Day 209 of Indian places giving smiles – Dwarka, the ancient kingdom of Lord Krishna
When we reached the Dwarkadeesh Temple at noon, we were approached by many Pandits. And the first thing that we noticed about them was their colourful and rich looking attire. In fact even the ladies of Gujarat like to dress in at least three colours at a time!
We walked up to the sacred Gomti river and were asked to float some lamps in the water. The water was cold and shallow enough to walk across to the embankment wall. We got a good view of the Dwarka shoreline with its steps and the majestic Dwarkadeesh temple with its flags fluttering wildly in the sea breeze.
We climbed up the steps and entered the main gate or dwar of the temple. The feeling was as if we were entering the gates of heaven itself. Later we came to know that it was called Swarg Dwar ! This was supposed to be the very site from where Krishna ruled his rich kingdom. After Lord Krishna’s death, the whole city of Dwaraka was submerged under the sea. Imagine, the foundations of this temple were laid during the time of Krishna’s grandson Vajra, around 2500 years ago!
We were mesmerized by the seven storied temple and the flag fluttering atop of it. This flag is changed many times in the day and we were lucky to see the whole ritual being conducted amidst chants of thousands of devoted onlookers.
The main sanctum sanctorum of the Dwarkadeesh temple was impressive with the richly carved pillars. But the unforgettable sight was that of the main idol itself- a beautiful black coloured Lord Krishna dressed in bright colorful attire. As I stared in devotion, I expressed gratitude for all the good received in my life. I must be really lucky to have this opportunity to visit one of the seven ancient sacred places that are to be visited by devout Hindus.
We then visited the many other smaller temples in the annex that were dedicated to the many queens of Lord Krishna like Revati, Subhadra, Jhambavati and Satyabhama .We also visited the shrines in honour of Krishna’s parents and his brother Balarama.
Rukmini Hrid
There is another special temple dedicated to Krishna’s wife Rukmini located some distance away. We admired the fine carvings on the exterior walls and were asked to drink water here. We heard an interesting story about this. It is said that saint Durwasa Muni was served meals and was enjoying the hospitality of Lord Krishna and his queen Rukmini. Midway the queen felt thirsty and Krishna used his toe to get water gushing out from the earth and she drank her water. The sage was enraged that the host drank water first without offering to the guest and cursed that the queen that could not stay along with the King. She pleaded for leniency and was allowed to stay just outside the walls of Dwaraka some distance away from the site of the main temple. We got see her idol which had the most beautifully chiseled features of Goddess Rukmini Devi!
We came out of the temple from the Moksh Dwar, this gate is supposed to grant deliverance and peace to the devotees. Though I loved the spiritual energy of the temple I wondered whether restless people can feel such spirituality in the hustle and bustle of the city!
Okha port- Bhet Dwaraka.
We passed by the naval substation on the western part of India at Okha. The waters around Okha are the place where a lot of underwater explorations have taken place to find evidence of the ancient submerged city of Dwaraka!
At the harbour jetty I saw something that we rarely see in big cities – the sight of a big pig being suckled by many of her cute looking active naughty piglets!
We had to go to the Okha jetty to catch a boat to visit our next holy spot- Bhet Dwaraka. The amount of people that were packed in the small boat almost frightened me and I prayed that we all safely reach the other side.
Bhet means meeting in Hindi and this is the place where Lord Krishna is supposed to have met his long lost friend Sudama. The ancient temple here still has an old world charm about it with cows roaming freely among men. In fact one of the cows stood in the middle of the steps as if waiting to be petted by pilgrims. It even kept following us asking to be fed.
Inside the temple complex we saw the spot where Krishna is supposed to have met his friend Sudama who humbly gifted him a pouch of parched rice. In memory of this story we were asked to make a donation of food at this place.
As we took the boat back to the harbor jetty I befriended an old couple who gave me a lot of their home made snacks. As a city-bred girl used to buying farsan from the shop, I had almost forgotten that there are people who still do not eat snacks brought from shops! And this was the first time I got some compliments from a stranger about my smart film star looking son!
We watched the sun set from the western most part of the country-A perfect end to a perfect day in Gujarat! We drove back to Dwaraka in the night.
We then visited the bustling local market just outside the Dwarkadeesh temple complex and treated ourselves to some amazing shopping. The colorful local handicrafts were eye-catching and we purchased an amazing hand embroidered ghaghara choli that would surely be the centre of attraction when worn in the city!
We treated ourselves to our first authentic Gujrati thali of the trip. We then walked around the narrow streets of the city. We were fascinated by the unusual variety of herbs and medicinal remedies sold on a handcart by a local. We saw small shops, small houses and kids playing happily and just loved the simplicity of the non-touristy section of the city.
As night descended and the hustle and bustle was reduced, we could definitely sense a feeling of spiritual peace about this place. No wonder that Dwaraka was not destroyed even though it was specially targeted by Pakistan during the war of 1965.
We walked back in silence towards the modern comfort of our air conditioned room at our hotel Damji.
So which Indian place give you smiles today.
Please share about Indian places that make you smile!
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