The Dwarika Trip

“Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya, Kaashi, Kanchi, Avantika,
Vaishali, Dwarika, Dhyeya, Puri, Takshashila, Gaya”

What a travel packed trip it has been. And how has been by chance! Did I ever plan to visit Dwarika in my life? But it came to me as a surprise, and a pleasant one too - Delhi to Ahmadabad in train. Transit in Ahmedabad and engulfed in office work on a holiday – thanks to boss. Running through the lanes of Kalupur to find a cyber café while renting a room in a Muslim hotel – wonderful! To see that the two communities still find ways to trust each other – reassuring.
Well, Saurashtra Express picked me up at 8 pm from Ahmadabad and dropped me at Jamnagar at 3am. And because I had nowhere else to go, I waited till 5 on the platform itself. Then struggled to catch the first bus to Dwarika. It was a part sleeper. Good for me. Seems that the day starts a bit late in the western part of the country. The sunrise made me wait till 7:30am. But it was worth it – big dull sun rising on a barren, flat and muddy horizon. And how can one ignore the cactus lining? Indeed it’s a different landscape altogether – harsh and rugged and sometimes marshy. But unlike the highway which is as smooth as one watches in an American flick. Narendrabhai must be complemented.
It was at around 9am that I reached the historic town of Dwarika. And it was an unexplainable feeling to be at a place so revered, so heard about and so intense. Who knows, Lord Krishna might have moved on these roads 5 millennia ago as I was doing now. I quickly enquired about the whereabouts Dwarikadheesh temple, about which I had already collected some info before starting my journey. It was about a mile away from the bus stop and so I walked. On my way, as I saw the people of Saurashtra in their traditional dresses, chanting the holy names of Lord Krishna, I suddenly realized that this scene must have been on since ages. Aren’t we fortunate to have born in a land with such a glorious history – sometimes so intertwined with philosophy, religion and mythology? Yes indeed we are. As I walked, I started imagining the scenes of the great migration of Yadavas along with their savior from the fallen Mathura to the hopeful Dwarika. I could see a reason in the similarity of dress and culture of Vraj and Saurashtra although I didn’t undermine the influence of time and climate.
Soon, I could see the shikhars of the temple with big vaishnava flags fluttering along with the wild sea winds. As I came closer and entered the main temple street, I was amazed with the sight of that unique piece of architecture and archaeology. The Dwarikadheesh temple was right in front of me – standing high in all its glory. It is believed that the first temple on the same site was built by the grandson of Lord Krishna – Sri Aniruddha, although the present structure is around 2500 years old. As I tried to enter the temple premises, I was told that no bags, phones etc are allowed inside so I was forced to rent a room in a nearby lodge. After taking a quick shower, I went for the darshan. Now, as I entered the premises, came closer to the temple and touched its walls I was overwhelmed. It felt to me not as a laterite block but a slice of history frozen in stone. The temple that survived the Muslim attackers for six centuries was worth being written about. But I could barely hold my tears as I moved inside. Barely escaping a comparison with ruins, the temple was clearly narrating the long tale of neglect, greed and corruption.
I was fortunate enough for a quick darshan of the Lord Dwarikadheesh. The Lord was well guarded by a shady pack of Brahmins who cleverly pushed away the devotees as soon as they offered the daanam to them. The complex has various small temples in addition to the main one. Interestingly, The Lord stands sans Radha each of the temples. Then there are temples of Ganesha, Shiva, Amba, Durvasa, Baladeva, Pradumna and Aniruddha. The idols of Lord are beautiful with a unique style. The temple itself is a mix of both Southern and Northern styles. The walls and shikharas of the temple are decorated with innumerable figurines of gods and goddesses, yakshas and yakshinis and other mythological characters. The entire structure has been built in laterite – a locally available stone. But because laterite is more prone to corrosion as compared to granite, many historical parts of the temple have been lost forever.
Then there are encroachments. The most daring one being that of the powerful Sharada peeth of Shankaracharya tradition. Unlike the main temple, the peeth structures are more than well maintained and smell of dirty money being spent relentlessly. The peeth hall itself and its own temples have been deliberately kept on a higher level thereby confirming the existence vaishnava-shaiva rivalry. It is however surprising that such an important vaishnava temple is governed (or misgoverned) by shaivites.
The western entry to the temple is from the ghats of Gomti river which flows clean and clear towards Arabian Sea. In-fact the temple if barely a couple of kilometers away from the confluence of Gomti river and the Arabian Sea. The moderate crowd and the clean waters of the river are a respite from the usual places of religious importance. I wandered throughout the Dwarika town – in its narrow alleys and around its hidden baoris. It was as if I was walking in a sister city of Vrindavana – although much cleaner and friendlier than its big brother.
If at all I had some time on my hand, I would have visited Bet Dwarika – a town very near to the offshore site of Krishna’s Dwarika – the actual city that was built and inhabited by Krishna and his clan. Ignored as a myth since the advent of modern archaeology and historical research, Krishna’s Dwarika was discovered by a team of marine archaeologists ten years back and the specimens recovered confirm to the time period of Mahabharata – of Krishna’s life. I really wanted to visit the museum where all those specimens have been kept but maybe some other time.
It was all I had time for and I had to catch a bus back to Jamnagar so I called it a day and came back to Jamnagar the same night. From there I had a train to catch to Ahmadabad where I am right now waiting for my flight to Delhi to get back to the same old routine but with a renewed conviction to go on a long holiday.
Jai Shri Dwarikadheesh
~ <040320101815>