Mystery of Dwarka, The Lost City of Krishna

Once upon a time, in the midst of sea lay a mystical kingdom. The city was home to 900 palaces, all made of gold. This golden city was supposed to have arisen out of the sea on the command of a person who is very much the heart of Hinduism. The story about the city is as much magical as the story of the man who built it. Legends surrounding this mysterious city fascinated poets and scholars for centuries. Poets have described the radiance cast by the island city as spreading over miles in the sea. The personality ruling over this kingdom was none other than Lord Krishna, the charismatic God ruling over the hearts of millions of devotees. Dwarka as the golden city was called, had many ‘Dwaras’ or ‘Gateways’ that were connected to the mainstream land via bridges.

The story of Krishna as told in the sacred scripture Srimad Bhagavatam, describes the scenario that led to the construction of Dwarka. Once, when Krishna was ruling the city of Mathura, the kingdom was repeatedly attacked by Jarasandha, the tyrant King of Magadha (the present day Bihar), around 17 times. The Monarch lost to Krishna in all 17 battles, and he attacked Mathura the 18th time. At this stage, Krishna decided to build a separate city on an island in the Western coast of India, to save his citizens, his Yadava clan from the trouble of repeated wars. The city was built by the divine architect, Vishwakarma himself. The city soon grew in fame and became the invincible pivot of Lord Krishna’s mission, housing thousands, in around 900 palaces. The city was well fortified and could be reached only by ship. Dwarka soon became a talking point everywhere, and commanded awe and wonder all over the world

When the Lord decided to unwind his mission, and left for His heavenly abode, the island of Dwarka also sunk, leaving traces of its wonderful existence only in scriptures, until recently when archeologist found an underwater kingdom of the coast of Dwarka town in Gujarat, supposed to be the original Dwarka. Dwarka was the first archeological site in India, where marine explorations were undertaken, and continued for four decades. Many amazing discoveries by marine archeologists and oceanographic studies over the last three decades point in no uncertain terms to the historicity of Krishna’s kingdom, the original Dwarka of the Mahabharata era. In 1963, the marine exploration carried out by the Deccan College in Pune and the department of archaeology, Government of Gujarat, unveiled many artifacts and inscriptions, hundreds of centuries old at a supposed Dwarka site.

The greatest exploration happened when the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conducted a second round of excavations under the direction of the famous underwater archeolog ist, S R Rao, leading to the discovery of Krishna’s Dwarka under the sea. The well-fortified city of Dwarka was discovered in between 1984 to 1990, extending more than half mile from the shore. The township was built in six sectors along the banks of a river. The foundation of boulders on which the city’s walls were erected proves that the land was reclaimed from the sea. What is amazing is that the general layout of the City of Dwarka described in the ancient texts agrees with that of the submerged city discovered by the Marine Archaelogical Unit. Many ancient inscriptions were also found. One of the inscriptions refers to Dwarka as the capital of the western coast of Saurashtra and more importantly states that Lord Krishna lived here.

Further, Marine Archeologists found a large number of stone structures, rectangular, semicircular and squared shaped, in water depths. They are randomly scattered over a large area. Moreover, many varieties of stone anchors were also found. These discoveries seem to suggest that Dwarka was once, one of the busiest ports along the western coast of Bharatvarsha (ancient India). Many more areas of original Dwarka may be discovered in near future. The discovery of the legendary city of Dwarka was an important landmark in the history of India. It dispelled the doubts raised by historians about the historicity of Mahabharata and Lord Krishna, and the very existence of Dwarka city. It has extended the history of Indian civilization from the present day to Vedic age.

A mystery,Now news and a fact

Great topic, well written with details. Karma for each post

who was the architect of Dwarka ?

The city was built by Vishwakarma on the order of Lord Krishna

Among seven holy sites 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. “ Ayodhyā Mathurā Māyā Kāsi Kāñchī Avantikā I Purī Dvārāvatī chaiva saptaitā moksadāyikāh II - Garuḍa Purāṇa I XVI .14 ”

Submersion into the Sea After Krishna left the earth for Vaikuntha,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: ...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. Dwaraka was just a name; just a memory. The Vishnu Purana also mentions the submersion of Dwarka, stating On the same day that Krishna departed from the earth the powerful dark-bodied Kali Age(KALYUG) descended. The oceans rose and submerged the whole of Dwarka.

Attack during Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Dwarka was attacked on the night of 7 September 1965 by Pakistan Navy under Operation Somnath. Dwarka was chosen for its proximity (200 km from Karachi Port). The Pakistani vessels fired over the main temple of Dwarka for more than 20 minutes. The ships fired around 50 shells each. Nearly all the shells remained unexploded.(Power of god if u can see)

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. A team of archeologists have carried out onshore and inter-tidal zone explorations and a few trial trenches were laid to trace a proper cultural sequence. The most potential sites, where a large number of antiquities were recovered are the sectors, Bet Dwarka-I, II, VI, and IX. The findings of Bet Dwarka may be divided into two broad periods: Pre-historic period which includes a small seal of conch shell engraved with a three-headed animal motif, 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.

[/b]Marine archeological findings[b] 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. Now,Because of the congress govt. All the archaelogical researches about ancient indian history is facing miseries And some of them are even struggling for their survival. EX. RAMSETU BRIDGE between INDIA & SRILANKA

Dwarka Kingdom A Painting depicting Krishna's Dwarka made during Akbar'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.

Ground,Sky,water or even under-earth..Wherever you go you will find the traces of ShriKrishna...You can demolish them but cannot destroy

Dvārakā Introduction In the Mahabharata, Dvārakā (also known as Dvāravatī, both names meaning "the many-gated [city]" in Sanskrit; sometimes transcribed as Dwaraka and Dwaravati respectively) is the capital of the Yadus who ruled the Anarta Kingdom.The city was situated on the western point of Gujarat, and is submerged in the sea as per the volume 16 of the epic Mahabharata. It was founded by a clan of Yadu chiefs who fled from the Surasena Kingdom to lead a peaceful life which they can't have if they remain in Surasena kingdom because of king Jarasandha of Magadha. The territory of Dwaraka included the Dwaraka Island, many neighbouring islands like the Antar Dwipa and the mainland area neighbouring the Anarta Kingdom. Dwaraka was a federation of many republics rather than a kingdom under a single king, the title of king of the Dwaraka-confederation being only titular.[citation needed] Within the Federation of Dwaraka were included the states of Andhakas, Vrishnis and Bhojas. The Yadavas ruling Dwaraka were also known as Dasarhas and Madhus. Prominent Yadava chiefs residing in Dwaraka included Vasudeva Krishna, Bala Rama, Satyaki, Kritavarma, Uddhava, Akrura and Ugrasena.

Dwaraka and Kusasthali Epic Indian cities and places (Titles and location names are in English.) Kusasthali was the older city, upon which the city of Dwaraka was built during the time of Vasudeva Krishna. To lead a peaceful life, Yadavas had to leave Mathura and flee to the city of Dwaravati. Due to Jarasandha, Yadavas fled towards the west. There was a delightful town towards the west called Kusasthali, adorned by the mountains of Raivata. In that city, they took up their abode. They rebuilt its fort and made it so strong that it became impregnable. Vasudeva Krishna took up his residence in Kusasthali at the city of Dwaraka. At Kusasthali, there was held a conclave of the Devas. Kuvera went to that place surrounded by grim visaged Yakshas, numbering three hundred maha-padmas, carrying various weapons.

Historical indian cities

Dvaraka sinks into the ocean Dwarakadheesh temple 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) The account of Dvaraka's sinking into the ocean is found in book 16 of the Mahabharata (Mausala Parva). Day by day strong winds blew. Earthen pots showed cracks or broke from no apparent cause. Society became corrupt. The day of the new moon coincided with the thirteenth (and the fourteenth) lunation. The fourteenth lunation has been made the fifteenth by Rahu once more. Such a day had happened at the time of the great battle of Bharatas. (Kurukshetra War). It has once more appeared. After that war 36 years had passed. The messengers proclaimed at the command of Vasudeva Krishna that the Vrishnis should make a journey to the seacoast for bathing in the sacred waters of the ocean. (16.2) The Yadavas, then, with their wives, proceeded to Prabhasa and took up their residence there, each in the (temporary) habitation that was assigned to him, and all having an abundance of provisions consisting of edibles and drink. The Vrishnis, mixing with wine the food that had been cooked for high-souled Brahmanas, gave it away unto monkeys and apes. Those heroes of fierce energy then began their high revels, of which drinking formed the chief feature, at Prabhasa. Then a dispute arose between Satyaki and Kritavarman on the wrongs they did in the Kurukshetra War. This dispute turned into a great massacre, in which all the Yadava heroes were slain. (16.3) Arjuna arrived at Dwaraka and addressed the chief officers, to prepare to leave Dwaraka within 7 days, as Dwaraka is going to sink in the ocean. Krishna's grandson Vajra was chosen as their king to be ruled at Indraprastha. Arjuna then proceeded to the place where the Vrishnis were slaughtered. Searching out the bodies then of Bala Rama, Arjuna caused them to be burnt by persons skilled in that act. On the seventh day, Arjuna evacuated Dwaraka Island. After all the people had set out, the ocean flooded Dvaraka, which still teemed with wealth of every kind, with its waters. Whatever portion of the ground was passed over, ocean immediately flooded over with his waters. Beholding this wonderful sight, the inhabitants of Dvaraka walked faster and faster. (16.7) Pandavas on their last journey before death, saw Dwaraka covered by ocean (17.1)

Construction of Dwarka Excavations done by Dr. S. R. Rao at Dwaraka lend support to its historicity, as well as the narratives in Pauranic scripture that describes the construction Dwaraka. “ "Fearing attack from Jarasangh and Kaalayvan on Mathura, Shri Krishna and Yadavas left Mathura and arrived at the coast of Saurashtra. They decided to build their capital in the coastal region and invoke the Vishwakarma the deity of construction. However, Vishwakarma says that the task can be completed only if Samudradev, the Lord of the sea provided some land. Shri Krishna worshipped Samudradev, who was pleased and gave them land measuring 12 yojans and the Lord vishwakarma build Dwaraka, a "city in gold". ”