Dhari is a town in

Amreli District Amreli district is one of the 33 administrative districts of the state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which ...

in Indian state of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is an administrative headquarter of the Dhari tehsil(almost 87 villages and ness).Dhari is the most populous town in

as per census 2011 with 30352 population. Dhari is located on the bank of

Shetrunji River Shetrunji River (alternate: Satrunji) is an Eastward-flowing river from Gir to Gulf of Khambhat in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, in western India. Geography It rises northeast of the Gir Hills, near Dhari in Amreli district. Its course begins east-northea ...

, 42 km(26.2 mi) from district headquarter

Amreli Amreli is a city and a municipality in Amreli district in Indian state of Gujarat. History It is believed that during 534 AD Amreli existed was formerly known as Anumanji, Amlik and then Amravati. The city is named in ancient Gujrati as ''Amar ...

& 318 km(199.8 mi) from state capital

Gandhinagar Gandhinagar () is the capital of the state of Gujarat in India. Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, on the west central point of the industrial corridor between the megacities of Delhi and Mumbai. Gandhinagar ...

. Dhari is famous for

kesar mango The 'Gir Kesar' mango, also called Kesar, is a mango cultivar grown in the foothills of Girnar in Gujarat, western India. The mango is known for its bright orange colored pulp and was given the geographical indication status in 2011. The biggest m ...

and

Asiatic lion The Asiatic lion is a lion population of the subspecies ''Panthera leo leo''. Until the 19th century, it occurred in Saudi Arabia, eastern Turkey, Iran, Mesopotamia, and from east of the Indus River in Pakistan to the Bengal region and the Narm ...

. Dhari is capital of East Gir Forest.

Geography

Dhari is located at . It has an average elevation of 216m (708') above sea level. The city is located in Saurashtra region of Gujarat and is situated near the

, which is passes north of

Palitana Palitana is a city in the Bhavnagar district of the Indian state of Gujarat. It is one of the most significant pilgrimage destinations for followers of Jainism, renowned for the Shatrunjaya hill temples, a sprawling complex of over 900 marble t ...

's hills,

Shatrunjaya Shatrunjaya, also spelled Shetrunjaya ("place of victory against inner enemies") and originally known as Pundarikgiri, is a range of hills located near the city of Palitana in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat, India. The hills are situated on ...

, then in a southeasterly direction past

Talaja Talaja may refer to: People * Roope Talaja (born 1988), Finnish ice hockey player * Silvija Talaja (born 1978), Croatian tennis player Places * Talaja Caves, India * Talaja, Bhavnagar Talaja is a town and a municipality in Bhavnagar distric ...

Hill, through a peninsula, before reaching the

Gulf of Cambay The Gulf of Khambhat, also known as the Gulf of Cambay, is a bay on the Arabian Sea coast of India, bordering the state of Gujarat just north of Mumbai and Diu Island. The Gulf of Khambhat is about long, about wide in the north and up to wi ...

, approximately 9.7 km (6 mi) north of Goapnath Point. The weather in Dhari is sunny from September to May, and rainy from June to August. The average maximum and minimum temperatures are 46 °C (114.8 °F) and 5 °C (48 °F) respectively. The average annual rainfall is about 800 millimetres (31 in).

History

Dhari is a both a

Taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

and a Village Panchayat contained in that Taluka in

District. Dhari has the population of about 35000. Dhari Taluka is divided into many Village Panchayats such as Dhari, Prempara, Vekariya Para, Line Para, Haripara, Vaghapara. Dhari is located on the banks of river Shetrunji on which the Khodiyar Dam is built. Two other rivers, Dedhio and Nataliyo, also pass through Dhari. Dhari is connected with the rest of Gujarat by road and Meter Gauge railway on Dhasa Visavadar line, but no direct connection is available to

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

. The nearest airport is Diu, but Rajkot is also convenient. Galadhara (in Dhari) is very holy place which place of Hindu goddess "Aai shree khodiyar maa". The Khodiyar Dam is named after the Hindu goddess

khodiyar Khoḍiyār is a Hindu folk goddess worshiped in Gujarat and Rajasthan states in India. Legends ''Śrī Khoḍiyārmātā Ākhyan'' In the late 8th century in the Maitraka kingdom, a Cāraṇ named Mamadiya Gaḍhvī lived near the capital ...

which is located to Galdhara khodiyar temple in Dhari. Mamlatdar, Principal Civil Court, Taluka Panchayat, Sub Treasury, S.D.M., Police station, and Forest Gir (East)Division, Agriculture engineering Collage, Grassland Research Station offices are in Dhari. Savar Kundala, Khambha, Amreli, Bagasara of Amreli District and Visavadar, Kodinar and Una of Gir Somnath District are nearest Taluka Places. Tulsishyam,Kankai and Banej are holy places about 30 km away from Dhari in forest of Gir. Kesar Mango of Dhari is world famous. Famous Gir Lions can be seen in surrounding area of Dhari. Dhari is a birthplace of the famous

Swaminarayan Swaminarayan (IAST: '; 3 April 1781 – 1 June 1830), also known as Sahajanand Swami, was a yogi and Asceticism, ascetic believed by followers to be a manifestation of Krishna or the highest Theophany, manifestation of Purushottama, around wh ...

saint Shri Jinabhai Vasanji known as Yogiji Maharaj. Dhari has also Jain Derasar situated at Kandoi street, which is 100 years old. Mulnayak is shri Aadinathji. Dhari has very good teaching facilities up to graduate level. Anoopam Missions Mogari's Yogiji Maharaj Mahavidyalya(Mahila Arts & Commerce College) is established in 1992. Dr. R. K. Dave is Principal. NSS is one of the activities in this college. Other self finance Arts & Commerce College is Opp. Railway Station for co-education. Recently Arunbhai Muchhala Self Finance Engineering college has been started by Arunbhai Muchhala (resident of Sarasiya, Dhari). Even, new BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir is built on the birthplace of Shri Yogiji Maharaj which adds glory in the history of the town. In Dhari there are four Nationalized Banks SBI, BOB, Dena Bank and BOI.

Notable people

Dhari is the birthplace of

Yogiji Maharaj Yogiji Maharaj (23 May 1892 – 23 January 1971), born Jina Vasani, was a Hindu swami and the fourth spiritual successor of Swaminarayan in the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a major branch of the Swaminarayan Sam ...

, the fourth spiritual successor of

as per the

Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS; ) is a Hindu denomination within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. It was formed in 1905 by Shastri Yagnapurushdas ( Shastriji Maharaj) following his conviction that Swaminarayan remained ...

. It is also birth place of Diwaliben Bhil, who know is also koyal of Gujarat. It is land of veer ram vala. Manubhai kotadiya who is former water resource minister of India. Arjan Koli and Hari Koli were two

Koli Koli may refer to: People * Koli people, Indian caste group * Koli Christians, a Christian subgroup * Muslim Kolis, Muslim community * Koli (surname), Indian surname * Koli Sewabu (born 1975), Fijian rugby union footballer Places * Koli, Fin ...

brothers from dhari town. They saved the life of

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

Sayajirao Gaekwad of

Baroda State Baroda State was a kingdom within the Maratha Confederacy and later a princely state in present-day Gujarat. It was ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India. With th ...

from a lion during hunting in 1933. After that both brothers were respected in open court and their statues were established in royal baug by Sayajirao Gaekwad.

References

{{Reflist Cities and towns in Amreli district