What we saw on the way to
Dwarka was an eye opener. The devotion towards Lord Krishna, the philanthropy,
the faith and the orderly way of the processions of scores of people coming
from all part of Gujarat, yet no traffic jams, no unruly behavior or any
untoward incident, was self-explanatory to the life style of people of Gujarat
in general.
Holi the festival of colors
was just two days away and people from
all over Gujarat were thronging to Dwarka to welcome Lord Krishna and Rukmani
along with Radha and play Holi with them. This is the tradition going for
centuries and people go on foot carrying palki (palanquin) of Lord. Every 1-2
km. camps with medical facility, fresh fruits, water, and food could be
spotted.
We stopped at one such camp
and despite of telling that we are travelling by car and those who are braving
sun and long walk require the juicy watermelon they were serving, they
requested us to partake their offering saying it is Lords Prasad, do have it.
Their love and selfless service floored us.
The 6 hour drive was as
enjoyable as it could get. As far as possible, I prefer road journey to rail or
plane, as I get to see the county side, interact with local people, learn about
their culture and of course have the local food.
Some parts were dry and
parched but some stretches where rain God smiles more, we could see paddy field and coconut grooves.
Birds local as well as migratory live in peaceful coexistence with human.
The desire to reach Dev Bhoomi Dwarka was so intense that we decided not to stop for lunch and make do with the fruits and other eatables we were carrying.
The county side is dotted with
wind mills and each and every village gets electricity 24x7. Amazing
achievement by Gujarat Govt. and visionary then CM Mr. Narendra Modi! I am an
apolitical person thus can appreciate good work and criticize wrong doing
without hesitation. Proof of the prosperity due to good roads and wind energy
is in seeing this place.
The sea wind started blowing
through the open window of car indicating approaching of Dwarka. Some people
say sea route (Ferry) would reduce the travel time, but then how can one see
the marvel of nature and mankind if taking shortcuts?? To be a tourist and a visitor is different. I
want to be a visitor, imbibing every bit the place has to offer.
Dwarka is situated by the
Arabian Sea and the whole place gives a feeling of calm and satisfaction
Our hotel was just next to the
platform situated by the sea side. The view was amazing. May be my faith makes
me biased but I did feel some divine, positive energy in the cluttered, lanes
and by lanes of this place.
The huge platform by the
seaside gives a resting place under the stars to the devotees, tourists, and
people who love listening to the symphony of sea under the watchful eyes of stars
from above. No body disturbs other, here life is as peaceful as it can get. It
was a pleasant surprise to see shlokas of Geeta inscribed on the stones mounted
on the pillars rather than politicians name being in plaques.
Nice vegetarian lunch and good rest invigorated our energy and we were ready to go to have darshan of Dwarka Dheesh (Doors of temple open by 4pm). Though preparation for Holi festival were in full swing yet everything was very orderly, queuing up after entering from Swarga Dwaar (Door to heaven) to exit from Moksha Dwaar. We had nice darshan while the evening Aarti (prayers) were going on. Since it was past 6 pm the boat ride to Gomati River was stopped for the day, but then that gave us a chance to quench our thirst of having darshan again. Such is the attraction of that place that one does not want to leave.
Till now I did not even notice the beautiful carvings, pillars, and the huge Pataka (Flag) atop the highest point of (170 feet) of the temple. (It was just Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare)
The changing lights of the
temple façade, the flowing Pataka, the chanting of hymns, all add to the mystic
glory of the temple and its surrounding.
My heart was saying please stay here, but we had to go to Byet Dwarka the next day and the driver had to take good rest thus we left and sat by the seaside to enjoy the breeze and beauty of splashing waves of Arabian sea.
To go to Byet Dwarka one has
to travel almost 40 km, public transport is available till jetty, from there we
had to take ferry for Beyt Dwarka. The co-existence of Mosque and Lord Krishna abode in the sma small island is indicative of unity in diversity in Hindustan (India).
The flock of hundreds of sea birds, huge waves rocking the ferry and the birds eating out from our hand was an amazing experience. I was too excited and once again the child within me was awakened, I fed the birds popcorn, I shrieked when they came too near, I clapped when they caught nuts thrown in air and I clicked as many phots as I could. I was mesmerized.
Getting down from ferry we hailed an auto to go to the temple which was on the height and 1-2 km away. It was very bright and hot so the to and fro auto.
The temple is so serene,
beautiful place, exquisite carving, the architect of golden era of this place
cannot be described in words. One has to see to understand the aura of the
place and appreciate it.
Surprisingly there were no
priests (agents of God as I call them) harassing the visitors and faithful. Certain
fixed number of people are allowed turn by turn and given a tour of the place
and one is free to worship, pray for as long one wants. Everything is
maintained by the temple trust, no charges are levied for any services
rendered.
Photography inside is not
allowed, but then who wanted to spend time in taking picture in such a place?
Certainly not me, I wanted to see every minute thing, listen to the person
guiding us through the temple premise and pray to Lord for prosperity and peace.
Second visit to Dwarka is in my
mind and I intend to spend a week there, exploring the area and learning about
the history and archeological facts of the city, Dev darshan being integral
part of the visit. Lord Krishna I was besotted by you since childhood. I feel
privileged that I could visit this Dev Bhoomi, one of the Chardhaams with my
husband.
Being one of the four Dhaams
(lords residing place) this place boasts of many centuries old temples. It is
said that after Byet Dwarka one must visit Radha and Rukmani temple.
This completed our parikrama of Dwarka.
How can I go away from sea
side without watching sunset (being in west sunset could be seen by seaside
very nicely) thus the evening was spent near Shiva temple and we feasted our
eyes to a beautiful sunset with fishing trawlers in the sea and huge waves
splashing the rocks.
Tomorrow we have to leave early in the morning for Somnath and on the way see all the temples and listen to the fables, the temples in this district are many centuries old and have their own history.
On the parting note: To all
those who believe and propagate that Lord Krishna had 16800 wives, well it is a
misconstrued story. Lord saved on the of Narhar Chaturdashi (Narak Chaturdashi)
the 16000 ladies imprisoned by Cruel King Narhar (also called Rakshasa Narhar)
and they regarded Lord Krishna as their savior and Like their husband. Krishna
never married so many wives. He had Rukmani and Satyabhama (and according to different
holy books 6 more) as wife. Radha was an ardent devotee and took an oath of
taking Lord as her husband and never married. She devoted her life to Krishna thus
is worshipped with Krishna.
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