By: David H.
Submitted: 2009-08-13 18:10:15 | Word Count: 589
Dwarka is a holy city with numerous temples and shrines. Explore the city and marvel at their rich historicity.
Dwarka is both a municipality and a city situated along the Gujarat s Jamnagar district. This city is noted as the dwelling place of the Lord Krishna. It is now the 7th city to be built in the region because the sea damaged and destroyed the previous cities a total of 6 times already.
[ advertisement ]
Dwarka as a Holy City
Dwarka comes from the word “dvar” which means “gate” or “door” in the Sanskrit language. It is regarded as one of the holiest cities among Hindus. It is also one of the 4 major “dhams” which include Puri, Badrinath and Rameshwaram.
Dwarka also houses the Jagatmandir Temple that holds the Dwarkadhish, a kind of Krishna. Aside from this temple, the Nageshwar Jyotirling is also found here, one of Lord Shiva s 12 holy shrines.
Characteristics of Dwarka
Vishwakarma built the city of Dwarka on the order of Lord Krishna. Its land was actually reclaimed from the sea along the Saurashtra s western shores. This means, Dwarka is a “planned city” along the Gomati River s banks.
Another name for Dwarka is Dvaravati, Dvaramati and Kushsthali. It features 6 organized sectors, commercial and residential zones as well as plazas, wide roads and palaces among others.
The Sudharma Sabha is a hall built specifically for public meetings. Aside from this, there are 700,000 palaces in this city made of silver, gold and other very precious stones. This is because every one of the 16,108 wives of Lord Krishna has her own palace.
Dwarka Places of Interest
Dwarka has many places of interest that fascinate tourists. These are mostly temples and the stories that go with these structures. Each is uniquely built with magnificent architecture.
Nageshwar Temple – This is a popular Shiva Temple, acting as one of Lord Shiva s 12 Jyotirlingas.
Shree Swaminarayan Temple – Swaminarayan is the founder of the Swaminarayan Sampradav or the established temples also called as mandirs. These mandirs are actually parts of his philosophy on deity worship and theism, making it now called the Swaminarayan Temples.
Nine temples were actually constructed for this. It includes Muli, Ahmedabad, Bhuj, Dholera, Vadtal and Junagadh as well as Jetalpur, Dholka and Gadhpur. The temples have various Hindu gods.
Rukmini Hrid – This is a collection of seven ponds.
Bet Dwarka – This is a small island close to Dwarka.
Dwarka Pitha – This is located along Dwarka s coastal city. It is a famous place of pilgrimage that was dedicated by the Hindus for Krishna. It is also called the Kalika Matha according to tradition.
Somnath Temple – This is situated near Saurashtra s Veraval. It is by Gujarat s western coast. It is the most sacred amongst Lord Shiva s 12 Jyortirlings. Somnath means “the protector of Moon God.” Although this temple was destroyed a total of 6 times, it was actually rebuilt after each fall, garnering the name “The Shrine Eternal.”
According to Hindu Mythology, long ago, Chandra (the moon god) was cursed to wane by Daksha, his father in law, because he was so arrogant about his charm and beauty. The moon god after this prayed at the Prabhas tirth to Lord Shiva.
Lord Shiva was only able to partially remove the curse, which resulted to the periodic waning of the moon. It is also said that the Somnath Temple was initially built with gold by the Moon God, followed by silver by Ravana, then with sandalwood by the Lord Krishna and lastly, with stone by the Solanki Ruler of Gujarat, Bhimdeva.
