Dwarka – The Kingdom of Lord Sri Krishna

Dwarka city lies on the banks of the sacred Gomti river by the Gulf of Kutch in the Devbhumi Dwarka district of Gujarat (India). Dwarka implies ‘the city of gates. It also means the doorway to liberation.  It has the distinction of being one of the sacred Char Dhams of India, one of the sacred Sapta-Moksha Puris, and one of the 108 Divya Desams mentioned in the Divya Prabhanda of the Sri Vaishnavas. Addressed as Dwaravati or Dwarkapuri also in the scriptures, it was ruled by Lord Sri Krishna. It houses the famous and revered Dwarkadhish temple, the Rukmini temple and many more holy places.

The Bhagavata Purana, Skanda Purana, Garga Samhita, Hari Vamsha Purana, Padma Purana, Mahabharata, etc detail the glories of this sacred yet opulent city which remains unparalleled with any city or kingdom on earth or in the universe. This city has endless glories.

The glories of Dwaraka

dwaarakaam nagarim drishtva naro naaraayano bhavet

Anyone who sees Dwaraka city attains opulences like Lord Narayana. (Garga Samhita)

manavantara sahastraistu kaashivaasena yat phalam
tat phalam dwaarakaavaase vasataam panchabhir dinaih

What result is obtained by living in Kashi for a period of 1000 Manavanataras, same result is attained by living for only 5 days in Dwaraka. (Skanda Purana)

The origin of Dwarka

Dwarka manifested on this earth due to the unalloyed devotion of Lord Krishna’s devotee Aanarta. After Aanarta was ousted from his father’s kingdom for upholding the supremacy of Lord Krishna over earth, he entered the sea and performed penances for 10,000 years. Due to the unalloyed devotion of Aanarta, Lord Krishna appeared and asked him to ask for a boon.

Aanarta, who was extremely joyous on seeing the Lord asked Him for a country to reside in outside the kingdom of his father. Lord Krishna, who loves His devotees very much lifted an 800-mile portion of Vaikuntha using His Sudarshana Chakra and placed it in the ocean. Thus, by Lord Krishna’s mercy, Aanarta got a kingdom with all the opulence of Vaikuntha, and a grand dynasty with sons and grandsons.

This kingdom was later named as Aanarta Desha. His son Revata built the capital city named Kushasthali and even placed the famed Raivata mountain in the kingdom.

Lord Krishna built the fort-city of Dwarka by reclaiming additional land from the sea, on the advice of Garuda. This was to protect His citizens and to project His opulence as the Supreme Lord. The demigods know it very well that Dwarka is the gateway to liberation.

Today, what remains of Dwaravati is the small island of Bet Dwarka and the coastal city on the banks of the Gomti which has a population between 30,000 to 40,000 people. The majority of the original Dwarka was consumed by the sea as per the desire of Lord Krishna in line with the account of the Bhagavata Purana and the Mahabharata.

Why Krishna constructed Dwarka?

After the death of Kamsa, his two queens Asti and Prapti were morose. They returned to their father King Jarasandha’s care as they did not have any grown-up sons. Jarasandha was the king of Magadha (presently Bihar) province. Seeing the pitiable condition of his daughters, King Jarasandha decided to attack and kill all the members of the Yadu dynasty.

Jarasandha made extensive preparations to attack Mathura. He had deployed 13 military phalanxes. Each phalanx consists of thousands of infantry soldiers, chariots, elephants, horses, etc. He encircled Mathura completely from all sides. Seeing all this and knowing that the residents of Mathura were in great fear, Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama decided to challenge Jarasandha strongly.

They came out of the city with their small army and blew their respective conch-shells. The blowing of the conch-shells shattered the hearts of Jarasandha and his army. Krishna and Balarama destroyed the entire army of Jarasandha except Jarasandha himself. He was arrested by Balarama and then released by Krishna for a future plan.

In this way, Jarasandha attacked Mathura 17 times. Each time he was defeated, got arrested and then released. When Jarasandha was about to attack the 18^th time, a Yavana king by the name Kalayavana decided to attack Mathura knowing the opulence of the Yadu dynasty. Kalayavana was told by Sage Narada that the Yadus were the most powerful kings in the world when asked as to who was powerful enough to fight with Kalayavana. He decided to attack Mathura with his 30 million soldiers.

While Krishna came to know about the multiple attacks being planned, He devised a plan to protect the citizens of Mathura. Meanwhile, Kalayavana had surrounded Mathura from all sides and soon Jarasandha would also join him in attacking Mathura.

Krishna decided to build a formidable fort where no man or demon could enter. He would keep His relatives there and be free to fight the two demoniac kings. Krishna reclaimed land from the sea and asked Vishwakarma to build a very opulent and strong city which would become unparalleled anywhere in the history of the universe.

He shifted all the residents of Mathura to the newly built fort city. After this, He went on to fight with Kalayavana and Jarasandha, and ultimately killed them. Thereafter, Krishna ruled from Dwarka living with His 16,108 Queens and exhibited many wonderful transcendental pastimes. As He ruled from Dwarka, He came to be known as Dwarkadhish.

How did Dwarka city get covered by the sea?

When it was time for Lord Krishna to end His pastimes on earth, there were many omens. This happened in the 36^th year after the Mahabharata war. The Vrishnis and Andhakas were cursed by Sages Narada, Kanwa and Vishwamitra that their races would be exterminated due to their grievous offences.

The citizens started seeing inauspicious dreams such as vultures entering their houses and eating them, their armour and ornaments were taken away by fierce demons, etc. The streets were filled with rats and mice. There were more inauspicious omens too.

The Yadus went on a pilgrimage to Prabhasa Tirtha meanwhile. While in Prabhasa Tirtha, they got inebriated and began to fight amongst each other. This led to the Yadus killing each other. Seeing this, Lord Krishna sent his chariot driver Daruka to inform Arjuna about the killing of the Yadus. Arjuna was also informed that he had to move the women and children of Dwarka to a safe location.

The Pandavas were morose on hearing this and hence, Arjuna set out to Dwarka immediately. Meanwhile, Lord Krishna and Balarama proceeded to end their own pastimes on earth.

On arriving in Dwarka, the valiant hero Arjuna took charge and assured the women and children of his protection. He announced that they would all leave Dwarka on the seventh day thereafter with all their wealth and belongings under Arjuna’s leadership. He also announced that the sea would consume Dwarka as soon as they would vacate the city. In the meantime, Arjuna performed the last rites for all the dead Yadus.

On the seventh day at sunrise, all the women and children started moving out of the city under the directions of Arjuna. As they all started vacating the city, the sea started consuming those parts which were fully vacated. In this way, as the last citizen of Dwarka exited the city, the sea consumed the entire city in its grandeur.

All the majestic palaces and residences along with the strong and high walls went underneath the sea. That was the last time that the sacred Dwarka, which was built by Lord Krishna was last seen in its entirety and opulence.

Many remnants of the grand city of Dwarka have been discovered by marine archaeologists over the past many years including potter ware, walls, etc. Many discoveries in this direction by the marine archaeologists have proved that the holy city was not a figment of someone’s imagination. This mammoth effort was led by the famed ASI archaeologist Prof. S R Rao who clearly said that Dwarka did exist and hence, the scriptures were absolutely right about the same. He is credited mainly for the massive discoveries made under the sea in the Gulf of Kutch.

Places to visit in Dwarka

Dwarka being the personal city of Lord Krishna or Dwarkadhish as He is known has a good number of holy attractions to soothe your soul. The darshan and pastimes of these holy places shall transport you to the golden era of Dwarkadhish’s rule. Hearing the very pastimes or lilas can induce your desire to live the Dwarka life. The places of holy interest are as follows:

Dwarkadish Temple (also called Jagat Mandir)

This is a very important temple of Dwarka. It was originally constructed by Vajranabha over the place where Lord Krishna had His residence originally. Click to read more.

Rukmini Devi Temple

Rukmini Temple lies little far away from the Jagat Mandir due to the curse of Durvasa Muni. Click to read more

Bet Dwarka

This small island in the Gulf of Kutch is considered as the remanant of the original Dwarka. It is also glorified as one of the Pancha Dwarkas. Click to read more

Gopi Talab

This holy lake is situated on the outskirts of holy city. This lake is the source of the Gopi Chandana applied by the Vaishnavas on forehead. Click to read more

Samudra Narayana Temple

This is one of the oldest temples of Dwarka. It is believed to be existing even before the advent of Lord Sri Krishna.

Panchanada Tirtha

These are wells filled with sweet water in spite of being in the middle of the sea. Five of these great sages invoked five sacred rivers in Dwarka. Click to read more

Nriga Kunda

This small lake or an expanded water well is the place where Lord Krishna delievered King Nriga from the body of lizard. Click to read more

Nageshwar Jyotirlinga Temple

This is one of the Dwadasha Jyotirlingas of Bharatavarsha. It is believed to be worshiped by Lord Sri Krishna and Arjuna. Click to read more

Other Temples to be visited in Dwarka

Bhadkeshwar Mahadev Mandir

Siddheshwar Mahadev Temple

Gomti River and Sangam Ghat

Chandramouleshwar Mahadev Temple

Sarasvati Temple

Harikund

Bhadrakali Temple

Sri Swaminarayan Mandir

ISKCON Dwaraka

How to reach Dwarka?

Travel to Dwaraka through Tirtha Yatra’s Pancha Dwarka Yatra. While you relish unforgettable darshan, we shall ensure that all your necessities like food, travel and stay are taken care.

When your heart desires strongly to set out to Dwaraka, there is no looking back. You simply wish to reach there as soon as possible. Dwaraka is accessible through land, air and railway route. You may choose the option that suits you the best. They are as follows:

By Land: Dwaraka is well-connected to major towns and cities. You can travel using a private vehicle. Or else, enough taxis and buses are available from Jamnagar, Porbandar and nearby cities.

By Rail: Dwaraka has its own railway station which is well connected to major cities in India. You can catch a train that goes directly to Dwaraka or makes a stopover. So, no worries about changing buses or cars.

By Air: The nearest airports to Dwaraka are in Jamnagar and Porbandar at a distance of 131 kms and 109 kms respectively. You can fly into Jamnagar/Porbandar and catch a taxi or bus to Dwarka.

Dwarka: The eternal land

Dwaraka’s opulence can’t be described in a few words. This sacred land comes down directly from the spiritual world. And hence, can’t be perceived directly with our ordinary senses. May Lord Dwarkadhish give us the true understanding of His very own dham. Jay Dwarkadhish!

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