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One of the most sacred pilgrim
centres of the Hindu religion, Narayan Sarovar is uppermost in the
pilgrims' circuit. An embankment surrounds the temple
complex, which is an assimilation of many Hindu divinities, and the
architecture is ancient and awesome.
HOLY LINKAGE
This lake among the most ancient and holiest places of pilgrimage.
Mahakunvar, wife of Maharo Deshalji, constructed the temple complex. The
complex consists of Trikamrai, Lakshminarayan, Givardhannath, Dwarkanath,
Adinarayan, Ranchhodrai and Lakshmiji temples.
It
is a fresh water lake, close to the Arabian Sea, which, it is believed
never dries up. A fair is held here on 11th to the 15th of Kartik
(November-December). One can see a number of birds such as herons,
plovers, seagulls, egrets and the occasional sea eagle.
Narayan Sarovar lake, one of the five sacred lakes mentioned in the
ancient scruptures, the others being Mansarovar at Kailash (Tibet), Bindu
Sarovar at Bhubaneswar
, Orissa ,
Pushkar in
Rajasthan and
Pampa in the South.
SIDELIGHT
A few kilometres away from the Narayan Sarovar is the Chinkara Sanctuary.
It is about 210 kms from Bhuj. This sanctuary is the home of the
'Chinkara' or the Indian gazelle.