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Gogaji (गोगाजी )
an eminent warrior-hero
is a folk deity of not only of Rajasthan but worshiped by millions
of north Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Gogaji was born in the year 946 in a village
Dadreva. His father, Jwhar Singh was the ruler of Dadreva and his
mother;a name was Bachal
In Gujarat, an annual procession is taken out in honour of the great warrior. Hindus and Muslims
both honor him. He is known as Goga among the Hindus and Jahar Peer among the Muslims. The Kaimkhani
Muslims claim descent from him and regard him as a peer (saint). Gogaji is
popular as a snake-god and almost every village in Rajasthan has a Than (sacred
place) under a Khejari (खेजडी) tree
dedicated to him. Gogaji is also venerated as a saint and even as 'snake-god'. A
saying about Gogaji -
गांव-गांव खेजडी न्ह
गांव-गांव गोगो
A grand fair is held at Gogamedi every year from the ninth day of the dark half of
Bhadrapada (Goga Navami) to the eleventh day of the dark half of the same
month in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan in memory of Gogaji.
People from every part of the country gathers at this place singing and dancing to the
beats of drums and gongs with multicolored flags called 'nishans' in their
hands. Thousands of devotees gather to pay homage at this memorial annually in the
Gogaji fair, which lasts for 3 days. It is believed that Gogaji
went into samadhi at Gogamedi. The main attractions of the fair are the Nath priests who carry whips
(replicas of 'chabuk' showed in the hands of Gogaji).
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Gogaji idol shows him riding a blue horse and with a snake coiled around his neck. |
