Khodiyar
Khodiyar Maa (Maa meaning mother in many Indian languages) is a goddess worshipped mainly in the Gujarat and in some parts of Rajasthan in India. khodiyar was born in the Charan (Gadhvi) society. Khodiyar was the daughter of mamad ji charan. ref>"Khodiyar Mata: The goddess rules a stepwell". Retrieved 4 March 2020.</ref>
| Khodiyaar Maa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Affiliation | Devi, Parashakti |
| Mantra | Ai shri khodiyar |
| Mount | Crocodile |
Legend
The legend of the Khodiyar Mata is around 700 AD. A man called Mamadiya gadhvi (Mamad Ji charan) lived in the Roishala village in Bhavnagar district[1]. He had good relations with the then ruler Maharaj Shilbhadra. The ruler's ministers envied this exceptional relationship and hatched a plan to get rid of Mamad Ji. They were not very successful at persuading the ruler, but they succeeded in persuading the ruler's wife, the queen.
One day, the doorkeepers did not let him go into the palace. When Mamad Ji asked for the reason, he was told that a childless man is not worthy of the king's presence. Mamad Ji returned home and wanted to ask Lord Shiva for help. When Lord Shiva did not appear, he decided to give his life away as a final sacrifice. Just when he was about to kill himself, Lord Shiva appeared and took him to the Snake Kingdom – Nagaloka to see the King of Snakes – Nagadev.
After hearing his story, the Nagadev's daughters decided to help. They advised him to make eight cradles for eight children. Later due to the boon of Lord Shiva and Nagdev he was blessed with seven daughters and a son. One of the daughters was Janbai(Khodiyar Maa). They were raised as fearsome warriors and always wore black cloths in memory of their native place, the Naglok. Therefore, they were given the names as cobra sisters or Nagnechi in the local language and were also the tutelary deity of the royal house of the erstwhile Marwar state.
One of these daughters Janbai(Khodiyar Maa), saved her brother's life who was bit by a venomous bite by journeying underwater to the Nagaloka and taking the elixir of life with her. Janbai suffered an injury to the foot on her journey. So she was came back to the surface of the water on a crocodile. After that she was called the Khodiyar Mata and the Crocodile is attributed as her vahana or vehicle.[2]
Temples
The most important Khodiyar Mata temple are the temples at– Matel(near Wankaner), Rajpura village(near Bhavnagar), Galdhara(near Dhari) and tataniya dhara(near Bhavnagar).
Khodaldham is massive under-construction temple of "maa khodiyar" approximate area of 50 vigha.[3] It is located near Kagvad [Gujarat, 360370], off Jetpur-Virpur road section on NH27. It is located close to Khambalida Buddhist caves.
Khodiyar's temple at Matel near Wankaner is huge and people gather on the riverbank near the temple to see a crocodile, the goddess' mount. The place is located about 17km north of Wankaner, and 26km southeast of Morbi.
Sprawling Khodiyar Mataji temple at Rajpara village (Rajpara Dham) is equally popular. It is located about 18 km west of Bhavnagar city. There is a lake near the temple known as Tataniya Dharo, and for the same reason, goddess is also known as Tataniya Dharawali.
Galadhara Shree Khodiyar Mandir near Dhari, Gujarat is equally massive and popular.
A Gujarati film Jai Khodiyar Maa, was once a box office hit and Hemant Chauhan has a garba CD with the same title.
Kuldevi
Many Hindu castes like jograna (Bharvad) Charan and Patel, Bhoi etc worship Khodiyar Mata as their Kuldevi and also use Khodiyar as their surname.The Jograna(Bharvad) Chudasama, Patidar Sarvaiya, Rana, Raval(yogi) clans sometimes used Khodiyar as their surname as they worship Khodiyar Mata as their Kuldevi.[4]
See also
References
- "Khodiyar Mata: The goddess rules a stepwell". Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- "Khodiyar Mata: The goddess rules a stepwell". Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- http://khodaldhamtrust.org
- Kadia Kshatriya Itihas Published by Nutan Prakashan (1895) in Gujarati