The Legend Of Goddess Vardayini

In a small village called Rupal, located about eighteen miles away from Ahmadabad, in the state of Gujarat, India, a weird festival is observed on the ninth day of the Navaratri festival (the Indian festival where nine different goddesses are worshipped, followed by a typical dandiya dance). A chariot, made of wood of a khijada (Ghaf) tree, is used to carry the temple goddess Vardayini out of the temple for a journey of four hours across the village. Millions of devotees come to this festival with their children, offering their respects as well as pots of ghee, to get the blessings of the mother goddess.

The unique thing about this festival is that this ghee, accumulated from millions of devotees, is collected into large drums, before being poured on the chariot as soon as it passes by. You can see that a small lake of ghee is formed right as the chariot leaves the spot. Have you ever wondered about the secret behind this odd festival? Well the story goes like this -