Bhilleshwar is a village in Ranavav Taluka of
Porbandar district
Porbandar district is one of the 33 districts of Gujarat state in western India. The district covers an area of 2,316 km2. It had a population of 5.85,449 of which 48.77% were urban as of 2011 census This district was carved out of Junagadh ...
in
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
, India.
Geography
Bhilleshwar is located near to the village of
Ashiyapat
Ashiyapat is a village in Ranavav Taluka of Porbandar district, Gujarat, India. It is about twenty miles north east of Porbandar.
The village is situated close to Bileshwar on the northern bank of the Bileshvari river. Ashiyapat is about a mile ...
, and east of the Barda hill on the banks of the Bhilleshvari river.
The river called
Bhil
Bhil or Bheel is an ethnic group in western India. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages. As of 2013, Bhils were the largest tribal group in India.
Bhils are listed as tribal people of the s ...
Ganga
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
rises in the Barda hills, and flows past this village and joins the
Minsar river near
Khirsara
Khirasara is an archaeological site belonging to the Indus Valley civilization. This site is located in Nakhatrana Taluka of Kutch district in the western Indian state of Gujarat. It is located on the bank of Khari river. The site is 85 km from ...
.
Demographics
The population of Bileshwar by the census of 1872 was 172, but it was increased to 211 souls in 1881.
According to the
2011 Census of India
The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...
, the population had grown to 1,748 by 2011, divided over 364 households living on 522
hectares
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ab ...
of land.
Places of interest
Bileshwar Mahadev temple
Bileshwar Mahadev temple is a fine temple sacred to
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
, of some antiquity, and in excellent preservation. The Rabaris of the neighbouring states and villages have much faith in this Mahadev and many vows are made to the shrine, several lamps of ''
ghee
Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals.
Description
Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from c ...
'' are constantly burning here; one of these was kept up at the cost of the Rana of Porbandar.
;History
Porbandar State
Porbandar State was a princely state during the British Raj ruled by Jethwa dynasty. It was one of the few princely states with a coastline.
The capital of state was the harbour town of Porbandar. Some other important towns of this state wer ...
had endowed this shrine with some land, and
Navanagar State had granted it the village of
Sajdiali in ''dharmada'' or religious tenure. The Rabaris and
Charans of the neighbouring districts used give one day's churning of butter to the shrine yearly, and the ''Bava'' of the temple goes to collect it even as far as
Okhamandal.
;Legends
It is said that a Muslim army once captured the village and attempted to break the ling, but the ling burst of itself and hundreds of wasps issued therefrom and put the army to flight after killing many of them.
The origin of the Bileshwar Mahadev is attributed to
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
. It seems that
Satyabhama
Satyabhama, also known as Satrajiti, is a Hindu goddess and the third queen-consort of the Hindu god Krishna. Satyabhama is described as the incarnation of Bhudevi, the goddess and the personification of the earth. She aided Krishna in defeati ...
, one of Krishna's wives, asked him to procure for her the ''parijatak'' tree which only grows in
Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
's garden. Krishna sent
Narad muni to bring the tree from Indra, but he refused to part with it and challenged Krishna to fight with him. Krishna went to the garden where the tree was growing and took it. Fighting now ensued in heaven between Indra and Krishna, but when the sun set both the combatants rested on the Pariyatra mountain which is now called Barda hill. In the morning Krishna offered prayers to
Ganga
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
and the goddess issued out of a cave and was named by Krishna ''Bil-Ganga''. Krishna now adored Shiva who instantly appeared and was much pleased with Krishna's worship and promised to fulfil his desires. Krishna then installed him at that spot and named him Bilvadakeshvar which has since been corrupted to Bileshwar. Others say that Krishna adored Shiv here with great devotion for seven months, and as he used to strew ''bili'' leaves on the symbol he called it Bileshwar.
;Fairs
Three fairs are annually held here, one on the last day of the dark half of
Shraavana
Śrāvaṇa ( sa, श्रावण) is the fifth month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Śrāvaṇa is the fifth month of the year, beginning on July 23 and ending on August 22. In the Tamil calendar, it is known ...
in August, another on the fourteenth day of the dark half of the month of Maha (the
Shivaratri
Maha Shivaratri ( IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava.
In every month of the luni-solar Hindu c ...
), and a third on the eighth of the dark half of Shravan, when hundreds of people assemble here to worship the Mahadev.
References
{{coord missing, Gujarat
Villages in Porbandar district