Navlakha Temple

The Navlakha Temple stands at Ghumli, below the Barda hills in western Saurashtra. The Jethwa rulers built this shrine to the sun god Surya in the eleventh or twelfth century, making it the oldest surviving sun temple in Gujarat. Its name, meaning nine lakhs, recalls the vast sum spent on its construction.

Built in the Maru-Gurjara or Solanki style, it has the largest temple platform in the region, an entrance once crowned by a Kirti Toran arch and an eight-pillared assembly hall. Its niches contain images of Brahma and Savitri, Shiva and Parvati, and Lakshmi-Narayana.

The Jethwa ruler Rana Shiyaji made Ghumli his capital again in 1220, but in 1313 the Jadeja chieftain Barmaniyaji sacked the city and drove the Jethwas to Ranpur, leaving the temple among the ruins.