Since it is
the election season despite our keen interest about the outcome of the
elections, as we set off on a road trip to Dwarka from Somnath, 230 km away,
our focus has shifted to the inside story of Gujarat. This election season,
progress and development of Gujarat has been the key electoral issue and people
all over the nation are keen to learn about this state in particular and about
the progress & welfare of people in particular. So we were all eyes to
observe every nook and corner of the state during our long drive. Long drives
offer the best opportunity to interact with people and the liberty to break the
journey any time to investigate a new place. It is surprising that people in
this region seems to have unambiguous and unequivocal stance on various issues and majority seem to be satisfied with the present state of affairs.
The stretch
of the Kathiawar peninsula we are travelling is humid and extremely hot. Due to
some preoccupations we started little late in the day so had to bear the brunt
of the scorching heat. But it has been a visual treat to drive through the
country side. People are very friendly decked up in colourful and bright clothes
from top to bottom, a guileless way of protecting themselves from the hot
climate. Both men and women are seen wearing several ornaments and gold
nuggets. The roads undeniably were good by Indian standards except for very
patches where construction was going on. During our entire course of journey we
came across with constructions or renovations. This region has lush green
fields with cotton, sugarcane and castor crops. Apart from these small
luxurious patches in certain village hamlets with coconut plantations and other
fruit trees reminded me of the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh.
Dhirubhai Ambani's House at Chorwad
Around 30 km
from Somanth, we stopped at a place Chorwad. a village on International map for
being the native place of the industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of Reliance
Industries in Bombay. We had a glance of the building where the industrialist
lived. A memorial was instituted in 2011 in the building commemorating his 80th
birth anniversary. Our next stopover was Madhavpur beach, a beautiful coastline
lined with coconut trees. It is believed that Lord Krishna married Rukmini in
this village Madhavpur. It acclaimed importance as it has a long conservation
project on the endangered marine species Green Sea and Olive Ridley Turtles.
Madhavpur beach
The long
drive along the coastline is fantastic with the cool sea breeze giving respite
from the hot sun. Further this entire stretch of the coastline has numerous
1000 MW windmills installed by the Suzlon Corporation to tap the unexplored
potential of the huge coastline of Gujarat. We briefly halted at the temple of
Narvai mata a famous Goddess of the region with Crocodile as her carrier. The
temple is located besides the road but was calm, quiet with lot of positive
vibes.
We were then
eagerly looking forward for our next halt Porbander. The city is incidentally
the birthplace of Sudhama and Mirabhai (devotee of Lord Krishna). As we entered the city, we were advised to
visit Sudhamapuri, a temple dedicated to Lord Krishna’s friend Sudhama. This
place is highly revered among the Rajasthani Kshatryia’s who visit the temple
immediately after marriage to confess sins and invoke blessings of Sudhama for
a happy married life. This temple was
built in early 1900 in the centre of the city. Interestingly, this temple has a
maze and there is a popular belief that crossing the maze would remove all the
sins. Though I simply dismissed the belief I crossed the maze just to get rid
of the weariness of the journey and to adorn a playful mood.
Maze at Sudhamapuri
Our next
halt was the much awaited Kirti Mandir the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi. It is
memorial built in memory of Mahatma Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi. As we entered
the place a mystic serenity dawned upon us and flabbergasted at the reverential
salutes offered by a group of Marathi ladies ahead of us in the Mandir. These
kind of innocent gestures are indeed reflections of adulations of common man
who hold the father of nation in high esteem. The original birthplace of
Gandhiji is adjacent to Kirti Mandir. The Mandir is 79 ft high signifying the
79 eventful years of Gandhi. The Old house of Gandhi was bought by his great
grandfather Harjivan Raidas Gandhi who renovated it into a three storied
building with 22 rooms. A narrow path from Gandhi’s ancestral house leads to
Kasturba’s house. The road leading to Kasturba’s house was raided by stray dogs
and cows and was poorly maintained. We went inside the two-storied house and
offered tributes to the undaunted, legendary women of our nation. Next we moved
on to the gallery and museum which has a collection of various possessions of
the Gandhi family and photographs. Mandir also has a Balamandir and a library.
The place epitomises the triumph of truth and non-violence in India’s long
struggle for Independence. The huge life-size oil paintings of Mahatma Gandhi
and Kasturba at the centre of the Mandir sanctify the place and emanate
audacious vibrations. After this magnificent experience, we moved on to Mool
Dwarka, our next stop.
Mool Dwarka
is few kilometres away from Porbander, the place where Lord Krishna stopped
after leaving Mathura. The place has several tiny temples with Sivaling on the
path leading to the main entrance of the temple. The main temple has the idol
of Ranncchod as Lord Krishna was called after tricking Kaalyavaan, who had a
boon that he cannot be killed by any weapon, into a one to one battle and then
flees to a lonely place. Infuriated Kaalyvaan then calls Krishna Ranncchod (one
who flees the battle field). At this stage Krishna enters a cave where King
Muchkund was sleeping. King Muchkund obtained a boon from Devatas that he would
be asleep for a longtime and whosoever disturbs his sleeps would be burnt into
ashes. Krishna tactful leaves his robe on the sleeping king and Kaalyavaan
mistaking him for Krishna wakes him up and gets annihilated. The temple also
has a Siddheshwar Mahadev with a Swamyambhu Sivaling. Just opposite to
this temple complex is an archway that leads to a two storied a step-well.
Except for the main temple complex, other structures in that compound are
deserted and poorly maintained. We were deeply upset by the gross neglect of the
concerned authorities. Alas!!! Places of
religious significance which are adored by people were neglected and stagnated
to ruins.
Mool Dwarka
Back to
wheels, we commenced our journey after breaking for a late lunch towards
Dwarka. The next important stopover was HarSiddhi Temple in the village Harshad.
The route to Harsidhhi Temple was fantastic with back waters lashing towards
the shores of this village. The beauty of these waters is enhanced by numerous water
birds which are perching in the tall grass lands and trees nearby. HarSiddhi as
an incarnation of Amba was worshipped by Lord Krishna who constructed a temple
atop of the hill Koyla Dungar. It was kuladevi of yadavas. Later Jadgu Shah, a
Jain merchant built a temple new temple in 13th century below the
hill, we visited the temple below the hill where the main idol is worshipped
now. There is a Harsiddhi mata temple in Ujjain, which was worshipped by
Vikramaditya. It is believed that Vikramaditya requested the mata to come to
his kingdom at Ujjain where he could worship her daily. The Goddess obliged and
we were indeed lucky for having visited the temple in Ujjain as well. We then quickly moved onto our final
destination Dwarka.
Dwarka is
one of the ancient cities of India. It is regarded as one of the four most sacred
Hindu pilgrimage sites of chardham. The other three are Rameshwaram, Badrinath
and Puri. Located at almost the tip of Kathiawar peninsula, it was the capital
city of Krishna who built his kingdom after leaving Mathura. It one of the
oldest sunken cities and even now Archaeologists comprising a strong group of scuba
divers are actively searching underwater in the Arabian Sea for the ancient artefacts
of this city. Dwarka has the famous Dwarakadeesh Temple (King of Dwarka, Lord Sri
Krishna) originally constructed in 6th century on the banks of river
Gomti by Krishna’s Grandson Vajranbha over Lord Krishna’s residential place.
Around 8th century, Adi Shankaracharya visited the temple and worked
towards its renovation. Currently a Shankaracharya mutt is constructed in his
honour abutting the main temple.
The present
temple is 2500 years old five storied complex supported by 72 pillars with two
entrances, the main entrance in the north (Moksha Dwar) and Southern entrance (Swarga
Dwar). A flight of 56 steps from South entrance leads to the banks of river
Gomti. It is believed that the original idol was hidden for several years to
protect it from the Muslim invasions and an idol from Rukmini’s temple was
installed in its absence. Sri
Vallabhacharya was believed to have reinstalled the original idol after the
construction of new temple. The old temple was desecrated by a Muslim king
Muhammed Shah in the year 1241 and was declared as panch peer after breaking
the temple into five pieces.
Dwarakadeesh Temple in day light
The temple
is also referred to as Jagad Mandir with exquisite carvings on outside while
the interior of temple is strikingly simple. It has a mystic beauty in day
light and under lights. Just inside as we enter through north entrance on to
the right side there is an idol of Veneshwar Mahadev in the basement. The idol
of Dwarakadeesh is 1 mt long made in a shiny black stone with four arms holding
conch, chakra, a mace and a lotus. The temple complex has small temples
dedicated to mother Devaki, consorts Rukmini, Jambavati and other queens,
devotee Mirabhai, sons Pradhyumna, Anirudh and brother Balaram. Jagad Mandir
has a very unique tradition of hoisting flag on the summit of temple. The flag is 52 yards long with
symbols of sun and moon and made in colours of green, yellow, pink, blue, red
and white. It is changed five times a day. We had the privilege of watching one
such flag installation ceremony. Devotees throng the temple premises and sing
song in praise of Dwarakadeesh during the entire event. It is a spine chilling
event to observe priests scaling 100 ft high for changing the flags. Though
there was a continuous stream of tourists in the temple we could have a very
quick darshan as no one was allowed
to stand before the idol and pray. Consequently, we could even experience the
supreme bliss of the Divine Harathi
at night. From the temple’s south entrance we descended 56 stairs to reach the
Gomti River. Since it has grown dark we couldn’t really enjoy its beauty but
there were few devotees who were gently lowering diyas into the river.
Rukmini Devi Temple
Then we
strolled on the roads at night to experience the culture of the one of the
oldest cities of India. The city has a huge population of cows and especially
the smell of cow dung pervades across all the lanes of the market area.
Undoubtedly they have the best dairy products which are relatively
unadulterated and pure as compared to the milk available in cities. Next morning we set out early to first visit
Rukmini Devi temple 8 km from Dwarka in the north. It is a lonely temple sprung
apart from the main city. Old legend about the temple says that sage Durvasa
cursed Rukmini who took a sip of water without offering Durvasa. Angered by her
impoliteness, he cursed that she would be separated from her husband for 12
years and it is also the reason why water in Dwarka is salty. The temple has a
richly carved exterior with sculptures of various nartakis and elephants at the
base. But sadly till date the people in that area have no access to
uninterrupted supply of drinking water. Priests of the temple were urging
tourists to make donations towards buying tankers of drinking water. As a token
of gratitude to the donors a glass of drinking water is offered to all the
visitors of temple as Prasad.
Rukmini Devi temple carvings
We then moved
on to Nageswar Jyotirling, popularised by Gulshan Kumar of T-series who donated
huge sums towards temple maintenance and development. Temple is relatively a
newly construction and the sacred Sivaling is located in the basement of the
sanctum sanctorum. The Shivaling is in
stone and it is trilobed at the top resembling the head of a rudraksha. Within
the premises there is a huge statue of Lord Shiva. The calm and tranquil
location of the temple offered sumptuous blessedness and rapture. On the way to
Beyt Dwarka we stopped at Gopi Talav, 20 km from Dwarka. Locals say that unable
to bear the pain of separation from Krishna, Gopis from Mathura came to visit
him at this place. Further, after dancing with him for a last time on Sharad
Purnima day, 999 Gopis offered their lives in this pond and merged with the
Lord. It is believed that they have turned into yellow clay. Even now the soil
of the pond is smooth and yellow and it is sold as Gopi Chandan. There are small temples of Krishna, Rukmini, SriRama
and others adjacent to the pond. We were not really impressed as the real sheen
is lost due to poor upkeep.
Gopi Talav
Our next
stop was Beyt Dwarka, an island, which can be reached from the Okha port in a
boat. Okha is 30 km from Dwarka and the last point on the western frontier of
India. By the time we reached Okha port, it was extremely crowded with visitors
vying for a place in the the boats and almost all the boats were packed to the
maximum limit. It was a hot sunny morning at 10am in the morning. Further the overcrowding
on board and the heat of the reflected sunrays from the sea surface added to
severe discomfort. As soon as we got off the boat, we engaged a autorickshaw to
reach the temple, located inside narrow lanes. Most of the religious scripts refer to Beyt
Dwarka as the original abode of Lord Krishna. The huge temple which was 500
years old was built by Sri Vallabhacharya and the idol was believed to be built
by Rukmini. The bright beautiful idol of the lord was a visual treat and mere
glance of the Lord dispelled away our weariness. Beyt Dwarka was also the place
where Krishna met his friend Sudhama. Some of the ancient relics were up for
display in the inner chambers of the temple. Small temples are dedicated to
Hanuman, SriRama, Mahadev, Rukmini, Satyabhama and Jambhavati inside the
premises. As we just came out of the
temple we had a tough time escaping a huge herd of cows and on our return
journey at the Okha port we were impromptu greeted by street vendors selling
chilled dahi in earthen pots and plastic cups, a speciality of this place. We
later found out that Beyt Dwarka is venerated and visited by Muslims and Sikhs
in large numbers as the island has a shrine of Haji Kirmani Pir and a
Gurudwara.
In the
evening we visited other tourist attractions within Dwarka. Almost all the
temples in Dwarka are located close to the seashore. We first visited the light
house and sat down at the sunset location to bid farewell to the waning sun. It
was extremely beautiful sight and then walked on the sands and reached Bhadkeshwar
Temple. The temple rests on the edge of the sea and offers an awesome view of
the sea and sunset. A small path from the beach leads towards the temple built
on the rocks lashed by the seawaters. It is small temple dedicated to Mahadev. After
a nice camel ride on the beach, we left for Gayatri Shakti Peeth, a relatively
new construction managed by a private trust. It had idols of Gayatri, Savitri
and Lakshmi Devi. Next we visited a very old Siddheswar Mahadev temple. It had very old water well and a bore pump in
its front yard. The temple was very lively and brightly lit. Next we stopped at
Swami Narayana Temple built within a guest house and maintained by BAPS (Bochasanwasi
Shri Akshar Purushottam Swami Narayana Sansthan). After the darshan in the
temple, we walked to the main market and savoured the local Gujarati Thalli for
dinner. Our entire trip to Saurashtra was awesome. We left the place for Delhi with
everlasting memories of the sacred places and the friendly people who made our
trip remarkable.
Sunset at Dwarka beach
Bhadkeshwar Mahadev Temple
Photography courtesy: Dr. Bhaskar Teegela and Samanvit Teegela
@ Copyrights reserved.
2 comments:
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