The Tulsi Shyam Temple is a special place where people worship Lord Krishna. It is located in a beautiful forest, not far from the Sasan Gir National Park, about 30 kilometers from Una.
The temple is surrounded by mountains. At the top of one of these mountains, there is another temple dedicated to Mata Rukmani. According to a story, after a disagreement between Rukmani and Krishna, Rukmani got very angry and ran up the mountain to escape. That’s why her temple is built at the top.
To visit the Tulsi Shyam Temple, you first need to get permission at the checkpost before entering the Gir forest.
You can visit the tulsi shyam temple from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Since the temple is inside the Gir National Park, you can see many beautiful things around it, like waterfalls, rivers, mountains, and animals such as sambar deer, lions, cheetahs, peacocks, and leopards.
Magnetic hills Tulsi Shyam
Tulsi Shyam is known around the world for its magnetic hills and hot springs.
The Tulsi Shyam Temple is 500 meters away from a special magnetic spot on the hill.
In Tulsi Shyam, things seem to move uphill by themselves! Cars and water flow up the slope due to a special magnetic effect.
There are three hot water pools (kunds) in Tulsi Shyam. Each pool has water at a different temperature.
One of these pools has a lot of sulfur, which is good for treating skin problems.
500 meters away from Tulsi Shyam is a place called Bhimsa. It is believed that Bhima from the Pandava family made a mound on a stone there.
But right now, you are not allowed to visit Bhimsa.
History of Tulsishyam Temple
In the Tulsi Shyam Temple, there is a statue of Lord Shyam Sundar that is 3,000 years old, even though the temple itself was built 1,000 years ago.
According to an old story, Jalandhar was a giant who served Lord Shiva and ruled a kingdom in the region of Diu. Lord Narayana gave him a special blessing: as long as he and his wife behaved properly, no one could harm him.
But Jalandhar fought against the gods. This made the gods very angry, and they started planning to defeat him.
One day, Lord Narayan made fun of Jalandhar by saying, “You have everything, but you don’t have a wife like Parvati!” Jalandhar was very upset by this and decided to fight Lord Shiva.
Meanwhile, Jalandhar’s wife, Vrinda, had a dream that her husband had been killed.
To find out what happened, Vrinda went to look for Jalandhar. That night, while she was in the Tulsi Shyam Temple, Lord Shiva appeared to her looking like Jalandhar. When Vrinda realized the truth, she was very angry and cursed him, saying, “You have broken my vows. You are not my husband, so now you will turn into stone.”
Vrinda then said, “You will be reborn in this forest as Tulsi, and I will take the form of Shyam. We will be married in this new way!”
She also added, “I will only accept offerings that have Tulsi leaves. People will use you like medicine, and you will help relieve their suffering.”
The stone idol of Lord Shyam Sundar stayed buried under the ground for many years after that.
When King Bhoj of Delwara saw how impressive the Tulsi Shyam Temple was, he tried to attack it twice.
The Babariyaward Kshatriya community and Dedan Mahia Kotila worked together to protect the Tulsi Shyam Temple from these attacks.
Tourist places near Tulsi Shyam
The Ravel Dam is about two kilometers from the checkpost and is surrounded by beautiful hills and trees.
Visitors can relax here for a long time, enjoying the peaceful and lovely views. It’s a great place for picnics, taking photos and videos, and watching the flowing water.
Ravel Dam is a popular spot because of its stunning beauty and also provides water to the nearby areas.
How to reach Tulsi Shyam Temple
The closest airports to Tulsi Shyam are in Diu, Keshod, and Rajkot. You can reach Tulsi Shyam from these airports by taking a government bus or a private car.
By train, the nearest train stations to Tulsi Shyam are Delwara, Una, Veraval, and Rajula.
If you’re traveling by road, National Highway 8A connects Tulsi Shyam to Gujarat and Maharashtra, making it easy to drive there.
