Khoḍiyār Mātā

Khoḍiyār Mātā

Who She Is

Khoḍiyār Mātā is the principal kuladevī of many Saurashtra (western Gujarat) communities — especially pastoralists (Ahir, Gadhavi, Rabari, Patel). The goddess is worshipped as a lame woman (khoḍā = lame) on a crocodile vāhana. Her 7 sisters and 2 brothers constitute a local pantheon. Principal shrine at Rajpara; secondary at Matel and Galdhara. The temple has been modernized — the Śrī Khoḍiyār Dhām complex expanded 2010s onward. Annual Jātra draws ~half a million Gujarati devotees including diaspora returns.

Temple & Pilgrimage

• Location: Rajpara (near Bhavnagar), Bhavnagar (21.85°N, 71.9°E) Gujarat
• Tradition: Hindu, Shakta, Gujarati
• Historical: Oral tradition from 7th c. CE; current structure 20th c.

Worship Tradition

Daily aarati at dawn and dusk; abhisheka with water/milk/turmeric; kumkum offering; red hibiscus; oil lamp. For Tantric or non-Brahmin shrines: goat-sacrifice (traditional; increasingly symbolic pumpkin-breaking).

Festival Calendar

• Mahā Sudi Āṭhmī (Māgha (January–February), 3 days)

Her Place in the Shakta Landscape

Hinduism's goddess-traditions are vast and diverse — 51 Shakti Pīṭhas, 10 Mahāvidyās, 9 Navadurga, 8 Ashta Matrika, hundreds of regional forms. Each is a distinct face of the one supreme Mahā-Devī.