ll नमो गुरवे वासुदेवाय l|

 

Garudeshwar is a sacred place to all devotees of Lord Dattatreya.  It is the place where Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya Sree Vasudevananda Saraswathy  Swamy Maharaj took his Samadhi. The Samadhi Mandir is on the banks of Narmada river.  Garudeshwar is situated to the south of Tilakvada and to the east of Rajpipla.

Garudeshwar is a Village in Nandod Taluka in Narmada District of Gujarat State, India. It is located 17 KM towards East from District head quarters Rajpipla.  211 KM from State capital Gandhinagar .  Rajpipla , Karjan , Bharuch , Padra are the nearby Cities to Garudeshwar.  Prime attractions are the temple of Lord Dattatreya and a holy memorial and ashram of His Holiness Vasudevananda saraswathi swamy. On the  bank of river Narmada…Vasudevananda Sarswati Swamy  left this physical world for his heavenly journey.  Devotees of Lord Dattatreya who are visiting Siddha kshetra Girniar are visiting this Garudeshwar kshetra first and praying swamy maharaj for his blessings to have Dattaguru’s darshan/blessings on the mountain of Girinar.

Brief history of Swamy Maharaj:Paramhans Parivrajakacharya Shreemad Vasudevanand Saraswati   Swami Maharaj was born in 1854 AD  ( Shravan Krishna 5 ) in a religious Brahmin family to Shri. Ganesh Tembe and  Sou. Ramabai in the village MANGAON near Sawantwadi , situated near Goa.
At the instance of  Lord Dattatreya ,  The purpose of his life was revealed to him by the Lord when he ordered him to travel all over India and preach the ancient Vedic path and lead the people gone astray from varnashram dharma.
Paramhans Parivrajakacharya Shreemad Vasudevanand Saraswati (Tembe) Swami Maharaj traversed the country for 23 years following strictly  the harsh disciplines of  Sanyas ashram. He was medium built and dark complexioned and had flashy and piercing  eyes, which appeared to look deeply into you. His speech was soft yet assertive. His possessions included 4 loin cloths, 2 robes, the sceptre, a kamandalu, occasionally a woolen wrap, a book of Upanishads, a case of worship utensils, 2 idols of  Dattguru , a rope to draw water and some paper and writing materials. He washed his clothes and utensils himself and always travelled on foot and never used any footwear.  Once on inspection, a devotee found and removed 20 thorns stuck in his feet. Swami Maharaj had not even given any indication of  this. He passed through dense forests, hot deserts and steep mountains, facing extreme climates, wearing only a robe. Most of  his 23 chaturmas were in small villages and remote places. People of all castes were the recipients of  his grace and he was very sensitive and listened sympathetically to their sorrows and sufferings and provided counsel which if followed would remove or relieve their sufferings.
The Mahamantra  “ DIGAMBARA DIGAMBARA SHRIPAD VALLABH DIGAMBARA ” was revealed to  Paramhans Parivrajakacharya Shreemad Vasudevanand Saraswati (Tembe) Swami Maharaj and he propogated this mantra on a large scale.  Swami Maharaj has left behind a large body of  literature.
After a stay of  6-7 months at Chikhalda  ( 22nd Chaturmas ) he crossed the dense forest of  Shoolpaneshwar,   and arrived for his final chaturmas (23rd) at Garudeshwar ( Gujarat ) in 1913 AD. Soon the remote temple believed to be the site of penance of Garuda ( Lord Vishnu’s vehicle ), was bustling  with devotees of  Swami Maharaj. As narrated by him, he was afflicted once by plague, thrice by cholera, twice by leprosy, once by leukoderma , twice by snakebite and lifelong by dysentery. However he never took any medicines and placed himself  utterly at the disposal of divine will.  After the summer of 1914 AD , when he was 60 years old his health started deteriorating rapidly. As soon as Amavasya  of  Jyeshta month gave way to the 1st day of Ashada ,( Tuesday, Ardra nakshatra, uttarayan ) he sat in siddhasana posture facing the idol of  Shri  Datta and with a chant of  “OM”, he left his physical form.

Datta Mandir in Garudeshwar:

The statue of Lord Dattatreya is really very impressive and hypnotizing due to its piercing eyes. There are regular artis taking place here at Guru Dattatreya temple AS WELL AS IN Samadhi mandir of Swamy Maharaj in the morning and the evening.

                                                             

 

Garudeshwar is a pilgrim site with a holy bathing ghat  on the banks of the Narmada in Narmada District. His Holiness Shree Vasudevanandasarasvati chose to leave his mundane body at this sacred site.

                                  

 

Accomodation:  There are no hotels or guest houses available at Garudeshwar. Only two places are available, first one is small Dharmshala near the temple for the devotees  who want to stay for the night halt and for Parayana of Shree Guru charitra or Swamy Maharaj’s life history and stotras.  The food prepared by the priest of the temple (Devasthanam Authority) is the only source of dinner here at the temple. Tokens are also issued for Food. Another is Gayathri Parivar Ashram which also provides Mahaprasadam. There is a famous Surpaneshwar fall, only around four miles away from this ancient temple. This fall is also worth visiting as the River water falls from the height of around eighty feet and present the most beautiful site.

Contact details of kshetra:

Shree Garudeshwar Dutt Sansthan
Address	:	Via : Rajpipla, Garudeshwar – 393 151. Dist. Narmada.
Mobile No.	:	9409479858 / 9409456443
Phone No.	:	02640 – 237005
Email	:	garudeshwarduttsansthan@yahoo.com
Website	:	www.shreegarudeshwarduttsansthan.org

 

How to reach:

By Rail

Direct  trains are available from Hyderabad/Secunderabad, Vijayawada, Mumbai, Pune, Newdelhi to Vadodara. There is no railway station near to Garudeshwar in less than 10 km. How ever Vadodara Jn Rail Way Station is major railway station 74 KM near to Garudeshwar

By Bus: There are direct buses are there from Vadodara (Baroda) or from Rajpipla to Garudeshwar kshetra.

By Air: One can reach Ahmedabad airport from Hyderabad/Pune/Mumbai/Newdelhi etc. From Ahmedabad to Vadodara there are direct buses and trains are available.

Important places to Visit nearer to Garudeshwar: Nareshwar is a place where Shree Rangavadhootha Maharaj attained Samadhi. He is the main disciple of Swamy Maharaj and propagated Datta sampradaya through his words “SWASHE SWASHE DATTA NAMA SMARAATMAN”. Nareshwar is Just 2 hours journey from Garudeshwar kshetra.

 

Even after leaving his physical form more than100 years ago, lakhs of devotees of Paramhans Parivrajakacharya Shreemad Vasudevanand Saraswati (Tembe) Swami Maharaj throughout the world are feeling his presence and getting his experiences in their day to day life.
His saying , “ Smratugami Samavtu.”,meaning- whenever you remember me I will come to you within a fraction of a second , holds good even today.

Click the following link for brief history of Swamy Maharaj

http://www.sreedattavaibhavam.org/sree-vasudevananda-saraswati-swamy/

                                               || अनंतकोटी ब्रम्हांडनायक राजाधिराज श्रीसदगुरुराज वासुदेवानंद सरस्वती स्वामी महाराज की जय ||
                                                                                                                      || अवधूत चिंतन श्री गुरुदेव दत्त ||