01Joban Pagi’s land
The land at Vadtal was given by Joban Pagi, once a feared dacoit of the Kheda country, who became a devotee of Swaminarayan. Brahmanand Swami, the poet among the sadhus, oversaw the building; the plan is lotus-like, with nine domes over the inner temple. Swaminarayan installed Lakshmi Narayan Dev in the central shrine on Kartik Shukla Dwadashi of Samvat 1881, in November 1824. To the right stand Radha and Krishna; to the left Vasudev, with Dharmadev and Bhaktimata, the parents of Swaminarayan.
02The Shikshapatri
On Vasant Panchami in 1826 Swaminarayan wrote the Shikshapatri at Vadtal, 212 Sanskrit verses setting out how his followers should live: non-violence, no meat or liquor, honesty in trade, daily worship, respect for the five deities. A copy he presented in 1830 to Sir John Malcolm, Governor of Bombay, is kept today in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. The temple’s wooden pillars are painted with scenes, and the Gnanbaug garden to the north-west has four memorials of Swaminarayan’s stays.
The life of this place
- November 1824Swaminarayan installs Lakshmi Narayan Dev at Vadtal.
- 1826 (Vasant Panchami)Swaminarayan writes the Shikshapatri at Vadtal.
- 1830A copy of the Shikshapatri is given to Sir John Malcolm; it is now in the Bodleian Library.
Vadtal is about 7 km from Nadiad and 15 km from Anand, both on the main Ahmedabad–Vadodara rail line.
