Gandhipuri Porbandar has been described in the Ekdaan Patra as
Parvela dynasty of the 10th century. This place was famous for
Paliya and Shilalekh of 13th century which is proved in the history.
Its Sudamapuri, Asmavati, Kedareshwar and Kedarkund have been
discussed in the Skand Purana. Borders of the two important ancient
holy places of Saurashtra, Dwarika and Prabhas touch the city of
Porbandar hence it has its religious importance too. In the north of
Porbandar there is Kheemeshwar, Kantela’s Vishnu Temple, Mool
Dwarika and Lord Brahma as its guard and goddess Harsiddhi. Once a
busy port, Port Miyani is also here.
In its north east there are Chamunda, Nandeshwar, Suntemple of
Kinderkheda, Hathala, Shaneeshwar, Bauddh caves of Ranpur, Paster
Dhoomali, Bhanwad, Gope’s places. In its east there are basements of
Jambuvant, Jhandeshwar, Kokishiya, Beeleshwar, Dhank. In its south
east there are Chhayagadh, Bheemeshwar, Chahadeshwar, Odadar,
Navibandar, Balej, Pata, Madhavpur, Mangrole Port. In the rest of
the directions there is Arabian Sea.Sudamapuri or Porbandar is
situated at 105 kilo meters from Junagadh. The meaning of Por is
small habitat. These types of habitats on the seashore are called
Por. Porbandar is famous as the birth place of Sudama and Gandhiji.
Sudama was a kind, sensitive, religious and poor Brahmin. He was the
contemporary of Lord Krishna. They were best friends. They stayed
together at the Ashram of Sandipani Rishi. Sudama had vowed for not
begging. Therefore he never asked anything from Shri Krishna.
There is Sudama Chawk in the city of Porbandar. There is an old
temple of Sudama in the Chawk. In the vast compound around the
temple ‘Satsang’ is held continuously. There is a labyrinth created
in which people walk and count their good and bad deeds. This is a
rare place. The planetarium at Porbandar is a must place to visit.
This place is special for watching astronomical and scientific
wonders. You get to know about the planets, stars and
constellations. There is a sight seeing place called Bharat Darshan
opposite it. There are pictures of the beautiful places and
mythological events and statues of the great persons in it. Chawpati
is a good place for leisure outing. There is a lot of information
available about Gandhiji at Kirti Mandir, the birth place of Mahatma
Gandhi.
