Ranchhodrai Temple
Dakor, Gujarat · Lord Krishna · Krishna Temple
Gujarat’s principal Ranchhodrai Krishna shrine beside the Gomti tank, documented on Gujarat Tourism.
Shri Ranchhodraiji Maharaj temple at Dakor in Kheda district stands beside the holy Gomti tank in the bazaar, with eight domes and a 27 m central spire. Gujarat Tourism describes the 1772 temple, black touchstone Ranchhodrai murti, and daily shehnai from the gate music room.
History
The tourism page records the temple built in 1772 AD with Gaekwad patronage for the throne and ongoing seva by Tambekar descendants.
Sharad Purnima and Janmashtami draw Gujarat’s largest Krishna melas after Dwarka; ST buses connect from Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Anand.
Stories
The old man who carried God away from Dwarka
The Dakor Mahatmya tells of a Rajput named Bodana who had long visited Dwarkadhish in Dwarka. In 1151, when he was eighty, the deity is said to have told him he would come to Dakor. Bodana travelled to Dwarka in a borrowed cart, and the deity slipped out of the locked temple and rode away with him.
Chased by the Dwarka priests, Bodana hid the image in the Gomti reservoir. The tale goes that a priest's lance struck the image, the water turned red and its hiding place was revealed. The dispute ended when the image was weighed against gold, and Bodana's wife Ganga's nose-ring outweighed it.
The temple that Gopal Tambvekar built
The present temple was built by Gopal Tambvekar, a Deccani Brahmin from Pune. Construction began in 1769-70, and the image was moved into the new building by Ramsing, a descendant of Bodana, in 1770-71.
Another account says that in 1734 a minister of the Marwar ruler had installed the deity in a new temple, so the exact earlier history is debated. The temple's spires show some influence from Muslim craftsmen hired from Pune, and a Sanskrit inscription records its date.
Why the deity is called the one who fled the battlefield
The name Ranchhod refers to the episode in which Krishna left the battlefield to escape Jarasandha and went to Dwarka. In Gujarat and Rajasthan, standing four-armed Trivikrama images of Vishnu are often called Ranchhod. At Dakor a small golden flute has been placed in the lower right hand of the image, to show that Ranchhod and the flute-playing Krishna are the same.
Good to know
Major Krishna shrine of central Gujarat
Fort-wall enclosure on Gomti lake bank
Gujarat Tourism–documented architecture and history
Getting there
Dakor town in Thasra taluka — 43 km northeast of Anand, 35 km east of Nadiad; branch rail at Umreth (~7 km); Vadodara or Ahmedabad airports.
Best time to visit: Oct – Mar