Maharaja Wakhatsinghji Gohil ruled the state of Bhavnagar from 1748 to 1816. He was a devout follower of Khodiyar Ma and often visited the shrine at Mandel. There he prayed to the goddess to bring her holy presence to Sihor- the capital of Bhavnagar state. Khodiyar Ma agreed and told him to lead the way, only on the condition that he doesn’t turn around and check if she is following. Wakhatsinghji walked on, until he reached a place right before Sihor. There he turned around to check for Khodiyar Ma, who said she would walk no further for he had looked. Mataji and her sisters decided to set base there. This place was Rajpara, which became the shrine of Khodiyar Ma.
In 1911, Maharaja Bhavsinghji Gohil laid the foundation for the present temple. He commissioned the building of the main shrine that would house Khodiyar Ma. Bhavsinghji made the temple more accessible to the public, by building a road and developing the area around the temple. Post his demise, his son Maharaja Krishnakumarsinghji Gohil carried on increasing the infrastructure. Krishnakumarsinghji, an illustrious ruler, supported the construction of a road from the Railway Station to the Khodiyar Mandir, built a pond and fountain in the temple complex, as well as creating a conduit from the nearby Tataniya Dharo lake to the temple, so that the water may be used at the shrine.
