Bahuchara Mata

There are some legends based on the origin of this temple.This temple is located in Mehsana district in Gujarat.

1. Bahuchara Mata She was a daughter of Bapal dan Dhetha,a charan ( a hindu caste who basically lived in Rajasthan and Gujarat).She was travelling with her sisters when Bapiya,a marauder attacked them.The men and women of this caste would kill themselves if they were captured or overpowered by their enemies.It was considered as a grevious sin to shed charan blood.When they were attacked,they killed themselves.it is said that Bapiya became impotent due to a curse.He was relieved from the curse after he worshipped Bahuchara Mata by dressing up and behaving like a woman.She is worshipped by the hijra community in India.Her many followers believe in non violence and consider slaughter of all creatures including animals as a sin. She is depicted as a woman who carries a sword on her top right, a text of scriptures on her top left, the abhay hasta m udra ("showering of blessings") on her bottom right, and a trident on her bottom left and is seated on a rooster, symbolising innocence. http://www.holybharathpilgrimage.com

2. General Information Some other legends which are connected with Bahuchara Mata are: A king who prayed for a son was granted his wish but his son was born impotent.The Goddess appeared to the prince in a dream and asked him to castrate himself, wear women’s clothes and serve her.The Goddess identified many impotent men and asked them to do the same.Those who refused were punished by being made to born impotent for the next seven generations. Other legends are as follows: One legend states that the Goddess was a princess who castrated her husband as he preferred to going to the forest and living like a woman to being her husband. Another legend is as follows: A man who tried to molest the goddess was cursed with impotence and was relieved of his curse only after he gave up his masculinity and worshipped the Goddess. http://www.holybharathpilgrimage.com

3. Travel Guide It is located in Becharaji town in Mehsana district of Gujarat. The temple is at a distance of 110 kilometres from Ahmedabad,100 kilometres from Gandhinagar and 35 kilometres from Mahesana . The temple is well connected to other places by both rail and road. http://www.holybharathpilgrimage.com