Located at the far westernmost edge of the pilgrim’s trail of Kutch which consists of Mata no Madh, Narayan Sarovar and Koteshwar Mahadev temple 

The Koteshwar temple is situated on a high plinth overlooking the sea. At the entrance of the main temple there is a large, beautiful brass bull which was presented by Rao Deshalji I of Kutch State. There is a large statue of Hanuman in the right dome and Ganapati in the left dome. The present temples were built in 1820.The temples have been rehabilitated and renovated over many centuries by various rulers of Kutch, renovation done by local Kutchi artisans.

As per legend the story of Koteshwar temple is associated with Ravana, the king of Lanka. Ravana got a Shiva Linga as a boon from Lord Shiva for his penance an outstanding display of piety. The Linga given by the lord was powerful and once installed and worshipped will make Ravana immortal. But there was a catch. It can be installed only once to the place where he wants to worship so he should refrain from taking rest on his way to Lanka.

Fearing that Ravana will become immortal, Lord Brahma took the form of Cow fall in mud and start shouting for help. Ravana which was returning to Lanka see the cow stuck in the mud crying for help. Being a religious person, he decided to help the cow and by mistake he put the Linga on the ground. After taking the cow out of the mud pool when he returned, he found there is one Koti (Million) Lingas there. He got confused which one is original, finally he took one of them left for Lanka. Once Ravana left all the lingas disappeared except the original one and the Temple was constructed around it.

Koteshwar Temple is the westernmost inhabited point of lndia and an excellent sunset point. Between Temple parking and the Jetty there is plenty of places for relaxing and watching the sunset, but the best place in my opinion is the observation deck just in front of the Temple. It is slightly elevated from all the location around and it will offer you the best sunset view.

There's a folklore among locals that  on a clear night sky the glow of light from Karachi city (Pakistan) can be seen from there.

There are 5 Holy lakes in Hinduism collectively called Panch Sarovar. Narayan Sarovar Lake is one of these 5 holy lakes along with Mansarovar lake in Tibet, Pampa lake in Karnataka, Bindu Sarovar in Orissa and Pushkar lake in Rajasthan. As per legends once there was a drought in the area. All the sages start doing Havan and praying to Lord Vishnu. When Lord Vishnu appeared in response to their fervent prayers, he touched the land with his right leg’s toe, creating the lake. This lake was created by Lord Narayan himself hence called Narayan sarovar.

There are two main temples constructed inside this fortified wall built by the queen of Kutch in the year 1734. These are Lakshminarayan and Trivikramrayji Temple. The temple of Trivikramrayji is west facing and resembling in style and shape with Koteshwar Temple. There are five more Temples in front of the main Temple. These are Dwarkanath, Lakshmiji, Govardhannath, Adinarayan and Gopalji Temple. All the temples are made of stone and the gates are painted in blue color which looks contrasting and colorful. With all the Temples of Lord Vishnu around, it is the Narayan sarovar itself which is of greater religious significance.

If you wish to spend a night, Narayan Sarovar temple trust maintains Dharmashala (Inn) and Annakshetra there which is near the temple opposite side of the road and is the cheapest option. Other than this there are few more dharamshalas run by different trust. The other option is Toran hotel run by Gujarat tourism.

Next Monday : Gangeshwar Mahadev દમણ

Greetings of Parsi New Year

Iranshah Atash Behram in Udwada is the oldest Fire Temple in India

સ્વતંત્રતા દિવસની શુભકામનાઓ ! Happy Independence Day !

Our favorite science magazine safari by Nagendra Vijay Kaka though may have ended its run due to lack of readership, but it surely sparked a wave of nostalgia among us who grew up reading it and quenching the thirst of our curiosity. I recently came across a new science Magazine called Gyan Pathshala published in Ahmedabad by well known Golibaar Publication which was started as a monthly magazine from 1st May 2026 onwards.

Should the entire SP Ring road be covered ?