Talk:Dvārakā
By Swami Harshananda
Dvārakā literally means ‘the gateway to liberation’.
Places of pilgrimage are legion in the religion. In the olden days, when transport and communication were difficult, the devout cherished a life-time’s ambition of visiting important pilgrim centers like Dvārakā, Kāśi or Prayāga.
History[edit]
Scholars opine that the modern Dwarka along with the Bet-Dwarka[1] could have been the same Dvārakā described in historical works and digests.
Significance[edit]
One of the seven important places of pilgrimage which every person liked to visit in his life is Dvārakā or Dvārikā also known as ‘Dvārāvat'. It is situated on the sea-shore, near the Okha port in Saurashtra (Gujarat). Śrī Kṛṣṇa is said to have built it. It got submerged in the sea at the time of his departure from this world.
Characteristics[edit]
A Viṣṇukṣetra[2] could have been built during the Gupta period A. D. 320-525 and repaired during the age of the Solankis (9th to 13th cent. A. D.). It is situated on the bank of the Gomati which is not a river but the back-waters of the Arabian sea. The main dome or tower is 42 meters (140 ft.) in height.
The large mandapa (open hall) has sixty pillars. There is enough space for pradaksina or circumambulation. In the garbha-mandir or sanctum there is the beautiful image of Kṛṣna made of black stone, 90 cms (3 ft.) in height, with four arms. Pilgrims are permitted to touch the feet of the image and offer tulsi (holy basil) leaves.
Other images in the temple campus are those of Ambā, Balarama, Trivikrama and Pradyumna. There is a separate temple for Śiva as ‘Kusesvara Mahadeva’.
There are nine bathing ghats for pilgrims such as Saigama-ghat, Narayana ghat, Vasudeva-ghat, Goghat and so on. There is a small lake of salt water near one of the ghats, called ‘Nispapa-sarovara’. A bath here has been considered compulsory when visiting.
Other Temples[edit]
Other temples in Dvarakā are those of Laksminārayana and Vasudeva. The temple of Nageṣvara-linga (Śiva) is an ancient one. Pilgrims sometimes undertake what is known as ‘Dvarakapradaksina,’ circumambulation of the whole place for which a particular order is prescribed.
Śri Kṛṣna-janmastami is the biggest festival observed in the main temple. There is an ancient monastery, the Śāradapitha, established by Śankarācārya (A. D. 788-820).
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore