Jasdan

Princely State of Jasdan

Jasdan was a princely state in British India in the Saurashtra region. It was founded before 1665 and ruled by the Kathi Kshatriya dynasty.

Geography

Jasdan is located at 22.03°N 71.2°E / 22.03; 71.2. It has an average elevation of 193 metres (633 feet). Jasdan is the biggest Taluka in Rajkot district and has 102 villages. Geographically it is the heart of the Mandav Hills from where most of the rivers of Saurashtra originate and then flow to the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Kutchh and Gulf of Khambhat.

The world famous Hingolgadh sanctuary is located in Jasdan taluk Hingolgadh Palace located in the sanctuary in Jasdan Taluk is now a heritage hotel.

Ashapura Mataji Temple here is one of the five major temples for the said deity, other four are located in Kutch, Jamnagar, Rajkot and Gondal.

Shree Batuk Hanumanji Temple, Shree Gupteshwar Mahadev Temple, Bileshwar Mahadev temple and the sprawling Swaminarayan temple are some of the other religious places in town.

Ancient Ghela Somnath Temple located Easterly in serene environs about 18 km far from Jasdon is very popular.

The Ghela river is also considered sacred by Swaminarayan followers.

Maa Vishvambhari Temple at Lilapur is the famous for Hindu goddess of Karma.

Demographics

At the 2001 India census, Jasdan had a population of 80,000. Males constituted 52% of the population and females 48%. Jasdan had an average literacy rate of 67%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy was 74%, and female literacy 60%. 15% of the population were under 6 years of age.