Godarpura

Godarpura, pilgrimage centre, western Madhya Pradesh state, central India. It is focused mainly on the island of Mandhata in the Narmada River, about 40 miles (65 km) southeast of Indore. The town of Omkareshwar (or Omkarji) lies adjacent to the island on the south side of the river.

Godarpura has noted Shaivite, Vaisnavite, and Jain temples, mostly of the 14th and 18th centuries. The Omkareshwar temple, on the south shore of the island, contains one of the 12 great Shiva lingams (Hindu symbols); another lingam stands outside the Gauri Somnath temple. The other temples on the island are Shaivite, but there are Vaisnavite and Jain temples on the north bank of the river, and on the south bank stands one of Godarpura’s Brahma temples. The raja’s palace stands on a terraced hillside of the island. Godarpura’s annual fair was, until 1824, the scene of the self-immolation of religious devotees, who threw themselves from the high cliffs into the river. Pop. (2001) Omkareshwar, 6,616; (2011) Omkareshwar, 10,063.