This article is about the ancient city in Indian epic literature. For the modern city, see Dwarka. For the historical kingdom of Southeast Asia, see Dvaravati. For other uses, see Dwarka (disambiguation).
Dvārakā, also known as Dvāravatī (Sanskrit द्वारका "the gated [city]", possibly meaning having many gates, or alternatively having one or several very grand gates), is a sacred historic city in the sacred literature of Hinduism, Jainism,[2][3] and Buddhism.[4][5][6] It is also alternatively spelled as Dvarika. The name Dvaraka is said to have been given to the place by Krishna, a major deity in Hinduism.[7][8] Dvaraka is one of the Sapta Puri (seven sacred cities) of Hinduism.
Dvaraka
Dvaraka, modern Dwarka, is the setting for many chapters in Harivamsa.[1] The city is described as near the sea, in modern-era Gujarat; a painting of the city in the 19th century (lower).
In the Mahabharata, it was a city located in what is now Dwarka, formerly called Kushasthali, the fort of which had to be repaired by the Yadavas.[9] In this epic, the city is described as a capital of the Anarta Kingdom. According to the Harivamsa the city was located in the region of the Sindhu Kingdom.[10]
In Harivamsa, Dvaraka is described as largely built on "submerged land", "released by the ocean" (2.55.118 and 2.58.34).
The city was the former "sporting ground of the King Raivataka" called "Dvāravāti", which "was squared like a chess board" (2.56.29).
Nearby was the mountain range Raivataka (2.56.27), "the living place of the gods" (2.55.111).
The city was measured by Brahmins; the foundations of the houses were laid and at least some of the houses were built by the Yadavas (2.58.9 - 15).
It was built by Vishwakarman in one day (2.58.40) "mentally" (2.58.41 and 44).
It had surrounding walls (2.58.48 and 53) with four main gates (2.58.16).
Its houses were arranged in lines (2.58.41) and the city had "high buildings" (2.58.50 and 54) (2.58.53), which "almost touched the sky" (2.58.50), and had "doors that had the colour of white clouds" (2.58.48).
The fort walls of the city were "shining with the colour of the Sun and pots of gold" and "sounds emanating from grand houses sparkling with golden colour" (2.58.53).[12]
It had a temple area with a palace for Krishna himself, which had a separate bathroom (2.58.43).
"The city is beautified on Earth by the ocean" like Indra's heavenly city is "beautified by an assembly of important jewels" (2.58.47 - 66, (2.58.49).
Dvaraka in Hindu scripture
Left: A painting from 15th century AD depicting scenes of Dvaraka in Harivamsa Right: A painting of Sudama walking to Dvaraka from late 18th-century.
Description
View of Dwaraka
The following description of Dvaraka during Krishna's presence there appears in the Bhagavata Purana (Srimad-Bhagavatam; 10.69.1-12) in connection with the sage Narada's visit.
The City was filled with the sounds of birds and bees flying about the parks and pleasure gardens, while its lakes, crowded with blooming indivara, ambhoja, kahlara, kumuda, and utpala lotuses, resounded with the calls of swans and cranes.
Dvaraka boasted 900,000 royal palaces, all constructed with crystal and silver and splendorously decorated with huge emeralds. Inside these palaces, the furnishings were bedecked with gold and jewels.
Traffic moved along a well laid-out system of boulevards, roads, intersections, and marketplaces, and many assembly houses and temples of demigods graced the charming city. The roads, courtyards, commercial streets, and residential patios were all sprinkled with water and shaded from the sun's heat by banners waving from flagpoles.
In the city of Dvaraka was a beautiful private quarter worshiped by the planetary rulers. This district, where the demigod Vishvakarma had shown all his divine skill, was the residential area of Lord Hari Krishna, and thus it was gorgeously decorated by the sixteen thousand palaces of Lord Krishna's queens. Narada Muni entered one of these immense palaces.
Supporting the palace were coral pillars decoratively inlaid with vaidurya gems. Sapphires bedecked the walls, and the floors glowed with perpetual brilliance. In that palace Tvashta had arranged canopies with hanging strands of pearls; there were also seats and beds fashioned of ivory and precious jewels. In attendance were many well-dressed maidservants bearing lockets on their necks, and also armor-clad guards with turbans, fine uniforms, and jeweled earrings.
The glow of numerous jewel-studded lamps dispelled all darkness in the palace. My dear king, on the ornate ridges of the roof danced loudly crying peacocks, who saw the fragrant aguru incense escaping through the holes of the latticed windows and mistook it for a cloud.
Events
Pandu's sons lived in Dwaraka during their exile to woods. Their servants headed by Indrasena lived there for one year (the 13th year) (4,72).
Bala Rama mentioned about a sacrificial fire of Dwaraka, before he set for his pilgrimage over Sarasvati River (9,35).
One should proceed with subdued senses and regulated diet to Dwaravati, where by bathing in "the holy place called Pindaraka",[13] one obtaineth the fruit of the gift of gold in abundance (3,82).
King Nriga, in consequence of a single fault of his, had to dwell for a long time at Dwaravati, and Krishna became the cause of his rescue from that miserable plight.(13,72).
Sage Durvasa resided at Dwaravati for a long time (13,160).
Arjuna visited Dwaravati during his military campaign after the Kurukshetra War (14,83).
When the Pandavas retire from the world they visit the place where Dvaraka once used to be and see the city submerged under water.
Related archaeology
During 1983-1990, the Marine Archaeology Unit of India's National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) carried out underwater excavations at Dwarka and Bet Dwarka.[14] According to S. R. Rao "The available archaeological evidence from onshore and offshore excavations confirms the existence of a city-state with a couple of satellite towns in 1500 B.C." He considered it reasonable to conclude that this submerged city is the Dvaraka as described in the Mahabharata.[15]
The sea, which had been beating against the shores, suddenly broke the boundary that was imposed on it by nature. The sea rushed into the city. It coursed through the streets of the beautiful city. The sea covered up everything in the city. I saw the beautiful buildings becoming submerged one by one. In a matter of a few moments it was all over. The sea had now become as placid as a lake. There was no trace of the city. Dvaraka was just a name; just a memory.
^Bauer, Jerome H. (24 March 2005). "Hero of Wonders, Hero in Deeds: Vasudeva Krishna in Jaina Cosmohistory". In Beck, Guy L. (ed.). Alternative Krishnas: Regional and Vernacular Variations on a Hindu Deity. SUNY Press. pp. 167–169. ISBN978-0-7914-6415-1.
^"Andhakavenhu Puttaa". www.vipassana.info. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
^Law, B. C. (1941). India as Described in Early Texts of Buddhism and Jainism. Luzac. pp. 99–101.
^Jaiswal, S. (1974). "Historical Evolution of the Ram Legend". Social Scientist. 21 (3–4): 89–97. doi:10.2307/3517633. JSTOR 3517633.
^Rajarajan, R.K.K. (2018). "Dvārakā in Tamil Literature and Historical Tradition". Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research, Pune. XCV: 70–90.
^Sharma, Dr. Ishwar Chandra; Bimali, O.N., eds. (2004). Mahabharata: Sanskrit Text and English Translation. Translated by Dutt, M.N. New Delhi: Parimal Publications. ASIN B0042LUAO4.
^Jean Holm; John Bowker (2001). Sacred Place. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 70. ISBN978-1-62356-623-4.
^A. Harindranath, ed. (March 2010), "Chapter 2.58: [ITRANS text: dvAravatInagaranirmANam] - Building the City of Dvaravati", Harivamsa in the Mahabharata − Vishnuparva: Sanskrit to ITRANS Sanskrit to English, translated by A. Purushothaman; A. Harindranath, ITRANS text prepared by K.S. Ramachandran, proofreading by Gilles Schaufelberger, Mahabharata Resources. Translators' note; Index to Mahabharata Resources' Harivamsha
^Diana L. Eck (26 March 2013). India: A Sacred Geography. Three Rivers Press. p. 382. ISBN978-0-385-53192-4.
Bibliography
S. R. Rao (1991). "Further excavations of the submerged city of Dwarka". Recent Advances in Marine Archaeology: Proceedings of the second Indian Conference on Marine Archaeology of Indian Ocean Countries, January 1990. Marine Archaeology. National Institute Of Oceanography. pp. 51–59.
Gaur, A.S., Sundaresh, P. Gudigar, Sila Tripati, K.H. Vora and S.N. Bandodkar (2000) Recent underwater explorations at Dwarka and surroundings of Okha Mandal, Man and Environment, XXV(1): 67-74.
Gaur, A.S. and Sundaresh (2003) Onshore Excavation at Bet Dwarka Island, in the Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat, Man and Environment, XXVIII(1): 57-66.
Further reading
Shikaripur Ranganatha Rao (1999). The lost city of Dvārakā. Aditya Prakashan. ISBN9788186471487.
March 27, 2023
dvārakā, this, article, about, ancient, city, indian, epic, literature, modern, city, dwarka, historical, kingdom, southeast, asia, dvaravati, other, uses, dwarka, disambiguation, also, known, dvāravatī, sanskrit, रक, gated, city, possibly, meaning, having, ma. This article is about the ancient city in Indian epic literature For the modern city see Dwarka For the historical kingdom of Southeast Asia see Dvaravati For other uses see Dwarka disambiguation Dvaraka also known as Dvaravati Sanskrit द व रक the gated city possibly meaning having many gates or alternatively having one or several very grand gates is a sacred historic city in the sacred literature of Hinduism Jainism 2 3 and Buddhism 4 5 6 It is also alternatively spelled as Dvarika The name Dvaraka is said to have been given to the place by Krishna a major deity in Hinduism 7 8 Dvaraka is one of the Sapta Puri seven sacred cities of Hinduism Dvaraka Dvaraka modern Dwarka is the setting for many chapters in Harivamsa 1 The city is described as near the sea in modern era Gujarat a painting of the city in the 19th century lower In the Mahabharata it was a city located in what is now Dwarka formerly called Kushasthali the fort of which had to be repaired by the Yadavas 9 In this epic the city is described as a capital of the Anarta Kingdom According to the Harivamsa the city was located in the region of the Sindhu Kingdom 10 In the Hindu epics and the Puranas Dvaraka is called Dvaravati and is one of seven Tirtha pilgrimage sites for spiritual liberation The other six are Mathura Ayodhya Kashi Kanchipuram Avantika Ujjain and Puri 11 Contents 1 Description in the Harivamsa 2 Dvaraka in Hindu scripture 2 1 Description 2 2 Events 3 Related archaeology 4 Submergence 5 See also 6 References 7 Bibliography 8 Further readingDescription in the Harivamsa EditIn Harivamsa Dvaraka is described as largely built on submerged land released by the ocean 2 55 118 and 2 58 34 The city was the former sporting ground of the King Raivataka called Dvaravati which was squared like a chess board 2 56 29 Nearby was the mountain range Raivataka 2 56 27 the living place of the gods 2 55 111 The city was measured by Brahmins the foundations of the houses were laid and at least some of the houses were built by the Yadavas 2 58 9 15 It was built by Vishwakarman in one day 2 58 40 mentally 2 58 41 and 44 It had surrounding walls 2 58 48 and 53 with four main gates 2 58 16 Its houses were arranged in lines 2 58 41 and the city had high buildings 2 58 50 and 54 2 58 53 which almost touched the sky 2 58 50 and had doors that had the colour of white clouds 2 58 48 The fort walls of the city were shining with the colour of the Sun and pots of gold and sounds emanating from grand houses sparkling with golden colour 2 58 53 12 It had a temple area with a palace for Krishna himself which had a separate bathroom 2 58 43 The city is beautified on Earth by the ocean like Indra s heavenly city is beautified by an assembly of important jewels 2 58 47 66 2 58 49 Dvaraka in Hindu scripture Edit Left A painting from 15th century AD depicting scenes of Dvaraka in Harivamsa Right A painting of Sudama walking to Dvaraka from late 18th century Description Edit View of Dwaraka The following description of Dvaraka during Krishna s presence there appears in the Bhagavata Purana Srimad Bhagavatam 10 69 1 12 in connection with the sage Narada s visit The City was filled with the sounds of birds and bees flying about the parks and pleasure gardens while its lakes crowded with blooming indivara ambhoja kahlara kumuda and utpala lotuses resounded with the calls of swans and cranes Dvaraka boasted 900 000 royal palaces all constructed with crystal and silver and splendorously decorated with huge emeralds Inside these palaces the furnishings were bedecked with gold and jewels Traffic moved along a well laid out system of boulevards roads intersections and marketplaces and many assembly houses and temples of demigods graced the charming city The roads courtyards commercial streets and residential patios were all sprinkled with water and shaded from the sun s heat by banners waving from flagpoles In the city of Dvaraka was a beautiful private quarter worshiped by the planetary rulers This district where the demigod Vishvakarma had shown all his divine skill was the residential area of Lord Hari Krishna and thus it was gorgeously decorated by the sixteen thousand palaces of Lord Krishna s queens Narada Muni entered one of these immense palaces Supporting the palace were coral pillars decoratively inlaid with vaidurya gems Sapphires bedecked the walls and the floors glowed with perpetual brilliance In that palace Tvashta had arranged canopies with hanging strands of pearls there were also seats and beds fashioned of ivory and precious jewels In attendance were many well dressed maidservants bearing lockets on their necks and also armor clad guards with turbans fine uniforms and jeweled earrings The glow of numerous jewel studded lamps dispelled all darkness in the palace My dear king on the ornate ridges of the roof danced loudly crying peacocks who saw the fragrant aguru incense escaping through the holes of the latticed windows and mistook it for a cloud Events Edit Pandu s sons lived in Dwaraka during their exile to woods Their servants headed by Indrasena lived there for one year the 13th year 4 72 Bala Rama mentioned about a sacrificial fire of Dwaraka before he set for his pilgrimage over Sarasvati River 9 35 One should proceed with subdued senses and regulated diet to Dwaravati where by bathing in the holy place called Pindaraka 13 one obtaineth the fruit of the gift of gold in abundance 3 82 King Nriga in consequence of a single fault of his had to dwell for a long time at Dwaravati and Krishna became the cause of his rescue from that miserable plight 13 72 Sage Durvasa resided at Dwaravati for a long time 13 160 Arjuna visited Dwaravati during his military campaign after the Kurukshetra War 14 83 When the Pandavas retire from the world they visit the place where Dvaraka once used to be and see the city submerged under water Related archaeology EditDuring 1983 1990 the Marine Archaeology Unit of India s National Institute of Oceanography NIO carried out underwater excavations at Dwarka and Bet Dwarka 14 According to S R Rao The available archaeological evidence from onshore and offshore excavations confirms the existence of a city state with a couple of satellite towns in 1500 B C He considered it reasonable to conclude that this submerged city is the Dvaraka as described in the Mahabharata 15 Submergence EditIn the Mausala Parva of the Mahabharata Arjuna witnesses the submergence of Dvaraka and describes it as follows 16 The sea which had been beating against the shores suddenly broke the boundary that was imposed on it by nature The sea rushed into the city It coursed through the streets of the beautiful city The sea covered up everything in the city I saw the beautiful buildings becoming submerged one by one In a matter of a few moments it was all over The sea had now become as placid as a lake There was no trace of the city Dvaraka was just a name just a memory Mausala Parva of MahabharataSee also EditMarine archaeology in the Gulf of Cambay Dvaravati sila Dvaraka Kamboja route List of lost landsReferences Edit Manmatha Nath Dutt Vishnu Purana Harivamsa 1896 pages 283 286 Jaini P S 1993 Jaina Puranas A Puranic Counter Tradition ISBN 978 0 7914 1381 4 Bauer Jerome H 24 March 2005 Hero of Wonders Hero in Deeds Vasudeva Krishna in Jaina Cosmohistory In Beck Guy L ed Alternative Krishnas Regional and Vernacular Variations on a Hindu Deity SUNY Press pp 167 169 ISBN 978 0 7914 6415 1 Andhakavenhu Puttaa www vipassana info Retrieved 15 June 2008 Law B C 1941 India as Described in Early Texts of Buddhism and Jainism Luzac pp 99 101 Jaiswal S 1974 Historical Evolution of the Ram Legend Social Scientist 21 3 4 89 97 doi 10 2307 3517633 JSTOR 3517633 Mani Vettam 2010 Puranic Encyclopaedia 2nd ed Delhi Motilal Banarsidass p 89 ISBN 978 8120805972 Rajarajan R K K 2018 Dvaraka in Tamil Literature and Historical Tradition Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Pune XCV 70 90 Sharma Dr Ishwar Chandra Bimali O N eds 2004 Mahabharata Sanskrit Text and English Translation Translated by Dutt M N New Delhi Parimal Publications ASIN B0042LUAO4 2 56 22 30 Nagar Shanti Lal ed 2012 Harivamsa Purana p 555 ISBN 978 8178542188 Jean Holm John Bowker 2001 Sacred Place Bloomsbury Publishing p 70 ISBN 978 1 62356 623 4 A Harindranath ed March 2010 Chapter 2 58 ITRANS text dvAravatInagaranirmANam Building the City of Dvaravati Harivamsa in the Mahabharata Vishnuparva Sanskrit to ITRANS Sanskrit to English translated by A Purushothaman A Harindranath ITRANS text prepared by K S Ramachandran proofreading by Gilles Schaufelberger Mahabharata Resources Translators note Index to Mahabharata Resources Harivamsha Srimad Bhagavatam 11 1 12 Text Archived 2 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Pindaraka entry on Encyclopedia Indica Archived 4 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine S R Rao 1991 p 51 S R Rao 1991 p 59 Diana L Eck 26 March 2013 India A Sacred Geography Three Rivers Press p 382 ISBN 978 0 385 53192 4 Bibliography EditS R Rao 1991 Further excavations of the submerged city of Dwarka Recent Advances in Marine Archaeology Proceedings of the second Indian Conference on Marine Archaeology of Indian Ocean Countries January 1990 Marine Archaeology National Institute Of Oceanography pp 51 59 Gaur A S Sundaresh P Gudigar Sila Tripati K H Vora and S N Bandodkar 2000 Recent underwater explorations at Dwarka and surroundings of Okha Mandal Man and Environment XXV 1 67 74 Gaur A S and Sundaresh 2003 Onshore Excavation at Bet Dwarka Island in the Gulf of Kachchh Gujarat Man and Environment XXVIII 1 57 66 Further reading EditShikaripur Ranganatha Rao 1999 The lost city of Dvaraka Aditya Prakashan ISBN 9788186471487 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dvaraka amp oldid 1143326838, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
