Khodiyar Maa

About Khodiyar Maa

Khodiyar Maa rides a magar (crocodile) and carries a trident — a vahana almost no other goddess shares. Born Janbai to the Charan couple Mamadiya and Mindbai, she was one of seven sister-goddesses with a brother, Merakh. The Chalisa tells how she dived into the netherworld to fetch the naagdamani herb for her snake-bitten brother; rushing back, she injured her foot and earned the name Khodi, "the lame one." She later ferried King Ra' Navghan of Junagadh across the sea. Her main shrine sits at Rajpara near Dhari, and devotees throng it on Maha Sud Atham, her appearance day.