Bahidra no Kot and Jagnath Mahadev : Ruins which we need to preserve
Hello all,
Last week, I watched a beautiful clip of Sushmita Sen, where she said something incredible. I recall it repeatedly, “The idea that you have to achieve something to become important or be successful is a ghisa pita concept.” So true, na! From our small matters to significant life-changing decisions, sometimes all these depend on societal norms or what others will think. I read a beautiful quote in a book, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and I tell it to my kids daily. In the book and movie, Aibileen, the caretaker, keeps saying to Mae Mobley, the young girl, “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” Our kids need a daily dose of the quote because, in this fast-changing world, becoming just ourselves is one of the most challenging things. To Be You! It’s okay to accept ourselves as we are. We might not excel at anything or everything. But we are passing through this beautiful life journey, which in itself is a significant achievement. We wake up every morning (believe me, it is a struggle for many!), and we can watch the beautiful sunrise and mesmerizing sunsets, listen to birds chirping and enjoy moments with our dear ones…Are these not enough? And so, to cherish a phenomenon called life, we continue our Sunday morning routine…
Yesterday morning we went to Mahi river bank, yes again because as I always say we love our rivers. Near the village Bhadrava is an old fort wall known as Bahidra no Kot. We were not able to climb the Wall. Still, we did explore uniquely… we parked a car near the river bank and from the Santaram temple site, we went along the trail up to ancient Jagnath Mahadev temple, also known as Bhootnath Mahadev temple by locals.
The drive to the river bank is incredible, with twisting gravel roads. You can see the heavy tire marks due to regular tractors and truck visits because of the sand mining from the Mahi River. You have to go ahead of the Bhadarva village, and there is a slight turn on your left side with a dirt road. I have marked the site on Google Maps in the image below. Just take this turn, and you will be amazed by the narrow dirt roads with dense plantations and small mounds on either side.
At the end, you will reach the river bank. Following Google Maps, you can see one Santaram Mandir on the hill along with Bahidra no Kot. In Guajarati Kot means Wall. And when we say the Wall, the only thing that comes to mind is the Game of Thrones Wall. This Wall is miniscule compared to that one and is dilapidated. The climb to the Wall is challenging.
We asked a villager if there was any other way, and he told us not to take chances with kids. So we did the second best thing we knew…we followed the trail along the river. The trail is narrow and well-formed, and after around 2 km of walking along the river bank, we reached the ancient temple ruins. The initial stretch of trail had a dazzling surprise for us. I haven’t watched this many butterflies at once in my life. They were in hundreds, fluttering and flying everywhere. What a breathtaking site it was!
The ruins are ancient Mahadev temples. They are marked as Jagnath Mahadev on Google Maps, but local villagers know them as BhootNath Mahadev. Two of the structures are within the river. The ruins are in a ramshackle state and need repair. Somewhere it is also mentioned that these are memorials of the Royal Bhadarva family. It is said that ruin is when man-made has become a part of nature. You can feel this quote is accurate here. These structures are now part of this river bank; if you listen and observe, they might tell you hundreds of years old stories! We have so many such gems; if only we knew how to treasure them. You will also be part of their stories once you visit them…
Google Map link :
Pin to take a turn for Bahidra : https://maps.app.goo.gl/9G5cfuBaA3ZLNAH2A?g_st=ic
Bahidra no Kot: https://maps.app.goo.gl/tYPydvWAYJAd8vce6?g_st=ic
Jagnath Mahadev : https://maps.app.goo.gl/vedvXLyFt5CeTxu2A?g_st=ic
If you want to go from river bank near Santram temple to Jagnath Mahadev then total to and fro distance will be 4 km.
That’s it.
if you visit this place, do share your experience with us.
Thank you.
One must learn from you to make ordinary place extraordinary
well written and explored in amazing way
Thank you so much…
safe during monsoon ?
i can see from pics that its grasslands more
During monsoon roads to the river bank will be muddy so you have to drive cautiously and in extreme rain water currents in the river might be fast so better to avoid.
Simple Peaceful and quiet
Isnt it
Would love to join u guys and most say though early mornings or sundays kids are now enjoying it
just asking whats the entire tek distance and how do u go around just to make sure kids don’t get off
Am from Rajpipla , do lots of trek but never ever though ofdoing it with family
Yes it was extremely peaceful…we usually go in early morning so we get the peace we want. Here we ha covered total 4 km (to and fro) but it totally depends on individual. if you want to go upto temple ruins then it will be 4 km. Thank you..
Never knew Mahi river had such accessible roads that u can drive your big car all the way
Have been to riparian but this is off beat
Yes there are so many beautiful places on the Mahi river bank… You can check our blogs on Jaspur and Dabka also. They are equally amazing!
Will go once for sure
👍🏼👍🏼
I appreciate that u take efforts to note down the entire place like u want the readers to explore
I think why no one is around here ?
I went early or the place is deserted
Thank you for the kind words…we usually go early on every Sunday morning so by the time people start coming we leave. Here also we didn’t see a person but while we were leaving few villagers were coming.
U explored the unexplored
Am from savli but never knew of this place
Offbeat and yes serene
Thank you so much…
It’s really beautifull
Yes it is!