Coordinates	13°22′27″N39°56′18″N
Native name	Dwarka |
Locator position	right |
District	Jamnagar
Altitude	0
Population as of	2001
Population total	33,614|
Area magnitude	km²

Dwarka (, ) also spelled Dvarka, Dwaraka, and Dvaraka, is a city and a municipality of Jamnagar district in the Gujarat state in India. Dwarka (Dvaraka in Sanskrit - used in this article when referring to the city in a historical context), also known as Dwarawati in Sanskrit literature is rated as one of the seven most ancient cities in the country. The legendary city of Dvaraka was the dwelling place of Lord Krishna. It is believed that due to damage and destruction by the sea, Dvaraka has submerged six times and modern day Dwarka is therefore the seventh such city to be built in the area.

Geography

The modern city of Dwarka is located in the Jamnagar District of Gujarat. The city lies in the westernmost part of India.

Dwarka is located at the geographical coordinates of . It is a relatively flat region at sea-level, having an average elevation of 0 metres (0 feet).

Among Seven Holy Cities of India

Moreover, Dwarka is one of seven most holy places for Hindus in India where Varanasi is considered as the holiest of the seven holy cities.

A Kṣetra is a sacred ground, a field of active power, a place where Moksha, final release can be obtained. The Garuda Purana enumerates seven cities as giver of Moksha, They are Ayodhya, Mathura, Māyā, Kāsi, Kāñchī, Avantikā and Dvārāvatī.

Demographics

As of the 2001 Indian census, Dwarka had a population of 33,614. Males constitute 53% of the population, and females constitute 47%. Dwarka has an average literacy rate of 64%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; the male literacy rate is 72%, and the female literacy rate is 55%. 13% of the population is under six years of age.

The Dwarakadhish Temple

The present temple was built in 16th century CE, while the original temple was believed to have been built by Krishna's grandson, Vajranabha. 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. In Dwaraka, there are also shrines for Vasudeva, Devaki, Balarama and Revati, Subhadra, Rukmini Devi, Jambavati Devi and Satyabhama Devi.

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. The temple has many Shrines for Lakshmi Narayana, Trivikrama, Jambavati Devi, Satyabhama Devi and Rukmini Devi.

Holy City

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 in Hinduism and one of the four "dhams" along with Badrinath, Puri, Rameswaram. The city is especially respected by Vaishnavas.

The Jagatmandir temple which houses the Dwarkadhish, a form of Krishna is also located in Dwaraka.

Nageshwar Jyotirling, one of the 12 holy shrines of Lord Shiva, is located near Dwaraka.

Dwarka is also the site of Dwaraka Pītha (also known as Sharada Pītha), one of the four cardinal mathas established by Sri Adi Shankaracharya, the others being those at Sringeri, Puri and Jyotirmath.

Sri Dwaraknath Mahatyam

{| class="infobox bordered" style="width: 25em; text-align: left; font-size: 90%;" |- | colspan="2" style="text-align:center; font-size: large;" | Sri Dwarakanath |- | colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" | Sri DwarakaNath Temple |- ! Temple Name: | Sri Dwarakanath Temple |- ! Alias Name: | |- ! God Name: | Kalyana Narayanan |- ! Goddess Name: | Kalyana Nachiyaar, Rukmini Devi |- ! Pushkarni: | Gomati Pushkarni |- ! Vimanam: | HemaKoota Vimanam |- ! Location: | Jamnagar |- ! State and Country: | Gujarat, India |- | colspan="2" style="font-size: smaller;" | } |} Adi Sankara had visited Dwarakdish Shrine and had established the Dwarka peeth. The Lord here is dressed in Kalyana Kolam where he appears to be a Royal Wedding costume. It is one of the 108 Divya desam.

Darshan, Sevas and Festivals

There are many Darshan and Sevas for Lord Dwaraknath. The dress is changed accordingly. The Darshans follow the Pushti Marg Vaishnava scriptures established by Shree Vallabhacharya and Shree Vitheleshnathji. Dwarkadhish temple is a Pushti Marg Temple. The Darshan are

Mangala

Shringar

Gval

Rajbhoj

Uthapan

Bhog

Sandhya Aarati

Shayan

Dwarka Kingdom

's reign from the Smithsonian Institution]]

Dwarka is mentioned in the Mahabharata, the Harivansha, the Bhagavata Purana, the Skanda Purana, and the Vishnu Purana. It is said that this Dwarka was located near the site of the current city of Dwarka, but was eventually deserted and submerged into the sea.

Founding

Sri Krishna renounced war in Mathura for the greater good of the people living in the region (and was hence known by the name Ranchodrai') and founded the city of Dwarka. Sri Krishna had previously killed Kansa (an oppressive king who ruled the city, and his maternal uncle) and made Ugrasen (Kansa's father and his maternal grandfather) the king of Mathura. Enraged, the father-in-law of Kansa, Jarasandha (king of Magadha) with his friend Kalayavan attacked Mathura 17 times. For the safety of the people, Krishna and the Yadavas decided to move the capital from Mathura to Dvaraka.

Characteristics of the City

The city was built by Vishwakarma on the order of Lord Krishna. Land was reclaimed from the sea near the western shores of Saurashtra. A city was planned and built here. Dwarka was a planned city, on the banks of Gomati River. This city was also known as Dvaramati, Dvaravati and Kushsthali. 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 also boasted having the possession of a good sea harbour. The city had 700,000 palaces made of gold, silver and other precious stones. Each one of Lord Krishna's 16108 wives had her own palace. Besides this, the city had beautiful gardens filled with flowers of all seasons and beautiful lakes.

Submersion into the Sea

After Krishna left the earth for Vaikunta,about 36 years after the Mahabharat War (3138 BC), and the major Yadava leaders were killed in disputes among themselves, Arjuna went to Dwarka to bring Krishna's grandsons and the Yadava wives to Hastinapur, to safety. After Arjuna left Dwarka, it was submerged into the sea. Following is the account given by Arjuna, found in the Mahabharata:

The Vishnu Purana also mentions the submersion of Dwarka, stating

Recent archeological findings

in present Dwarka city, believed to have been originally built by Lord Krishna's grandson, Vajranabha, over the hari-griha (Lord Krishna's residential place)]] On May 19, 2001, India's science and technology minister Murli Manohar Joshi announced the finding of ruins in the Gulf of Khambhat. The ruins, known as the Gulf of Khambhat Cultural Complex (GKCC), are located on the seabed of a nine-kilometer stretch off the coast of Gujarat province at a depth of about 40 m. The site was discovered by a team from the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in December 2000 and investigated for six months with acoustic techniques.

A follow up investigation was conducted by the same institute in November 2001, which included dredging to recover artifacts. A round of further underwater explorations was made in the Gulf of Khambhat site by the NIOT team from 2003 to 2004, and the samples obtained of what was presumed to be pottery were sent to laboratories in Oxford, UK and Hannover, Germany, as well as several institutions within India, to be dated. Inconclusive findings however, raised the possibility that the extremely old samples, as argued for many other artifacts recovered from the Gulf of Khambhat (Cambay), are not man-made artifacts or potsherds, but rather geofacts and related objects of natural origin.

According to western archaeologists, the "ruins" are either natural rock formations and result of faulty remote sensing equipment and the "artifacts" recovered are either geofacts or foreign objects introduced to the site by the very strong tidal currents in the Gulf of Cambay. The side scan sonar equipment used to image the bottom of the Gulf may have been faulty, and the claimed supporting evidence is purely circumstantial. Interpretations of the objects and seismic data differ sharply between western archaeologists and lay commentators. Since the Congress has come to power, the issue has been killed, possibly to avoid BJP from gaining prominence.

Bet Dwarka

Bet Dwarka is famous for its temples dedicated to Lord Krishna and is of great importance in the ancient Hindu tradition. It and other coastal sites have ample antiquities, mainly potsherds, suggesting maritime trade and commerce with the Mediterranean countries around the Christian era. This flourishing harbor and religious capital is believed to have submerged under the sea after the Krishna left dwarka for vaikunth. 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.

Offshore explorations near present Bet Dwarka brought to light a number of stone anchors of different types that include triangular, grapnel and ring stones. They are made out of locally available rocks and their period may also be similar to those found at Dwarka and other places. Recently, Roman antiquities including shreds of amphorae and a lead ingot and lead anchors were found. There is also an indication of a shipwreck of Roman period in Bet Dwarka waters.

The archaeological explorations at Bet Dwarka Island have brought to light a large number of data on India’s external overseas trade and commerce with western countries. Recent findings at the Bet Dwarka have shown evidence of Indo-Roman trade. India had an active maritime trade with Rome from the fourth century BCE to 4th century CE. These findings would concentrate on the time period from the first century BCE to the 2nd century CE. The discovery of the amphoras in Bet Dwarka is significant in view of the maritime history of India in concerned. There are remains of seven amphoras from which a black encrustation can be seen. This ware was mainly used for exporting wine and olive oil from the Roman Empire; it is most likely that these were wine amphoras. The discovery of a large quantity of amphora sherds suggests that Bet Dwarka had international trade contact during the early centuries of the Christian era. The presence of a large number and variety of stone anchors in Bet Dwarka suggests that this was one of important ports in ancient times. The location of Bet Dwarka was favorable for safe anchorage in the past since it was protected from high waves and storms.

The proposal for the Dwarka museum, submitted by the MAU, involves laying a submarine acrylic tube through which visitors can view through glass windows the ruins of the city. The State Government of Gujarat and the Travel & Tourism Department of Gujarat are working on this proposal (for over two decades). When completed, it will be the first museum to be built under the sea.

Compositions

Mirabai, Surdas had composed lot of songs on Dwarakdish. The Alwars like Thirumalisai Alvar, Nammalvar, Periyalvar, Andal, Thondaradippodi Alvar, Tirumangai Alvar have sung in praise of Dwarakanath in Tamil.

Places of interest

Nageshwar Temple, Dwarka - a famous Shiva temple and one among the 12 Jyotirlingas

Shree Swaminarayan Temple - Dwarka

Rukmini Hrid - collection of 7 ponds.

Brahma kund.

Dwaraka pīţha

Bet Dwarka, a small island near Dwarka

Somnath Temple famous Lord Shiva Temple

References

Further reading

S. R. Rao, The Lost City of Dvaraka National Institute of Oceanography (1999) ISBN 81-86471-48-0

S. R. Rao, Marine Archaeology in India, Delhi, Publications Division (2001) ISBN 81-230-0785-X.

Current Science, Indian Academy of Sciences (May 10, 2004). On line, .pdf format.">A. S. Gaur, Sundaresh and Sila Tripati, "An ancient harbour at Dwarka: Study based on the recent underwater explorations", Current Science, Indian Academy of Sciences (May 10, 2004). On line, .pdf format.

External links

Official website Jagad Mandir , Dwaraka

Sri Krishna Temple, Dwaraka

Vishwakarma, the deity of construction & Dwaraka city

Official website of the Jagat Mandir (Dwarkadhish Temple) in Dwarka

Iskcon

150 photos of Dwarka, 1280x960

National Institute of oceanography

How to reach Dwarka

Sacred Sites, Dwaraka

Dwaraka

History has it. Dwarka inundated by tsunami!

Dwaraka

Legend of Dwarka

Dwarka

Dwarka temple

Dwarka

Submergence of Dwarka, p.22-25 (PDF)

Marine Archaeology in the gulf of Khambat

S.R. Rao's speech and talk(mp3)about Dwarka experiences on DeshGujarat.Com

Category:Krishna Category:Hindu holy cities Category:Hindu pilgrimage sites Category:Sunken cities Category:Indus Valley sites Category:Underwater ruins Category:Mahabharata Category:Locations in Hindu mythology Category:Archaeological sites in Gujarat Category:Cities and towns in Jamnagar district Category:Temple Towns

Shankaracharya, (IAST: Śaṅkarācārya, Shankara acharya) is a commonly used title of heads of maţhas (monasteries) in the Advaita tradition. The title derives from Adi Shankara, a 9th century CE theologian of Hinduism. He is honoured as Jagadguru, a title that was used earlier only to Lord Krishna. The popular view among historians is that there were four maţhas established by Ādi Śankara:

the Uttarāmnāya matha, or northern matha at Joshimath (also called Jyotir Math)

the Pūrvāmnāya matha or eastern matha, the Govardhana matha, at Puri

the Dakshināmnāya matha, or the Sringeri Sharada Peetham, the southern matha, at Shringeri

the Paśchimāmnāya matha, or the Dwaraka Pitha, the western matha, at Dwarka .

Like other religions and sects, some rivalry exists between some groups who claim to have been initiated into the Shankaracharya Order.

The existence of such multiple mathas occurs because a Guru/or descendant of the shankaracharya lineage could have had many disciples. This could have resulted in the branching out of the parent institution. It is also possible that a Guru might have died without naming a successor, leading to the formation of rival groups.

Jyotir Math and Govardhan matha have a broken lineage and were later revived.

Example of Sri Shankaracharya's verses

The following hymn to the Goddess Saraswati is an example of a verse composed by Sri Shankaracharya: Amala-kamalaadhivasini maanaso vaimalyadaayini manoine i sundara-gaatri susheele tava charanaambhoruham narnaami sadaa ii (O Goddess, You live in the lotus of purity, You make the mind pure, and You are known by the inner mind. You are beautiful as well as virtuous. I offer my salutation at Your lotus feet at all times.)

Further reading

The Shankaracharya tradition is described in Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's commentary on Verse 2, Chapter 4 of the Bhagavad-Gita.

Adi Shankara, the jagad guru, his life and philosophy; Shantha N. Nair; 1st ed.; ISBN 9788182203068; New Delhi, India : Global Vision Pub. House, 2010

Sri Shankaracharya : life and philosophy : an elucidative and reconciliatory interpretation, by Swami Mukhyananda, 4th ed.; ISBN 817505283X; Kolkata; Advaita Ashrama, 2006

See also

Adi Shankara

Paramacharya

References

External links

Works & Biography of Shankaracharya

Adi Shankaracharya at Kamat.com

Adi Shankaracharya at Hindupedia

Shankaras works

Category:Titles and occupations in Hinduism Category:Religious leadership roles