Dwarka, Gujarat

Dwarka, Gujarat

The presiding deity of Shri Krishna known as Dwarkadhish, is an imposing edifice and a superb architectural monument. Temple is spread in the area of 1800 square feet, the temple consists of a shrine that is supported by 60 pillars of granite and sandstone. On the west side of the temple is the seat of Adi Shankaracharya, the great master of Hindu faith who visited the temple in the seventh century. For the scholars, a wall poster depicting the family tree tracing the lineage to Lord Krishna offers an interesting insight into the great Indian epic of Mahabharat.

An interesting history surrounds the idol installed at this temple. It is said that, taking pity on his old devotee Badana, who used to traverse the long distance from Dakor to Dwarka, God in the form of an idol went with him to Dakor. This enraged the priests at Dwarka, who chased Badana to retrieve the idol. Badana persuaded the priests to leave the deity in return of gold, where upon the priests agreed to withdraw. By a miracle, the idol became as light as the nose-ring, which was all that the poor widow could offer. But the Lord did not want to disappoint the priests. He therefore granted them a boon that they will find a replica in Dwarka on a particular day. Unable to resist their curiosity, the priests excavated at the suggested site a little too early, and found yet to grow idol, which is now enshrined at Dwarka.

The present shrine is not likely to be older than the Mughal period. The inscriptions on the pillars and other places do not appear to be older than the 15th century AD. There must have been an older shrine, which was probably destroyed by Mohmud Begada in 1473 AD. The present temple was probably constructed during the period of the great Mughal Emperor, Akbar.