Shree Dwarkadhish Temple- An Analysis

Dwarka is a coastal town in the Jamnagar district of Gujarat. Dwarka is situated towards the westernmost part of Gujarat, located on the tip of the Saurashtra Peninsula on the Arabian Sea. Traditionally, modern Dwarka is identified with Dwarka, mentioned in the Mahabharata as Krishna’s city. Dwarka of Dwarvati an ancient port is considered the gateway of India. Its antiquity goes back to the Mahabharat period. As per the popular Hindu epic, Dwarka was established by Lord Krishna to protect Yadavas from Jarasandha’s annoying attacks. It was constructed on the remains of the city of Kushasthali which was built by King Revanta in the past.

Small-scale excavations reveal that the history of Dwarka goes back to around 2000 years. Evidence for maritime trade of India with ancient Rome during the early Christian era was found during the excavation at Dwarka. The painted pot-shreds found from Bet-Dwarka or Shankhodvar was found to be from Harappan culture. (1900 – 1500 BC) which means that the habitation must be more than 4000 years old. The first clear historical record of the lost city is dated 574 A.D. and occurs in the Palitana Plates of Samanta Simhaditya. This inscription refers to Dwarka as the capital of the western coast of Saurashtra and still more important, states the city as the abode of Sri Krishna during his lifetime.

Sri Krishna has been worshipped in Dwarka since time immemorial. It is believed that Sri Krishna arrived here from Braj region in Uttar Pradesh to build the city. The name Dwarka came from two words- dwara(door) and ka(Brahma)- meaning the gateway for spiritual union with Brahma. It is believed that Dwarka was submerged in water after the death of Sri Krishna and the demise of the Yadava Dynasty. So, the present day Dwarka was the Kushasthali of ancient times.

It is also believed that Dwarka was rebuilt six times by different civilizations and present day Dwarka is the 7^th one. Present day Dwarka sits on the right side of river Gomati. There are many temples in Dwarka but one of the most important temples is the Dwarkadhish temple or Jagat Mandir which was originally built around 2000 years ago. There are also other temples in Dwarka like Nageshwar Mahadev, Rukmini temple, Bhalka Tirth, Gomati Ghat temples, Purushottamji temple, Devakiji temple etc. Dwarkadhish Temple is also home to one of the 4 Sri Adi Shankaracharya Peethas – Sharda Peetha. The other three are Jyotish Math at Badrinath, Sringeri Math in Karnataka, and Govardhan Math in Puri in Odisha. Sharda Peeth part of the temple is a new construction dedicated to Sri Adi Shankaracharya.

The original temple structure(over hari graha which is Sri Krishna’s residential place) is said to have been built by Sri Krishna’s grandson, Vajranabha, Dwarkadhish is another name for the ruler of Dwarka, Sri Krishna. The sanctum of the temple dates back to atleast 2500 years. Dwarkadhish temple or Jagat Mandir has a tall tower and a hall of audience. There are 2 entrances to the temple. The main entrance(north entrance) is called “Moksha Dwara” (Door to Salvation). The south entrance is called “Swarga Dwara” (Gate to Heaven). There are 56 steps on the Swarg Dwar side that lead to the temple from the Gomati Ghats. 

The present temple structure has Chalukya style of architecture from the 15^th – 16^th Century. The current structure is an amalgamation of parts that spread over a few centuries from 8th to 18th CE. The giant structure, the Bhavya temple stands with an elevation of about 80 meters or 250 feet making it as tall as a 25-story modern day building. On top of it is 25 ft long flagstaff. Mandapa has a tiered Shikhara. It stands on 72 pillars all of which are carved of a single stone. This has four stories and is interpreted as a representation of Char Dhams of the 4 most important temples in four corners of India. Dwarka is one of the 4 Dhams located in the western corner of India. The other 3 are Rameswaram temple in the South, Jagannath Puri temple in the East, and Badrinath temple in the North. The architecture is in general Solanki/Chalukya style that was prevalent in Gujarat for a long time. As per the archaeologists, the main temple can be attributed to 12-13th CE while the Sabha Mandap, also called Ladwa Mandap can be attributed to 15-16th CE. 

The main deity of the temple is Lord Dwarkadhish who is on the central altar and this deity represents the four-armed form of Vishnu called Trivikrama. There is a temple to the right of the main deity that contains the deity of Lord Baladevaji (Balarama), who is the elder brother of Sri Krishna. The shrine to the left of the main deity contains a big murthy of Pradyumna(son of Sri Krishna) and a small murthy of Aniruddha (grandson of Sri Krishna). Opposite to this shrine of Pradyumna and Aniruddha is the shrine of Purusottama(Sri Mahavishnu). Next to this shrine of Purusottama, is a shrine dedicated to Kuseswara Mahadeva (Shiva). The shrine facing the deity of Dwarkadhish temple is dedicated to Devaki(mother of Sri Krishna). Next to the shrine of Devaki, there is a temple dedicated to Veni-Madhava(Sri Mahavishnu). Behind the main shrine in the eastern part of the temple complex are shrines of Radhikaji, Jambavati, Satyabhama and Lakshmi. There are also shrines of Saraswati and Lakshmi-Narayana.

There are 2 contrasting beliefs about the 2.25 feet high carved black stone Murti of the Dwarkadhish temple which we worship today. The first belief is that the current Murti is said to be the 3^rd Murti in this temple. The first Murti that is believed to be worshipped even by Rukmini, the first queen of Krishna, is now in Bet Dwarka temple. It was taken there to protect it from the foreign invaders. There is an interesting history associated with the second Murti. Bodana, an old devotee, used to come daily from Dakor to Dwarka, in order to have a darshan of 2^nd Murti of Dwarkadhish temple. Sri Dwarkadhish(Sri Krishna) was very pleased with his devotion that one day suddenly, he went to Dakor along with Bodana. The priests of Dwarkadhish temple assumed that Badana had stolen the Murti. The enraged priests chased Bodana to get back the Murti to Dwarkadhish temple. Bodana then convinced the priests to leave the Murti in exchange of gold in form of a nose ring. The Priests accepted this exchange. So the 2^nd Murti was shifted to a temple in Dakor. At the same time, priests at Dwarka had the epiphany that there is another Murti of Sri Krishna at Savitri Talaav. They dug the place in a hurry and out came the incomplete idol. The eyes were not yet formed. This is the current 3^rd Murti of the Dwarkadhish that is being worshipped even today. The second belief was that the Murti was hidden in the Savitri Talaav to keep it safe from the repeated attacks by the invaders.

I will try to briefly summarize the history associated with the temple. Around 400 BC, Vajranabha(a descendant of Sri Krishna) had constructed a Chhatri (a monument in the shape of an umbrella) and placed Lord Krishna’s idol there. In 885 AD, the temple was renovated by Shree Nrushimhaashrma, head of the Shreemad Jagadguru Shankaracharya Peetha. In 1241 AD, Mohammad Shah invaded Dwarka and damaged the temple and during this battle, five Brahmins (Virajee Thakar, Nathu Thakar, Karasan Thakar, Valjee Thakar, and Devasee Thakar) fought against him, died, and were honored as martyrs. A shrine was built near the temple in their honor and at present is known as “Panch Peer”.

In 1473 AD, the Gujarat Sultan Mahmud Begada, attacked the city and destroyed the temple of Dwarka. The Jagat Temple or the Dwarakadhisa temple was later rebuilt. Vallabhacharya retrieved an idol of Dwarkadhish, which was revered by Rukmini. He hid it in a stepwell, known as Savitri vav, during the Muslim invasion, to protect it. In the year 1551, when Turk Aziz invaded Dwarka, the idol was shifted to the island of Bet Dwarka. In 1861 AD, Dwarakadhish Temple was renovated by Maharaja Khanderao and the temple Shikara was repaired by the British. Shankaracharya of Dwarka renovated the temple in 1958. During the same period, Maharaja Gaikwad of Baroda added a golden pinnacle to the shikhara of the temple.

All the rituals and ceremonies of Dwarkadhish Temple were traditionally done by Guggali Brahmins. It is believed that Sri Krishna himself brought these Brahmin families to Dwarka. There were frequent conflicts between the Shardapeeth, its administrators and local Guggali Bramins regarding the pooja vidhi and rituals performed at Jagat Mandir. Considering the importance of the place, then Shrimant Gayakwad State(Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Maharaja of Baroda State), had taken the administration under government preview from 1903.

Afterwards in 1932, the Gayakwad state had instituted a member council to decide the rituals and pooja vidhis of the temple. Subsequently, ever since 1960, Sri Dwarkadhish temple has been under the control of the Government. The temple has been registered as a trust with the charity commissioner. Presently, the administration of the temple is done by a committee consisting of bureaucrats, and representatives of local bodies and residents. So, basically, the committee consists of Government officers and private parties. The sad part here is that an IAS Officer is the President of the Committee and Deputy Collector is the Member Secretary of the Committee. This is the same issue with many temples where the Ministers, MLAs or Tehsildars or IAS Officers etc are heading a temple trust which gives them too much power with regard to temple administration. The fact that these Government officials are head of a temple trust for eternity or perpetuity clearly violates the fundamental rights of the Hindu Community.

With regard to Dwarkadhish temple, the present committee (where the IAS officer is the president) is valid from 12.07.2001 as per the temple website. As of 2015, the stones of Sri Dwarkadhish temple were worn out and significant portions of temple buildings were in dilapidated condition. The Vice Chairman of Gujarat Pavitra Yatradham Vikas Board stated, “Temples of Shri Dwarkadhishji and Shri Rukshminiji at Dwarka require urgent attention for repairing, renovation and restoration works. It was observed that many stones are worn out, and enfeebled due to the exposure to the Sun and rain all these years and impaired by use. Many portions of these temple buildings are quite in dilapidated condition”.  Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has allotted 45 lakh as a special grant for the conservation and restoration of these 2 temples but there are still concerns that one of the most important temple in one of the most important places for a Hindu should not be in this sort of condition in the first place.

The same question arises for Sri Dwarkadhish temple as for many other temples which are under Government Control i.e. for how long Sri Dwarkadhish temple will be under the control of the State and for how long will it violate the fundamental rights of the Hindu Community by way of Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution?

References:

1. http://mahabharata-research.com/about%20the%20epic/the%20lost%20city%20of%20dwarka.html
2. https://indianmandirs.blogspot.com/2013/11/dwarka-lord-sri-krishnas-kingdom.html
3. https://kreately.in/jagat-mandir-dwarka/
4. https://www.inditales.com/architecture-dwarkadhish-temple-dwarka/
5. https://www.pndwarka.com/home/
6. https://tours.sacredyatra.com/dwarka/dwarkadhish-temple-history/
7. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/gujarat/after-pmos-intervention-asi-allots-rs-45-lakh-for-restoration-of-dwarkadhish-temple/