Khoḍiyār — the lame goddess, patron of Saurashtra cattle-rearers
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.
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).
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.
