Somnath – Bhalka Tirth

Prabhas, where at Bhalka Tirth the hunter Jara's arrow struck Shri Krishna and from Dehotsarg Tirth he returned to his eternal abode.

Prabhas Kshetra on the Saurashtra coast of Gujarat is the witness of Shri Krishna's final leela. According to the Mausala Parva of the Mahabharata and the eleventh canto of the Shrimad Bhagavatam, after the Yadavas destroyed one another in a quarrel, Balarama left his body through yoga on the seashore. Shri Krishna sat peacefully beneath a peepal tree. A hunter named Jara, seeing his foot from a distance and mistaking it for a deer, shot an arrow. Realising his mistake, Jara was filled with fear and begged forgiveness, but the compassionate Lord comforted and forgave him.

Bhalka Tirth, between Veraval and Somnath, is revered as the place where the arrow struck. Its temple shows Shri Krishna reclining beneath the peepal tree and Jara with folded hands. Nearby, close to the Triveni Sangam of the Hiran, Kapila and Saraswati rivers, is Dehotsarg Tirth, from where, according to tradition, Krishna returned to his supreme abode. There is a Gita Mandir here, and close by a cave associated with Balarama's departure. Bathing at the Triveni Sangam and offering tarpan for the ancestors are considered especially meritorious.

Here also stands the grand temple of Somnath Mahadev, regarded as the first of the twelve Jyotirlingas, rebuilt after India's independence. Standing on the seashore, it draws devotees of both Shiva and Krishna together.

Janmashtami is observed with devotion at Bhalka and Dehotsarg Tirth, while Somnath is known for Mahashivratri and its Kartik Purnima fair.

Practical note: the nearest town and railway station is Veraval; Somnath, Bhalka and Dehotsarg Tirth lie within a few kilometres of one another.

State

Gujarat

Nearest City

Veraval

Main Temples

Bhalka Tirth, Dehotsarg Tirth and Gita Mandir, Triveni Sangam, Somnath Jyotirlinga Temple

Associated Leela

Jara's arrow and Shri Krishna's departure from the world