Dwarka

Dwarka is a city in Jamnagar district of Gujarat state in India. It is one of the seven most ancient cities and holy places in the country. The legendary city of Dwarka was the dwelling place of Lord Krishna. The city derives its name from word dvar meaning door or gate in the Sanskrit language. Dwarka is considered to be one of the holiest cities and one of the four "dhams" along with Badrinath, Puri, Rameswaram. The story behind the creation of Dwaraka is very interesting. After killing his uncle Kamsa, Lord Krishna was residing in Mathura with His brother Balaram. However, Mathura was being subjected to constant attacks by the various demoniac kings who were friends of kamsa. Prime among them was Jarasandh, the King of Magadh. He attacked Mathura 20 times with a huge army of demons. Every single time, Lord Krishna killed his entire army and sent the defeated king back to his kingdom. Yet Jarasandh was arrogant enough to attack Mathura for the 21st time. This time his attack was accompanied by another attack from the demon king KalNemi Lord Krishna could easily have defeated both these demons. But he had more urgent work to attend to. The princess Rukmini was being wed by force to the evil King Shishupal. Lord Krishna had to go and rescue her from this predicament. Hence the night before the attack, Lord Krishna had the city of Dwarka built in the middle of the Arabian Sea. It was in fact an island and a fortress. The architect of heaven itself, Vishwakarma designed the city. Scriptures talk about its beauty and opulence with the houses and streets being built of gold and diamonds. It had six well-organized sectors, residential and commercial zones, wide roads, plazas, palaces and many public utilities. A hall called "Sudharma Sabha" was built to hold public meetings. The city had palaces and beautiful gardens filled with flowers of all seasons and beautiful lakes. Lord Krishna transported all the residents of Mathura to Dwarka in the middle of the night. He himself ran away from the battlefield next day earning himself the name Ranchor. Lord Krishna, is worshipped till today across Gujarat as Ranchor Dwarka was reclaimed by the sea god after Krishna departed from planet Earth. The main attraction of Dwarka is Dwarakadeesh temple. Originally temple was built by Krishna's great grandson, King Vajranabha over Lord Krishna's residential place. The 5-storied temple is made of limestone and sand. A flag hoisted in the

temple tower five times each day. There are two gateways - Swarga Dwar, where pilgrims enter, and Moksha Dwar, where pilgrims exit. From the temple one can view the Sangam (confluence) of River Gomati flowing towards the sea. There is a special temple for Rukmini Devi on the way to Bet Dwarka temple, which can be reached by boat. A similar deity of Lord Dwarakanath is also kept in Bet Dwaraka. According to archaeological explorations Bet Dwarka had international trade contact during the early centuries of the Christian era. It had beautiful marble palaces, streets, market places and residential quarters during the time of lord Krishna. People from all over the world visit this ancient holy city of Dwaraka for taking darshan of lord Dwarkadheesh and get his blessings.