Krishna's Dwarka
Worshiped as the 8th incarnation of the Hindu deity Vishnu, Krishna is believed to have been born sometime between 1500 and 700 BC in Mathura, just south of Delhi in the modern state of Uttar Pradesh. There Krishna killed the oppressive king Kansa, angering his father-in-law Jarasandh.
Jarasandh attacked Krishna's kingdom
17 times in a lengthy war as he tried to avenge the death of his son-in-law.
The people of Mathura, the Yadavs, suffered heavy casualties. Krishna knew that
his people would not be able to survive another war with Jarasandh, as the
ongoing conflict was not only taking lives but also impacting trade and
farming.
So as to avert any further casualty, Krishna left the battle grounds
and began to be known as Ranchhodji (one who leaves the battle grounds).
Krishna, along with the Yadav dynasty, crossed Gomantak (Girnar
Mountain), and arrived at the coast of Saurashtra at a distance of 32 km from
Somnath. According to some references, he arrived near the present day Okha and
established his kingdom on Beyt Dwarka.
It is believed that Samudradev, the lord of the sea, blessed
Krishna with a land measuring twelve yojanas (773 square km) and Vishwakarma,
the celestial architect in Hinduism, granted Krishna's wishes and built him his
new kingdom.
This new capital flourished with such wealth and oppulence that it
was called the City of Gold and Krishna came to be known as Dwarkadheesh (King
of Dwarka).
Krishna's life goal was to re-establish a kingdom based on the
principal of Sat Dharma or 'true religion'. Dwarka, also known as Dwaravati,
comes from the words dwara, meaning 'door,' and ka, meaning 'Brahma.' Thus the
name refers to the place as a door to union with Brahma, the indescribable
ground of all reality, in other words a gateway to spiritual liberation.
Dwarka was reportedly a thoroughly planned city, which had six
well-organized sectors, residential and commercial zones, wide roads, plazas,
palaces and many public utilities. Public meetings were held in a hall called
sudharma sabha (meeting of true religion). In ancient times its flourishing
port was considered to be the gateway to the mainland. The city had 700,000
palaces made of gold, silver and other precious stones, as well as beautiful
gardens and lakes. The entire city was surrounded by water and connected with
the mainland through well-constructed bridges.
After returning from the historic Kurukshetra war between the Pandavas and Kauravas, Krishna found that the Yadav dynasty had declined to a state of deplorable behavior, quarrels and negligency. Slowly the dynasty receded into infighting, and their own self-inflicted demise. Unable to end the bloodshed, Krishna departed to the forest, where he was accidentally shot by an arrow at Bhalka Tirtha and finally left his body in Dehotsargh, where he was cremated by Arjun.
The
death of Krishna symbolized the beginning of the Kali-yuga, an age of strife,
discord and quarrel. Dwarka submerged into the sea after Sri Krishna left for
the heavenly abode and the important Yadava kings were killed in fights among
themselves. Arjun brought Krishna's grandsons and the Yadava wives to
Hastinapur. Soon after Arjun left, the waves covered the city. Arjun has given
this account in the Mahabharata it is believed that the city was submerged by
the ocean and rebuilt six times by different civilizations. The modern day
Dwarka is the 7th such city to be built in the area.
There are various theories suggesting the exact location of the
original Dwarka. But there are also some archaeological signs to support the
belief that the ancient Dwarka lies buried under the present Dwarka and
extended up to Beyt Dwarka in the north, Okhamadhi in the south, and Pindara in
the east.
The search for the lost city of Dwarka began as
early as in 1930's. Marine Archaeology Unit (MAU) of the National Institute of
Oceanography took part in this search in 1983. The search was carried out in
the coastal waters of Dwarka in Gujarat. The well-fortified township of Dwarkathat extended more than half a mile from the shore was discovered from 1983 to
1990.
The township was built in six sectors along the banks of a river. The
understructure of boulders on which the walls of the city were erected
suggested that the land was reclaimed from the sea. Dwarka extended up to Bet
Dwarka (Sankhodhara) in the north, Okhamadhi in the south and up to Pindara in
the east. The general layout of the discovered city of Dwarka is similar to the
one described in ancient texts agrees with that of the submerged city
discovered by MAU.
The seven islands mentioned in the Mahabharata have
been discovered submerged in the Arabian Sea. The antiquity of the pottery established
by thermoluminiscence tests to be almost 3,528 years old and carries
inscriptions in late Indus Valley civilization script.
The iron stakes and triangular three-holed anchors
discovered here also find mention in the Mahabharata. Among several objects
unearthed that further bear witness of Dwarka's association with the epic is a
seal engraved with the image of a three-headed animal.
The epic mentions that such a seal was given to the
citizens of Dwarka as an identification proof when King Jarasandha of the
Magadh kingdom threatened the city. Dr Rao of the National Institute of
Oceanography and instrumental in conducting much of the underwater excavations
said, "The findings in Dwarka and archeological evidence found compatible
with the Mahabharata tradition remove the lingering doubt about the historicity
of the Mahabharata that was. We would say Krishna definitely existed."
These evidences prove beyond doubt that Kusasthali,
a pre-Dwarka settlement did exist in Bet, Dwarka. Archeologists have reached
the conclusion that this early settlement of Kusasthali was first occupied and
fortified during the Mahabharata period and was named Dwarka. When they
realized that the narrow terraces were not sufficient for the increasing
population, a new town was built a few years later at the mouth of the river
Gomati. This planned port city was also named Dwarka, further giving
credibility to the fact that the Mahabharata was not a myth but an important
source of history.
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