01Galava at the confluence
The temple takes its name from the Galta stream, which meets the Mahi here near the village of Sarnal. The tradition of the place ties it to the rishi Galava, who did tapas at the sangam, and to the devout king Chandrahas. Steps lead down from the temple platform to the river. On Kartik Purnima and Mahashivratri the villages of Kheda come to bathe at the confluence and pour water on the linga, which sits low in the sanctum, a few steps below the level of the hall.
02A Malwa tower in Gujarat
Bhumija temples, with their spires built of small repeated towers in rows, belong to Malwa. Galteshwar is one of them, and the only one of its kind in Gujarat: the sanctum is round outside, about 24 feet across, with niches for the guardians of the directions, and the hall is octagonal. M. A. Dhaky showed that the mouldings and the carving are Gujarati, close to the Kumarapala-period work at Somnath, and that the builders likely worked from Gujarati texts on the bhumija rather than from Malwa itself. The tower and the hall fell in 1908. The temple is a monument of national importance, N-GJ-144, and the ASI finished rebuilding the shikhara in September 2021.
The life of this place
- 1908The shikhara and the mandapa collapse.
- September 2021The ASI completes the restoration of the shikhara.
Sarnal is about 15 km from Dakor, and the two are often visited on the same day. Walk down to the confluence behind the temple.
