The portion of the Bombay Presidency known as Gujarát fills the north-east corner of the coast of Western India. On the west is the Arabian Sea; on the north-west is the Gulf of Cutch. To the north lie the Little Ran and the Mevád desert; to the north-east Ábu and other outliers of the Árávali range. The east is guarded and limited by rough forest land rugged in the north with side spurs of the Vindhyas, more open towards the central natural highway from Baroda to Ratlám, and southwards again rising and roughening into the northern offshoots from the main range of the Sátpudás. The southern limit is uncertain. History somewhat doubtfully places it at the Tápti. Language carries Gujarát about a hundred miles further to Balsár and Párdi where wild forest-covered hills from the north end of the Sahyádri range stretch west almost to the sea.

From ancient times the present province of Gujarát consisted of three divisions Ánartta, Suráshṭra, and Láṭa. Ánartta seems to have been Northern Gujarát, as its capital was Ánandapura the modern Vaḍanagara or Chief City, which is also called Ánarttapura. Both these names were in use even in the times of the Valabhi kings (A.D. 500–770). The name appears as Suráshṭra in the Mahábhárata and Páṇini’s Gaṇapáṭha, in Rudradáman’s (A.D. 150) and Skandagupta’s (A.D. 456) Girnár inscriptions, and in several Valabhi copper-plates.

The oldest Puráṇic legend regarding Gujarát appears to be that of the holy king Ánartta son of Śaryáti and grandson of Manu.. The next Puráṇic legends relate to the establishment of the Yádava kingdom at Dwáriká. The founder and name giver of the Yádava dynasty was Yadu of whose family the Puráṇas give very detailed information. The family seems to have split into several branches each taking its name from some prominent member, the chief of them being Vrishṇi, Kukkura, Bhoja, Śátvata, Andhaka, Madhu, Śurasena, and Daśárha. Śátvata was thirty-seventh from Yadu and in his branch were born Devaki and Vasudeva, the parents of the great Yádava hero and god Kṛishṇa. It was in Kṛishṇa’s time that the Yádavas had to leave their capital Mathurá and come to Dwáriká.

Stretches out into the Arabian Sea, with a hint of the desert and with a coastline of 1600 kms long is Gujarat – the home state of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of Nation. It is renowned for its beaches, temple towns and historic capitals. Wildlife sanctuaries, hill resorts and natural grandeur are gifts of Gujarat. Sculpture, handicrafts, arts, festivals also make the state rich. Gujarat is also among the most technologically advanced, housing the largest petrochemical complex in the country. major attractions include the only habitat of the Asiatic Lions in India (Gir Forests), a desert ride at the Wild Ass Sanctuary and the beautiful Indo-Saracenic Architecture of Ahmedabad. The colourful tribal villages of Kutch make a visit unforgettable