Day 253 of Indian places making you smile – the birthplace of Saint Jalaram Bapu – Virpur
As we drove on the National highway on the way to Rajkot, we stopped at Virpur which is the birthplace of the holy saint Jalaram Bapu. This was my second visit to the place as four years ago when I had come to Gujarat on official work, my local friend insisted that we stop here.
We made our way through the small crowded market and were almost surrounded by beggars, since we did obviously looked like tourists. As we entered the gates of the temple, to our left we saw the samadhi of Jalaram Bapu kept at the feet of the idol of Ram. There was also a small idol of Jalaram Bapu himself. Out of habit I took out money to put in the box and then I was told that this was the first temple in the world which does not accept a cash offering.
On the right side of the gate we saw the huge copper pots which is said to have been given by Ganga Maiya filled with the holy waters of the three rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati! People believe that one can never get sick after drinking the water from here. We also saw the large wheels given by an ancient king to Jalaram Bapu, used for grinding the wheat
It is said the ‘jholi-danda’ displayed inside a cupboard was given by God himself, due to which this place is able to provide free food to the thousands of devotees who throng this place every day! We did search for the prasad hall to partake the kitchdi kadi meal at lunchtime, however we did not want to wait in the long line in the mid-day sun! Just like the last time I purchased raw rice and dal and kept a bit of it behind the idol of my house to be ensured of abundance of food at my place at all times!
So which Indian place made you smile today?
Please share your experience of Indian places that made you smile
Recent Comments