Bhavnath Fair

The famous Bhavnaath Mahadev Mela is celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm at Bhavnath Mahadev Temple during the festival of Mahashivratri. The temple is situated at the foot of Mount Girnar in the city of Junagadh, the city lies in the western Indian state of India. The fair is organized for five days in the month of February and is anticipated by large number of people from all over the country. Lord shiva’s Mahapuja takes place at midnight in the Bhavnath Mahadev Temple on the 14th day of the dark half of the month of Magh. During the puja, the Nag Bavas (Naked Sages) living nearby move towards the fair and gets seated on the elephants, holding flags and blowing conch shells. People here believe that Lord Shiva himself visit the shrine on the occasion. Also, there are various other holy places around the Bhavnath Mahadev temple where people come to preach

Visitors at the fair are all served with free food by the organizers. The fair also hosts numerous stalls selling idols, rosaries, or holy beads (brought by vendors from Ayodhya and Mathura), sweets, fruits, utensils of brass and copper. Apart from that, various cultural programs and dance shows are performed during the festival.  Bhavai is the typical Gujarati dance form performed by the special dances at the fair, attracts large number of people and grace the occasion.