The River Ghela, is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
that runs through the town of
Gadhada
Gadhada is a town and a municipality in Botad District in the state of Gujarat, India. Gadhada is situated at bank of River Ghela. Swaminarayan lived here for more than 25 years.
Geography
Gadhada is located at . It has an average elevati ...
in the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n state of
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 ...
.Ghelo river originates from Jasdan hills (Around Fulzar village, Jasdan Taluka) & meets in Arabian sea. Its length is 118 km. & 622 km
2. catchment area. Ghelo Somnath & Ghelo Itaria dams are situated on this river having 60 km
2. & 104 km
2. catchment area respectively.
It is a significant place of pilgrimage for the followers of
Swaminarayan
Swaminarayan (IAST: ', 3 April 1781 – 1 June 1830), also known as Sahajanand Swami, was a yogi and Asceticism, ascetic, who is believed by followers to be a manifestation of God Krishna, or as the highest Theophany, manifestation of ...
as it is said that Swaminarayan himself had taken a bath in this river several times.
History
The great sage Mandavya Muni started intense penance in the Fulzar forest located near Ghela Somnath. After some years of meditation, Mandavya muni called holy
Ganges
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 ...
to appear before him so that he can take bath to finish penance. But Ganges didn't appear before him immediately. In the fit of revenge, Mandavya muni started intense penance to
Vamana
Vamana (), also known as Trivikrama (), Urukrama (), Upendra (), Dadhivamana (), and Balibandhana () is an avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. He is the fifth avatar of Vishnu, and the first Dashavatara in the Treta Yuga, after Narasimha.
O ...
. Vamana appeared before the great sage and kicked the earth with force to call Ganges. The Ganges appeared deliriously (Unmat) and that's why Ghelo river is also called Unmat Ganga.
See also
*
Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Gadhada
Swaminarayan Mandir, Gadhada (Devnagari: श्री स्वामिनारायण मन्दिर, गढडा), also known as Gopinathji Dev mandir, is a Hindu temple in Gadhada, Gujarat, India. This Swaminarayan Sampradaya temple ...
References
Riversflowing through
Bhaal Region
Prasadi items of SwaminarayanThe river marked on WikimapiaClearwater revival
{{coord, 21.97, 71.58, type:river_region:IN, display=title
Rivers of Gujarat
Rivers of India