.

PEOPLE

Veraval has a predominant Gujarati population. Amongst Gujaratis, the sonis (Jewellers,mainly from the clans of Dhakan, Patt, Sagar, etc.), the Kharwa, Ahir and the Kolis casts form a sizable part of the local population. In addition there are also significant populations of Turks, Rajwadi bhois, Hadi, Lohanas, Maleks, Memons, Patnis and Raykas. There is also a sizable population Sindhis. Gujarati and Hindi are the most common languages in the town.

INDUSTRY

Fisheries have always been the main industries in the town and are dominated by the Kharwas (fisherfolk). The fishing is done mostly on traditional boats and trawlers. Veraval also has a large boat making industry. Veraval is home to a large number of fish processing factories in G.I.D.C [expand acronym] which export prime quality seafood to USA, Japan, SE Asian, Gulf and EU Countries. The seafood-industry which was started through government initiative now is in its prime and many importers are attracted towards Veraval from around the globe. Regional research centers of CIFT and CMFRI situated at Veraval have done Yeoman service in development of fisheries sector in Gujarat.

Veraval also is home to Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (Formerly:Indian-Rayon Industries Ltd) which is one of India's largest rayon manufacturing companies.

There are various chemical, thread and cement companies around Veraval which provide employment to the local youth. The major ones being Indian Rayon NUVO Ltd., Gujarat Ambuja Cement Ltd, Gujarat Siddhee Cement Ltd and Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd.

COASTLINE

Veraval also enjoyes a long coastline, lined with beaches. Beaches extend uninterrupted almost throughout the Veraval coast. Only a small portion of the beach has been commercialised and majority of the beach is still virgin. This Beaches are known for Beautiful Sunsets.

TRANSPORT

Veraval Junction is a fairly busy railway junction station for Western Railways and is served by more than 14 pairs of regional and long-distance trains.

Daily (or multiple daily) trains connect it to major cities in Gujarat such as Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara.

Daily connections are also available to many other towns in Gujarat such as Keshod, Jetalsar, Gondal, Wankaner, Surendranagar, Viramgam, Nadiad, Anand, Valsad, Vapi, Dahod and Godhra.

Daily long distance trains connect Veraval to several cities in India including Bhopal, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Ratlam, Ujjain and Mumbai.

Pune, Trivandrum, Kochi, Kollam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur, Mangalore, Karwar, Madgaon, Ratnagiri and Panvel are some of the cities connected by weekly long distance trains.

The nearest airports are Diu And Rajkot. Daily Flights connect Rajkot and Diu to Mumbai.

POINTS OF INTEREST

Somnath

Sasan Gir

Prabhas Patan

Bhalka

LORAN-C transmitter Veraval

G.I.D.C Fisheries Industries

Old Mosques

Beaches

Municipal Garden

sai baba's temple

WIKIPEDIA

This photo gallery of Gujarat State in India has been made by Dutch travel photographer Hans Hendriksen. Should you want to buy a high-res file for publication, photo print or poster? Visit www.hanshendriksen.net to find all information about the author and how to order or publish his work.

Deze fotoserie van Gujarat, deelstaat van India, is gemaakt door reisfotograaf Hans Hendriksen. U wilt meer zien? Bezoek dan zijn populaire homepage www.hanshendriksen.net met fotogalerijen uit meer dan 30 landen, info over de auteur en hoe te bestellen/publiceren.

Cette photographie Voyage photo sur l'Inde Gujarat a été prise par Hans Hendriksen Voyage photographe néerlandais. Si vous voulez acheter un haute-rés. fichier pour la publication, tirage photo ou une affiche? Visite www.hanshendriksen.net pour y trouver toutes les informations sur l'auteur et la façon de commander ou de publier son travail.

Este India Gujarat fotografía viajes foto recibió un disparo por el fotógrafo de viajes neerlandés Hans Hendriksen. Si usted quiere comprar una de alta resolución de archivo para la publicación, impresión de fotografías o carteles? Visita www.hanshendriksen.net para encontrar toda la información sobre el autor y la forma de orden o publicar su trabajo.

Autor dieser Indien Gujarat Reise-Fotografie Galerie ist Hans Hendriksen, ein Niederländischer Reise-Fotograf mit Vorliebe für das Abbilden des Alltags. Mehr auf seiner Homepage www.hanshendriksen.net mit Informationen über den Autor und wie Sie seine Bilder bestellen/publizieren.

Автор серии иэ фотографии о Гуджарат Индии Ханс Хендриксен, голланкдский фотограф. Хотите еще? Зайдите на страничку www.hanshendriksen.net где вы можете найти 44 серий фотографий о разных странах, всю информачию об авторе и информачию о том как заказать и получить его работы.

The Great Banyan

Located in the Indian Botanical Gardens, Howrah, over the River Hooghly from Kolkata, the Great Banyan was the widest tree in the world, in terms of the area of the canopy.

It is estimated to be about 200 to 250 years old. It became diseased after it was struck by lightning, so in 1925 the middle of the tree was excised to keep the remainder healthy; this has left it as a clonal colony, rather than a single tree.

A 330 m long road was built around its circumference, but the tree continues to spread beyond it.

The Great Banyan tree is over 250 years old and in spread it is the largest known in India, perhaps in Asia.

There is no clear history of the tree, but it is mentioned in some travel books of the nineteenth century.

It was damaged by two great cyclones in 1884 and 1886, when some of its main branches were broken and exposed to the attack of a hard fungus.

With its large number of aerial roots, The Great Banyan looks more like a forest than an individual tree.

The tree now lives without its main trunk, which decayed and was removed in 1925.

The circumference of the original trunk was 1.7 m and from the ground was 15.7 m.

The area occupied by the tree is about 14500 square metres (about 1.5 hectares or 4 acres).

The present crown of the tree has a circumference of about 1 kilometre and the highest branch rises to about 25 m; it has at present 2880 aerial roots reaching down to the ground.

Common Wolf Snake ( Chiti Sap) in Winter after removing old skin , Param Dayal Nursery , Kalyani

Veraval is a Municipality and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is 6 km from Somnath.

HISTORY

Veraval was founded in 13th or 14th century by Rao Veravalji Vadher, a Rajput. Veraval was once a fortified port town of the royal family of Junagadh. It was a part of the Kingdom of Junagadh till 1947 when Junagadh was merged with India. The city still bears some remnants of the old Nawabi heritage, the beautiful Nawabi summer palace being among them. There are ruins of the old Nawabi fort and Nawabi Gates in and around the place. The old walls of the port are now ruined, but the impressive Junagadh gate and the Patan gate are still seen, but are in a very bad state.

The Nawabi Palace with gothic features which is one of the main attractions. It is popularly known as Somnath College (the palace was converted into a college after it was abandoned by the Nawab). At present it is the building of a Sanskrit university. The town is often known as the gateway to the magnificent temple of Somnath and the pilgrimage centres of Prabhas Patan and Bhalkha. Veraval is also the nearest town to the Gir National Park (42 km away).

Before the rise of Surat, Veraval was the major seaport for pilgrims to Mecca. Its importance now is as a fishing port, one of the largest in India. Sea going dhows and wooden fishing boats are still being built by the Fishermen's without the use of any Hightech Machines. Traditional skills are passed down from father to son.[citation needed] About 25 km from the veraval a historical place is located at Savani village.

GEOGRAPHY

Veraval is located at 20.9°N 70.37°E. It has an average elevation of 0 metres (0 feet).

Subhash road,M.G.Road,Bus station, Somnath road are some of the famous roads in Veraval.

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of the 2001 India census, Veraval had a population of 141,250. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Veraval has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 71%, and female literacy is 53%. In Veraval, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

CLIMATE

Veraval has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year. Almost all precipitation falls during the summer monsoon season from June to September.

PEOPLE

Veraval has a predominant Gujarati population. Amongst Gujaratis, the sonis (Jewellers,mainly from the clans of Dhakan, Patt, Sagar, etc.), the Kharwa, Ahir and the Kolis casts form a sizable part of the local population. In addition there are also significant populations of Turks, Rajwadi bhois, Hadi, Lohanas, Maleks, Memons, Patnis and Raykas. There is also a sizable population Sindhis. Gujarati and Hindi are the most common languages in the town.

INDUSTRY

Fisheries have always been the main industries in the town and are dominated by the Kharwas (fisherfolk). The fishing is done mostly on traditional boats and trawlers. Veraval also has a large boat making industry. Veraval is home to a large number of fish processing factories in G.I.D.C [expand acronym] which export prime quality seafood to USA, Japan, SE Asian, Gulf and EU Countries. The seafood-industry which was started through government initiative now is in its prime and many importers are attracted towards Veraval from around the globe. Regional research centers of CIFT and CMFRI situated at Veraval have done Yeoman service in development of fisheries sector in Gujarat.

Veraval also is home to Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (Formerly:Indian-Rayon Industries Ltd) which is one of India's largest rayon manufacturing companies.

There are various chemical, thread and cement companies around Veraval which provide employment to the local youth. The major ones being Indian Rayon NUVO Ltd., Gujarat Ambuja Cement Ltd, Gujarat Siddhee Cement Ltd and Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd.

COASTLINE

Veraval also enjoyes a long coastline, lined with beaches. Beaches extend uninterrupted almost throughout the Veraval coast. Only a small portion of the beach has been commercialised and majority of the beach is still virgin. This Beaches are known for Beautiful Sunsets.

TRANSPORT

Veraval Junction is a fairly busy railway junction station for Western Railways and is served by more than 14 pairs of regional and long-distance trains.

Daily (or multiple daily) trains connect it to major cities in Gujarat such as Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara.

Daily connections are also available to many other towns in Gujarat such as Keshod, Jetalsar, Gondal, Wankaner, Surendranagar, Viramgam, Nadiad, Anand, Valsad, Vapi, Dahod and Godhra.

Daily long distance trains connect Veraval to several cities in India including Bhopal, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Ratlam, Ujjain and Mumbai.

Pune, Trivandrum, Kochi, Kollam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur, Mangalore, Karwar, Madgaon, Ratnagiri and Panvel are some of the cities connected by weekly long distance trains.

The nearest airports are Diu And Rajkot. Daily Flights connect Rajkot and Diu to Mumbai.

POINTS OF INTEREST

Somnath

Sasan Gir

Prabhas Patan

Bhalka

LORAN-C transmitter Veraval

G.I.D.C Fisheries Industries

Old Mosques

Beaches

Municipal Garden

sai baba's temple

WIKIPEDIA

Veraval is a Municipality and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is 6 km from Somnath.

HISTORY

Veraval was founded in 13th or 14th century by Rao Veravalji Vadher, a Rajput. Veraval was once a fortified port town of the royal family of Junagadh. It was a part of the Kingdom of Junagadh till 1947 when Junagadh was merged with India. The city still bears some remnants of the old Nawabi heritage, the beautiful Nawabi summer palace being among them. There are ruins of the old Nawabi fort and Nawabi Gates in and around the place. The old walls of the port are now ruined, but the impressive Junagadh gate and the Patan gate are still seen, but are in a very bad state.

The Nawabi Palace with gothic features which is one of the main attractions. It is popularly known as Somnath College (the palace was converted into a college after it was abandoned by the Nawab). At present it is the building of a Sanskrit university. The town is often known as the gateway to the magnificent temple of Somnath and the pilgrimage centres of Prabhas Patan and Bhalkha. Veraval is also the nearest town to the Gir National Park (42 km away).

Before the rise of Surat, Veraval was the major seaport for pilgrims to Mecca. Its importance now is as a fishing port, one of the largest in India. Sea going dhows and wooden fishing boats are still being built by the Fishermen's without the use of any Hightech Machines. Traditional skills are passed down from father to son.[citation needed] About 25 km from the veraval a historical place is located at Savani village.

GEOGRAPHY

Veraval is located at 20.9°N 70.37°E. It has an average elevation of 0 metres (0 feet).

Subhash road,M.G.Road,Bus station, Somnath road are some of the famous roads in Veraval.

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of the 2001 India census, Veraval had a population of 141,250. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Veraval has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 71%, and female literacy is 53%. In Veraval, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age.

CLIMATE

Veraval has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) with warm to hot temperatures throughout the year. Almost all precipitation falls during the summer monsoon season from June to September.

PEOPLE

Veraval has a predominant Gujarati population. Amongst Gujaratis, the sonis (Jewellers,mainly from the clans of Dhakan, Patt, Sagar, etc.), the Kharwa, Ahir and the Kolis casts form a sizable part of the local population. In addition there are also significant populations of Turks, Rajwadi bhois, Hadi, Lohanas, Maleks, Memons, Patnis and Raykas. There is also a sizable population Sindhis. Gujarati and Hindi are the most common languages in the town.

INDUSTRY

Fisheries have always been the main industries in the town and are dominated by the Kharwas (fisherfolk). The fishing is done mostly on traditional boats and trawlers. Veraval also has a large boat making industry. Veraval is home to a large number of fish processing factories in G.I.D.C [expand acronym] which export prime quality seafood to USA, Japan, SE Asian, Gulf and EU Countries. The seafood-industry which was started through government initiative now is in its prime and many importers are attracted towards Veraval from around the globe. Regional research centers of CIFT and CMFRI situated at Veraval have done Yeoman service in development of fisheries sector in Gujarat.

Veraval also is home to Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (Formerly:Indian-Rayon Industries Ltd) which is one of India's largest rayon manufacturing companies.

There are various chemical, thread and cement companies around Veraval which provide employment to the local youth. The major ones being Indian Rayon NUVO Ltd., Gujarat Ambuja Cement Ltd, Gujarat Siddhee Cement Ltd and Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd.

COASTLINE

Veraval also enjoyes a long coastline, lined with beaches. Beaches extend uninterrupted almost throughout the Veraval coast. Only a small portion of the beach has been commercialised and majority of the beach is still virgin. This Beaches are known for Beautiful Sunsets.

TRANSPORT

Veraval Junction is a fairly busy railway junction station for Western Railways and is served by more than 14 pairs of regional and long-distance trains.

Daily (or multiple daily) trains connect it to major cities in Gujarat such as Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Porbandar, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara.

Daily connections are also available to many other towns in Gujarat such as Keshod, Jetalsar, Gondal, Wankaner, Surendranagar, Viramgam, Nadiad, Anand, Valsad, Vapi, Dahod and Godhra.

Daily long distance trains connect Veraval to several cities in India including Bhopal, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Ratlam, Ujjain and Mumbai.

Pune, Trivandrum, Kochi, Kollam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur, Mangalore, Karwar, Madgaon, Ratnagiri and Panvel are some of the cities connected by weekly long distance trains.

The nearest airports are Diu And Rajkot. Daily Flights connect Rajkot and Diu to Mumbai.

POINTS OF INTEREST

Somnath

Sasan Gir

Prabhas Patan

Bhalka

LORAN-C transmitter Veraval

G.I.D.C Fisheries Industries

Old Mosques

Beaches

Municipal Garden

sai baba's temple

WIKIPEDIA