7/25/2014

Dwarka and Shardapith

Dwarka is one of the four shaktipiths (also referred as Shardapiths)

established by Adi Shankaracharya. Others are Jyotishpith in the North,
Shringeri pith in the South and Govardhan pith in the East. The first
Shardapith was established in the West, in Dwarka next to Dwarkadheesh
temple. The Shardapith manages the Dwarkadheesh Temple and runs the
famous Pathshala and oversees various institutes.
Activities include the running of Shri Dwarkadheesh Sanskrit Academy and
Indological Research Institute, Shri Shardapith Arts-Commerce and college
of Education, Shri Shankaracharya Abhinav Sachchidanad Tirtha Sanskrita
Mahavidyalaya and ved Vidyalaya at Dwarka and Gaushala in Barvala near
Bhavnagar district. The devotees coming to Dwarkadheesh temple are
also benefited with free meals provided by Shardapith as prasad.
Chandaramaulishwar Shivalinga in Shardapith:
A devotee who comes to Shardapith also has a chance to see
Chandramaulishwar Shivalinga which is daily worshipped by present
Shankaracharya. It is said that Lord Shiva had gifted four forms of
shivalinga (known as Chandramaulishwar) to Adi Shankaracharya. Over the
years they were established in four piths and are worshipped by
Shankaracharya. The Shivalinga is made from sapphire. Near the
Shardapith is the temple of Bhadrakali Mataji, which is aradhyadevi of
Shankaracharya.
Dwarkadheesh temple premises:
Sri Krishna's Dwarkadheesh temple premises are considerably huge and
house more than 24 temples apart from the main Dwarkadheesh temple.
The various temples in the premises are: Shri Radha Krishna, Shri
Purushottam, Shri Radhika, Shri Baldev, Shri Satyabhama, Shri Laxmi
Narayan, Shri Trivikram, Shri Shakti Mataji, Shri Kusheshwar Mahadev, Shri
Kashi Vishwanath, Shri Kolva Bhagat, Shri Datatreya, Shri Aniruddha, Shri
Pradyuman, Shri Ambaji, Shri Devki Mataji, Shri Madhavray, Sage Durvasa,
Shri Jambuvati, Shri Gyanmandir Nardapith, etc.

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Dwarka and Shardapith

Gomti Ghat:
Behind the temple flows the river Gomti. At present, Gomti Ghat is under
renovation. Devotees can be seen feeding fishes small balls of wheat
flour, which is considered a way to get wealth and prosperity. On the
other side of Gomti River is a place called Panchanand tirtha. There are
five wells here. It is believed that the Pandavas built the wells on the
bank of Gomti River. A temple of Sangamnarayan or Samudranarayan is
also there. Next to this place is Chakratirtha, where one can find rocks
with chakras. According to Vishnupuran, Lord Vishnu cleaned his
Sudarshan Chakra here after destroying demons, hence the place is known
as Chakratirtha.
Places around Dwarka:
Dwarka is a beautiful place to visit with several attractions around it.
However, four holy shrines are particularly popular. They are Nageshwar
Jyotirlinga temple, Gopi Talav, Bet Dwarka and Rukmini temple.
Gopi Talav:
Talav means Pond. It is 21 km from Dwarka and 5 km from Nageshwar
Jyotirlinga temple. Lord Krishna killed the demon Bhaumasura here,
freeing 16,000 princesses from His palace. These gopi princesses fell in
love with Lord Krishna and wanted to marry him, thus the name Gopi
Talav.
Another story is related with Arjuna. After the battle at Kurukshetra,
Arjuna thought himself to be the best warrior of the world. To show him
his place, Lord Krishna asked him to escort his queens to Bet Dwarka. On
the way, just near this pond, Arjuna was attacked by people of Kaba
community, and Arjuna was defeated. The queens were shocked at this
and died in this pond. So it is called Gopi Talav. The famous phrase Kabe
Arjun luntiyo,vohi dhanush vohi ban reflects this incident.

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Dwarka and Shardapith

Gopi Talav is a small pond and the sandal like yellow sand is known as
Gopi Chandan. The devotees take Gopi Chandan, believing it to be very
good for skin diseases.

Rukmini Temple:
This temple is 3 km from Dwarka. It is related to the story of the 12-year
separation of Rukmini. When Krishna and Rukmini invited the sage
Durvasa to Dwarka, he agreed to come on the condition that his chariot
would not be pulled by any animal. Krishna and Rukmini decided to pull
the chariot themselves.
However, on the way, Rukmini felt thirsty. Lord Krishna got water for her.
She was so thirsty that she gulped all the water without offering it to
anyone. This enraged the sage Durvasa who is known for his bad temper,
and the sage cursed her. He said that for 12 years she will remain
separate from Lord Krishna, and so the temple is three kilometers away
from the main temple of Lord Krishna. Visitors can also see the ancient
chori mandap in the temple.
Bet Dwarka:

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Bet means island. One can reach here from Okha, 30 kms from Dwarka.
From Okha, the ferry boats bring tourists to Bet Dwarka. It takes around
20 minutes to reach the place, which is known for its variety of Shanks

(conches). For Vaishnavs, shankhs bought from here have special

significance. For this reason, the place also called Shankhoddhar, the
place of Dhwani (sound) shakti.
The Bet is spread around a 12 km area from West South to East. The site
also has archeological importance. A team of archeologists have carried
out onshore and inter-tidal zone explorations and a few trial trenches
were laid to trace a proper cultural sequence. The findings of Bet Dwarka

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Dwarka and Shardapith

may be divided into two broad periods: Proto-historic period, which

includes a small seal of conch shell engraved with a three-headed animal
motif, two inscriptions, a copper fishhook and late Harappan pottery (circa
1700-1400 BC); and the Historical period, consisting of coins and pottery.
Onshore and inter-tidal zone explorations have indicated some kind of
shoreline shifting around the Bet Dwarka Island as a few sites get
submerged during high tide.
Bet Dwarka Main Temple:
Lord Dwarkadheesh is the presiding Deity in the main Bet Shankhoddhar
Temple in Bet Dwarka. Vaisanavas call the presiding Deity Lord Shankhonarayan. Evidence showS that the idol of Dwarkadheesh was carried out
from Dwarka and the new temple was established in Bet Dwarka in vikram
samvat 1616-17. After some years, new temples of Shri Laxmiji,
Satyabhama and Jambavati were also built here. During monsoon season,
Lord Dwarkadheesh yatra is taken out in Bet Dwarka on every ekadashi.
The daily puja of Laxmiji and Satyabhamaji, the two main queens
(pattaranis) of Lord Krishna is taken care of by a brahmachari priest who
also wears woman like jewellery on his body.
Like many other Hindu temples, this temple was also looted, in this case
by the British. In the first attempt in 1851, people of the Vagher
community defeated the attempt, but the second time the British
succeeded. They damaged the structures of the temple and looted the
jewelry worth Rs.14 crore. The devotees, however, managed to shift the
idols of Dwarkadheesh and the goddesses to a nearby place. The present
temple was constructed in 1860, and artisans of the area offered their
labour free to build the temple.
Temple Timings: The main temple at Bet Dwarka opens at 6 in the
morning and closes at 9 in the night. Total of 13 bhogs are offered and 9
artis are performed during the day. There are 16 temples in all. Even
today, the bhog is prepared using wood as fuel, maintaining all traditional
style. The 21.5 meter cloth is used for Dhwajarohan in the main temple
and it costs around Rs. 3500.
Hanuman Dandi Temple
Nearby is the Hanuman Dandi Temple, where Hanuman and his son
Makardhwaj had met. People have great faith in the temple and many
come here for the fulfillment of their desires. The temple priest gives a
sopari (beetle nut) to the devotee, and when his wish is fulfilled, the
devotee comes here with the same sopari given by the priest, now with
golden platting on it, and offers it to Hanumanji. Hanuman Dandi temple
is 5 km away from the main temple, and local vehicles are available.

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