Sudama Mandir

Sudama Puri, the earlier name of Porbandar in the State of Gujarat, India is famous for the shrine by the same name.

The Sudama Mandir at Porbandar, constructed between 1902 and 1907, holds a great historic and religious significance. It is said that due to the depletion of funds during the time of its construction, the devotees collected money by organizing drama shows.





The Sudama Mandir is a beautiful shrine dedicated to Sudama, the best friend and devotee of Lord Krishna. The temple, located in the center of the Porbandar city, is said to be the only temple in India dedicated to this ardent devotee of Lord Krishna.

Story Of Sudama

Sudama was from a poor family. His father's name is Matuka and His mother is Rocana-devi. Krishna was from the royal family. But this difference in social status did not come in the way of their friendship. They lost contact over the years and while Krishna became a military leader and King of great repute at Dwaraka, Sudama stayed as a humble and somewhat impoverished villager.

Some time later when Sudama was going through some bad times, not even having enough money to feed his children, his wife Susheela reminded him of his friendship with Krishna.

Though initially reluctant to go to his friend for help, Sudama finally agrees to go. He leaves with nothing but some beaten rice tied in a cloth as a present. He remembers that beaten rice (Chirha/Chirhe in Bengali, avalakki in Kannada, avil in Tamil and Malayalam, powa/poha/Chewda in Hindi, pohe in Marathi and atukulu in Telugu) is Krishna's favorite and decided to give this as a gift to the Lord.

Krishna is greatly pleased to see his old friend. He treats him royally and with much love. Overwhelmed by all this Sudama forgets to ask for what he actually came for. But the Lord realises what His friend needs, and the Lord's consort Rukmini, incarnation of Lakshmi, gifts him with his desires. On his return journey, Sudama ponders his circumstances and is thankful for the great friend he has in Lord Krishna. When Sudama finally returns to his home, he finds a palatial mansion instead of the hut he had left. He also finds his family dressed in extremely nice garb and waiting for him. He lives an austere life after that, always thankful to the Lord.

Sudama was Lord Krishna’s classmate and a very intimate friend. Lord Krishna was a king. Sudama was a moneyless, poor Brahmin. This difference did not come in way of their true friendship. Sudama went to Dwarka to meet Krishna. He carried a very humble gift to be presented to Lord Krishna. What did he carry? Some books say he carried pohe (beaten rice), while some books and movies say he carried sattu powder (peeth). This confusing difference is because Sudama carried neither sattu nor pohe. He carried with him a combination of sattu and pohe called “sattu-peeth pohe”.[citation needed] It is an exclusive speciality of Samvadi Lad Brahmins to which Sudama belonged. That Sudhama was a Samvadi Lad Brahmin is more or less widely accepted; whether his home town was Bhurgakacha (Bhadoch) or Porbander is a point on which minor difference of opinion exist.

Shri Krishna-Sudama is an immortal example of real, non-materialistic friendship. It is a perpetual symbolic definition of real friendship. Sattu-peeth pohe is a very tasty, ready-to-serve, easy-to-carry food. In it poha (beaten rice) is smeared with sattu while it is fried. Sattu peeth is prepared from grama (phutana) and wheat flour.

Lord Brahma replied, "O Tulasi, Sudama was a partial expansion of Krsna and was one of Krsna's cowherd boyfriends in Goloka. As a result of a curse by Radharani, he is presently living on earth among the Danavas (demons). His name is Sankhacuda. He is very energetic and no one can compare with him in strength. While living in Goloka, he was very attracted to you and wanted to marry you. But because he feared Radharani, he did not make any overtures.

Transport

Sudama Mandir is located in middle of Porbandar City. So you will reach by Bus,Auto,Private Vehicle etc.

Porbandar

Porbandar is a coastal city in the Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama (friend of Lord Krishna). It is the administrative center of Porbandar District.

Porbandar is also an ancient port city at present having an all-weather port, with direct berthing facilities up to 50,000 DWT ships

Let us begin our journey where Gandhi began his. On October 2, 1869, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in a 3-storey blue haveli in the city of Porbandar, where his father, uncle and grandfather had all been prime ministers to the Jethwa Rajput rulers of the princely state. The city had been a prosperous trading center for centuries, conducting much commerce with Arabian and Persian Gulf countries, as well as East Africa, under the Mughals, the Marathas and the British. Now it is a city of industry, with cement and chemical factories ringing the city, contributing to a general griminess around town.

The site of Gandhi’s birth, now called Kirti Mandir, has been converted into a small museum about him, with an exhibit of old photographs, some of his very few possessions and a nice library of books either by him or relating to Gandhian philosophy and practice. The room where his mother gave birth to him has, as expectable, nothing special about it. It was the family home.

Two km from the middle of town is Bharat Mandir, with exhibits of sculptures, pictures and other examples of Indian tradition. Next door is the Nehru Planetarium, with regular programs about astronomy. Both sites are open from 9am-12pm and 3pm-6pm and entry to each is Rs.3/-.

The following are notable sites:

• Kirti Mandir (birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi)
• Sudama Mandir
• Bharat Mandir
• Gita Mandir
• Gayatri Mandir
• Ram Dhoon Mandir
• Rokadia Hanuman temple
• Sandipani Vidyaniketan
• Bird Sanctuary
• Chowpati Beach
• Satyanarayan's Mandir
• Kamla Nehru park
• Shri Hari Mandir
• Nehru Planetarium
• Tara Mandir: Tara is Gujarati for stars. Tara Mandir houses a planetarium which is among the first two planetariums started in India by Shri Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Swaminarayan Mandir
• Bhutnath Mandir - is located opp. Bhavshiji Hospital (Civil Hospital)
• Chadeshwar Mahadev & Ajani Mataji's temple - is located at Somnath Highway 3 km (2 mi) from Porbandar may be from Pandava's Era
• Khimeshware mahadev -Kutchadi (kes goswami)
• Sani Dev tample - Hathla
• RangBai Tample Beach ( kes Goswami )

Transport

The local transportation of the city includes the city bus (operated by Kargil Parivahn company) connecting to major areas of the city and auto rickshaw. Sudama Chowk is the main hub of city buses and private taxis.

The city is well-connected by road, rail and air to the various cities across the country.

Road The city is connected through National Highway 8B, connecting to Rajkot and Ahmedabad. National Highway 8E Ext (also known as State Highway 6) connects to Jamnagar, Dwarka in the north and Veraval, Bhavnagar in the south. Major public transport is covered by the private and government buses. Many private coaches are available daily to Rajkot, Dwarka, Veraval, Junagadh, Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Vadodra, Surat, and Mumbai. Large number of S.T. buses (State Transport Corporation operated by government) are available to multiple destinations including major cities of the state, small villages and towns.

Porbandar Railway station City is well connected with major cities of state and some of major cities in the country. There are daily trains to Rajkot (via Jamnagar), Bhanwad, Okha and Mumbai (via Ahmedabad, Vadodra and Surat). There are also trains to Delhi, Motihari and Howrah connecting to major cities of Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. A once-weekly train service to Trivandrum (Kerala) has been planned.

Airport Airport Authority of India (AAI) has built a new terminal building at Porbandar. The Porbandar Airport has daily flight to Mumbai operated by Jet Airways.