Om Namoh Narayanaya
TEERTHAYAATRA TO PANCHA DWARAKA
(2nd to 12th Aug 2023)
Author: Sindhu Satish (Architect & Professor)
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Every inch of my Bhaarat is a Teerthabhumi!
- Swami Vivekananda
DAY 2 - AUG 3rd, 2023
Dakor Dwaraka
As instructed, we were all gathered in the dining hall at sharp 5.00 am. We sat sipping hot coffee eagerly to hear about the day’s schedule. We were asked to assemble at 6.00 am to proceed to Dakor for Ranchhodrai’s darshanam. This would be our first place & temple among Pancha Dwaraka.
Why did Lord Krishna shift to Dwarka from Mathura? Why is he referred as Ranchhodrai?
Sri Krishna was born in Mathura which was not less than 1000 km North East of Dwarka. This brings us to wonder why the new city of Dwaraka was established so far from his birthplace. Now as we recount, in the Mahabharatha, Lord Krishna kills his maternal uncle and the evil ruler Kamsa of Mathura. He then places Kamsa’s father Ugrasena as chief of Mathura. Jarasandha Kamsa’s father-in-law who was the powerful ruler of Magadha wanted to avenge Kamsa’s death and attacked Mathura 18 times. However, he fails due to the defensive tactics put in place by Lord Krishna and his brother Balarama. But soon Lord Krishna realizes that all the material resources were expending only to defend Mathura. For the sake of progress of the people it is but imperative to make a strategic withdrawal. Thus, the new city of Dwaraka was to be located 1000 of kms to the southwest of Mathura which was simply out of reach of Jarasandha’s army. Mathura lay along the banks of the river Yamuna a tributary of the once mighty Saraswathi. If Lord Krishna had simply followed the route the Yamuna to the point where it met Saraswathi and followed Saraswati to the point where she drained out into the sea it would be the Run of Kutch a metaphoric stone’s throw away from Dwarka. Mathura and Dwarka were simply the starting and ending points provided by the bountiful Saraswathi. This decision resulted in Lord Krishna being branded “Ranchod.” The one who leaves the battlefield for ever. Even today people of Gujarat refer to Lord Krishna as Ranchod.
At 6:00 am, ladies dressed traditionally in sarees (some in Madisar) men in Kachche panche, shalya with tiruman (Nama) and Sricharanam everyone gathered at the hotel’s lobby fully charged. We clicked few selfies as we waited for two AC buses to arrive. The bus which took us around the previous day was to be now replaced by another AC bus of larger capacity. By 6.30 am we were all settling in the bus and in two and half hour reached later we were at Dakor by 9.00 am. We were all taken to what looked like a Mutt. It had a huge Hall with a raised chamber which housed Krishna and Radha deities. Few cells on to the right had idols of Gurus and Archaryas including Ramanujacharya. On the left side of the hall were many rooms, typical rooms on the mezzanine floor above them indicating, that at times this served as a wedding hall. Tasty Pongal, vada, halwa with coffee was quickly served. We then walked about 200 to 250 m to Dakor temple.
I could feel my adrenaline rush as I came out into the buzzing street which seemed awfully chaotic. With tourists, temple visitors walking in groups, locals mostly on two wheelers, dogs, cows all on the same narrow street. The stretch had usual souvenir shops on either side with colourful luring items displayed. I couldn’t help but make note of things that I might want to see on the way back. The loud and continuous horns from passing vehicles pierced our ears masking all other possible street noises. This seemed the only way that local people on bikes could move through this street full of people and stray animals. We also managed to wade through this narrow galli to emerge right outside the temple precinct. soon we identified the long queue along the outside wall of the temple and hurriedly joined it.
As we moved swiftly with crowd from one of the side entries to the right, I was dumb struck by overwhelming sight. The hall looked round and vast with a high ceiling of the central large dome richly painted. Although baffled by the pushing confused crowd I could not but loose myself in the admiration of the beauty of this temple. Every inch be it ceiling of the dome or walls all covered in glittering colourful paintings. Stories from Lord Krishna’s life. The maddening crowd simply pushed everyone ahead. I had to forcefully tear my mesmerized self from the physical envelope of the temple towards the sanctum which was located on the right side as I moved closer to the sanctum sanctorum. I struggled and strutted my neck out amidst the entangled people to get a glimse of Dakorji , but suddenly saw a young priest swinging from the high platform in front of the sanctum tied on a rope holding a big bowl taking it right into the assembled crowd of devotees to collect their offerings. I managed to put a note that I was clutching all along in my palm and just then I was shoved by the crowd on to the railing which separated the rest of the crowd mostly men. I managed to rest on the railing raising on my toe stood straight balancing myself. I was now directly in line with the stunning deity of Dakorji. He looked beautiful adorned with gold jewels and expensive clothes. He appeared to be smiling as I stood there for a long time at the edge buttressing against the railing from pushing women in the crowd who appeared like waves in the ocean raising and falling. Standing there for a long while satisfied with good darshan of Dakorji I decided to join the ocean of people. I was literally pushed out. It was only when I came out clearly separated from my group that I realised there were two separate queues for men and women. The men were at the back while we women were given the privilege of standing in the line right opposite the diety. Soon, one by one our group members assembled out and moved ahead to locate ourselves strategically to see the flag (dwaja) hoisted on the shikara. At that time a person assigned was changing the flag. We then sat in a shade and recited few shlokas with our guru Ravi Maama. Chanting shlokas inside the temple gave me an unexplainable happiness and peace.
Coming out of the temple we gathered our footwear and went straight to Gomati Ghat which was right there a few meters way. The ghat was very dirty and disappointed me. River looked extremely filthy with all the garbage trashed into the river gathered effortlessly on the edge. However, the small domed structures that sat lined on the other side of river edge defined the skyline. This looked beautiful. Some of us tasted the local savoury dish Dakor Gota with thick curds which was amazingly tasty. I managed to do a bit of quick shopping and walked back to where our bus was stationed near the mutt.
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| Dakor Ghat Architecture, Dakor Temple -The main temple situated near the banks of Gomti is enclosed by a fort wall. The temple sits on a high plinth with steps on all side and is surrounded by a courtyard. The temple is covered with 8 domes 24 turrets. The central dome is about 27m high crowned with golden Kalasha and a white silk flag is the tallest temple in this district of Kheda. Although the temple built of brick walls and stone pillars has no carvings like the typical temples this structure built in 1772 CE built by Shri Gopalrao Jagannath Tambwekar a shroff of a peshwa’s court in Poona, is magnificent. The main cupola derives its influence from Maharashtrian style of temple architecture. The main deity Ranchhodrai is a petite framed idol made in black touchstone about 1m tall. Throne of Ranchodrai is an ornate masterpiece of wooden carving plated in silver and gold. The upper floors of the gate there is a tokorkhana (Music room) where music is played on shehnai and drums daily every three hours. |
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| Dakor- Ranchhodrai’s temple |
We travelled back to Ahmedabad reaching our hotel by 2.30pm. Finishing lunch, soon we headed to our respective rooms. We had about an hour to take a quick nap and pack a small bag with clothes for two days. Rest of our bags were to be kept in one of the two rooms identified. This was to be kept under lock and key until our return from Dwaraka.
We assembled back in the lobby with our small bags, had evening coffee and hopped into the bus. By 5.30 pm we were on our way to Dwaraka. It was a night journey to Dwarka. For almost 2 hours inside the bus Ravi Maama kept us all busy and occupied for he was conducting a quiz on the deities of our Hindu pantheon. Time flew as we enjoyed this thought-provoking quiz. At 8.30pm our bus stopped near a hotel to serve us dinner. While we were eating someone from our group noticed Havmore Icecream store and that's it, within next few minutes we were all busy selecting our favourite flavours. Enjoying Ice cream, we strode back to our bus. I failed despondently trying very hard to fall asleep. I read a novel for a while, listened to audio book sometime. Somehow sleep evaded me for a long time. Bumpy road added to the discomfort enormously. To me, it seemed like a never-ending night journey to Dwaraka. With another short break at the break of dawn we reached Dwarka at 4.00 am.
Day 3 : To be continued ... click here
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