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 4 - AUG 5th, 2023
Moola Dwarka, Mukthi Dwarka, Porbandar, Veraval & Somanath
The shrills of alarm woke us up at 4.30am. we were to proceed to Somanath via Porbandar and Veraval which was an entire day’s long journey with packed schedule with few important places to be covered. As usual we started the day at break of the dawn with hot coffee at Side yard which was by now the place where we met for coffee. Sipping coffee while enjoying the breeze heavy with moisture I felt refreshed. As everybody started one by one to assemble at the lobby by 6.30 am I took a stroll around the side yard for I could hear callings of peacock quite clearly. I simply wanted to locate it. There it was perched high so precariously on the tip of a tree branch just behind the compound of the hotel It formed a curious silhouette which changed so minutely as the bird rotated its neck every time it called. Thrilled to have found I tried to take some pictures, but all efforts went futile as it was dark, captures showed only a blurred profile of the bird amidst the dark branches. I rushed back to the front of the hotel to join others who were now loading all their luggage into the bus.
We left only by 7.15 am as we had to wait for the catering team to join us. Soon they came in so did the intoxicating aroma of the food prepared by them. That was sufficient to induce stings of hunger. Soon we were on our way to see Sri Krishna at moola Dwarka.
Reached Moola Dwarka at 8.40 am. We went inside the Moola Dwarka temple through the arch gateway climbing few steps. The temple on the contrary to that of Dwarkadhish was sparsely populated most of the crowd from our two buses. Temple sat quaintly in laid-back picturesque setting of a coastal village. The shrine complex had a courtyard behind within the compound. This seemed to be an ideal place for us to have breakfast and so we had breakfast served hot. We had darshan of Lord Krishna.
STHALAPURANA – Moola Dwarka happens to be one of the important Krishna Dhams situated in Kodinar in Gir Somnath district of Junagadh, Gujarat. It is around 45 km from Somnath and 175 km from the city of Porbandar. It is believed when Lord Krishna travelled from Mathura to Dwaraka, he first established himself in Moola Dwaraka. The Mahabharata legend says that King Jarasandha vowed to wreak vengeance on Krishna for killing his sons and waged wars but always lost. However, Krishna never killed him because it was pronounced by fate that Jarasandha would die at the hands of Bhima and so he proceeded to shift to Dwaraka. He came to Moola Dwaraka, which in times of Mahabharata was believed to have been a flourishing port. Lord Krishna and his brother Balaram stayed here before settling down at Dwaraka. Lord Krishna had stopped in Porbandar at the village of Visaavda on his way to Dwarka. In its remembrance in Visaavda (Moola Dwarka) Lord Krishna’s “paduka” (footprint) can be seen in this temple. A grand fair is organised every year in the village on the special occasion of Janmashtami. A stone slab commemorating his arrival is present here. Since this was the primary place that he set foot, so it’s called Moola (origin or root) Dwaraka.
ARCHITECTURE - Temple complex had small shrines of Neelkant Mahadeva, Rama Lakshmana Janaki, Ganeshji, Brahmaji, main Neelkant Mahadev, Suryanarayana, Sri Saraswathi, Sri Narayan ji, Sri Lakshmi. Shiv and Vishnu are after all the two sides of the same coin. The temple complex built in the typical style of Nagara style is modest in its size, scale, and appearance. The small shrines located around the main shrine orients themselves appropriately for the devotees to visit each of them as they take pradakshina. Couple of trees provided shade in the open prakara. With only the sounds of chirping birds my mind drifted to imagine this precinct in the times of Mahabharata. I could only feel at peace sitting here in this serene temple in front of these deities.
SPECIAL FEATURES: There is a deep well near the temple where Krishna had his holy bath. Even during severe drought, this well doesn’t get dried up.
Close to the temple complex is a stepwell, known as the Jnana Vav, sometimes also called Jnanvapi. ‘Jnan’ is more popularly pronounced as “Gyan” in most places today. The early 13th century being considered the period in which the Jnan Vav came into being. Truly remarkable vav is 700-year-old, is a distinct L-shaped structure. Overall, quite small, the vav is entered via a stepped corridor which runs from south to north and then turns east abruptly. Possibly the water diviner who was at work when the well was being dug got it wrong when the north-south passage was dug and suggested as eastward swing towards a subsoil water source. The real reason will never be known. Embellishing the VAV are several niches, some of which still have Hindu icons within. There are small sculptures of Vishnu, Surya and Brahma that have survived the wrath of time.
STHALAPURANA: The Vav predates the temples, and a local legend links the two. During 13th century when Visavada was part of the territory ruled by the Jethvas of Ghumli, a man named Vinzat lived here. A great devotee of Krishna, he would bathe each day in the waters of the VAV and then make his journey to Dwarka for a darshan of the god. As he grew older, this daily journey became difficult to undertake and he decided to build temples closer. Thus, the temple complex came into being. However, there seems to be a disconnect in the dating of the temples. While a board put up by the state archaeology department says that the temples date to the 17th century, historians claim that an inscription within a niche inside one of the temples mentions the year 1206 CE. The later would be more in line with the Vinzat story.
Today, visitors exploring the place see flocks of pigeons’ rest in the cool confines of the VAV. Suddenly, they take a flight, almost as if Vinzat has emerged from his daily ablutions, on his way to pray at Moola Dwarka.
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| pic source: https://velpu.com/temple/mul-dwarka-temple/MTA3Ng |
We came out of the temple and went around the VAV in search of a public toilet showed to us by a local elderly person. To our surprise it was not only clean but had water to flush in small worn-out sort of a bucket. A man sat nearby claiming to be maintaining the two single small toilets took whatever money we gave. We took some picture under the shades of a huge banyan tree and walked somewhat reluctantly as we wanted to enjoy tree shade and cool breeze for some more time.
At around 9.45 am we started towards Porbandar arriving at 10.16 am. We got down from the bus and were ushered to a rikshaw stand. These rikshaws ubiquitous in this city could easily take in six to seven people. It was again prefixed by organizers and so we sat blissfully feasting our eyes with old town beautiful buildings as we rode towards Gandhi Ashram.
GANDHI ASHRAM - The home in Porbandar where Gandhi Ji was born was brought by his great-grandfather Harjivanji Rahidasji Gandhi. He bought it from a local lady called Manba as a single-story house. By the time Gandhiji was born on Oct 2nd, 1869, the house had 3 floors. With rooms and corridors put together, the house has 22 rooms as per the information board at the property. Gandhiji’s father and grandfather were the Dewans of the Kings of Porbandar a prestigious position and the house or haveli reflects their social status.
The Gandhi family’s ancestral home lies to left of Kirti Mandir. As one enters the house through a plain wall which seems to be a later addition, it announces – Birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi Ji. A small foyer open to sky surrounded by tall pale walls outlined in green is welcoming space. This front courtyard has pillars and wood carved frame – all in green. The doors and windows are in bright cheerful green color.
There were many huge ornate buildings around it clearly indicating a rich, affluent town.
ARCHITECTURE: https://www.gujarattourism.com/saurashtra/porbandar/kirti-mandir.html
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| Keerti Mandir Museum next to birthplace of Gandhi Ji |
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| Room Where Gandhi Ji was born |
As I walked from the Ashrama towards the Rikshaw stand I enjoyed the colonial era architecture which most of the buildings on the street sported.
We continued in the same auto rikshaw wading through the bustling market area of Porbandar reached Sudama temple which stands in the middle of the market by 11.15am. A green precinct dotted with shading large canopy trees was a soothing sight to mind and body. We walked through the wide-open gate around a huge Peeple tree we walked to the light pink temple palace of Sudhama. towards standing amidst copious trees. I could spot many newlyweds Rajasthani young couples in the temple. This reminded me of the importance of this place to them.
At the temple I saw a beautiful painting hung on a prakara wall depicting a scene where Lord Krishna is visiting Sudhama who looks very old and frail while Lord himself look young and glowing with good health. This stayed with me bothering me of the depiction of both their age. They were childhood classmates and are of same age. How could Sudama look so old? Little did I know that this question would be answered by Ravi Maama soon.
SUDHAMA DHAM:
Porbandar was known as “Pauravelakul” and thereafter renamed as “Sudhamapuri”. This place is a very important to kshatriyas of Rajasthan since it is the birthplace of Sudhama (Lord Krishna`s friend) and Mirabai (devotee of Lord Krishna). Even today, most Rajasthanis come to take the blessings of Sudama after their marriage. The Sudhama temple has been built to commemorate the friendship between Lord Krishna and his trusted friend, Sudhama. There is maze near the temple. It is believed that passing through the maze one attains moksha. I see this more symbolically as to one must go through the tough and smooth times to complete the journey of our life.
ARCHITECTURE:
Although the temple dates to 12th century the current temple structure was constructed in early 20th century (between 1902 to 1907). The temple is simple but adorned with marble pillars and an intricately sculpted shikhara. It also has a small stepwell in the complex. It also has another monument in the green complex, which has been constructed in the memory of Shri Ram Devji Jethwa, the ruler of Jethwa Dynasty.
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| Sudhama Dham |
STHALAPURANA: https://www.holydham.com/the-story-of-lord-krishnas-friend-sudama/
From Sudhama Dham by 11.45 am each group headed towards the Rikshaw stand where we climbed back into our bus soon racing towards Veraval. At around 12.50 pm we stopped at a beautiful spot so ideal for our lunch near Navi bander about 30 kms from Porbandar.
The pit stop for lunch was selected very cautiously. A small Devi temple sat on a secerned scape. In front of that to one side was a huge area about quarter of an acre paved, the rear end of it had water taps. The entire area was naturally shaded with two huge peepal trees with wide canopy. Katte around it was simply a picture-perfect spot to have lunch. As the catering team started serving us lunch, we spread across and sat on the paved ground enjoying the tasty food.
Ravi Maama made this time even more memorable as he fed food for our brains. A question on the painting that we saw at Sudhama Dham – “why does Sudhama appears so old and poor at the time of Krishna’s vist where Sri Krishna appears so young and healthy despite them both being of same age? - Made us actively give out our answers. However, Maama enlightened us with the fact behind the scenes.
The story goes like this. Back when Krishna and Sudhama were kids their activities during the days when they were living as students. Once they went to collect fuel from the forest on the order of the guru’s wife. She had given Sudhama some beaten rice to share it with Krishna when they would be hungry. While they were collecting the dried wood, they entered the dense forest by chance and became lost. There was an unexpected dust storm and then clouds and lightning in the sky and the explosive sound of thunder. Then sunset came, and we were lost in the dark jungle. “After this, there was severe rainfall; the whole ground was overflooded with water, and we could not trace out the way to return to our guru’s house. They sat on tree branches to sleep through the night. At that time Sudhama ate all the beaten rice given to him without offering it to Lord Krishna. As they grew and days passed, we know how they had to move on with different paths and were separated. When they met, Sudhama appeared aged whereas Lord Krishna appeared young and healthy since Sudhama did not offer the food to the Lord and ate it all himself. Hence, we should offer God everything before we eat. The food then is consumed as God’s Prasadam. Since that is prasadam it is important that we sit and eat it with respect.
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| Painting At Sudhama dhama temple |
After the sumptuous lunch at 1.45pm we set off happily to our next destination Veraval. Time flew as I watched along the Arabian sea for few kms these coastal villages, people going about their chores, coconut groves fields, although I thought of taking a nap kept gazing out of the window all the way.
At around 4.00 pm we reached Veraval, 5 km from Somnath where we visited Prabhas Kshetra, the place also known as Balika Teerth and MUKTHI DHAM.
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| Mukti Dham |
POST KURUKSHETRA WAR
The war of Kurukshetra ended with the destruction of Kauravas. All 100 sons of Dritharastra and Gandhari were killed. It is said that on the night before passing away of Duryodhana, Krishna paid a condolence visit to Gandhari. She was grieving for her sons and in her grief, she cursed Krishna for causing utter destruction of entire Kaurava lineage. She predicted Krishna’s own lineage would siege to exist after 36 years. As per legend Sea water rushed to claim the city of Dwarka. Krishna took his Yadav tribes by boat to higher ground to a place called Prabhas Patan. Around 200 kms away which was the ancient name for Somanath. Once Krishna’s Yadav clans had reached the higher altitudes of Prabhas began celebrating and became intoxicated. This led to a brawl in which they killed one another. Krishna and Balaram had to flee for their own life into the Jungles of Prabhas. Balram gave up his life through YOGA while Krishna sat under a tree in meditation. A hunter JARA saw Krishna’s left foot moving and mistook it for a twitching ear of a dear and shot an arrow in its direction wounding him fatally. Hunter Jara in his previous life was Vaali and Lord Ram killed Vaali on his back (which Vaali had considered as cheating). So, in his next life when Lord Rama appeared as Lord Krishna was killed in a similar way paying for his sin by accepting death from Vaali or Jara.
A beautiful Nagara style temple. The sacred stage adorned with beautiful statue of Lord Krishna in resting position, and the holy tree in which Krishna sat! As we exit the temple on the other side is the Water Pond (Kalyani) which is the Prabhas tirtha. We all sprinkled the holy water on our head before hurrying back to our bus. Since we had to reach Somnath and did not have the luxury of time. There were many visitors here at that time. A large, compounded temple precinct also had Toilets as the far end right after the entrance.
We started towards Somnath at 4.15 pm and reached Somnath at around 5.00 pm. We were taken to a choultry where we rested for about half an hour till, we were served with much needed hot coffee. Soon after drinking our evening dose of coffee, we came out and soon were hoping into the ubiquitous rickshaws in a group of 6 or 7 all booked by our tour organizer and speeded off to Somnath. We had 2 hours to see Somnath.
SOMANATH
Places of interest along Triveni Sangam, Snanghat and River Hiren - listed anticlockwise as one drives from Somnath Mahadev main entrance gate.
Balaji Mandir – Brahma kund and Saraswati Devi temple - Somnath beach - Harihara Van – Rudralay Mahadev Temple – Parashuramji Temple - Cremation Yard - Kali Mandir– Triveni Ghat; Dehotsarg; Baldev Gufa – Kamnath Mahadev Mandir and Sharada Mutt – Suraj or Surya mandir – Panch Pandav Gufa or Hinglaj Mata Gufa – Gita Mandir – Lakshminarayan Temple – Kasi Vishvanath mandir - Betthakji of Mahaprabuhji – Bhimnath Mahadev – Jain temple – Dholeshwar Mahadev Mandir
Riksha-stand was about few hundred meters away from Somnath temple. As we got down, we went to see Lakshmi Narayana temple located just about 100 mts away. The temple had typical Dravida style of gopuram. Central Garbhagriha housing Laksmi Narayana moorty and a pradakshina patha. Briefly seeking his blessings, we walked towards Somanath temple. Since we did not have much time, we skipped most of the other temples around.
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| Lakshminarayana Temple |
Beating the glassy winds there stood the magnificent Somnath temple. With its Nagara style shikara Sri mandir, Jagamohan, and mantapa the temple skyline dominated the shores of Arabian sea.
LEGEND OF SOMANATH
The Somanath temple was created and destroyed 8 times. There is fascinating legend that surrounds the origins of Somanath known as Prabhas Patan during Krishna’s times. It is the very place where Krishna breathed his last. It is believed that the first temple was constructed by Som. The moon God in Gold and hence the name Somnath. The next one was built by Ravan in Silver and the third one was built by Krishna in Sandal wood. If we were to set aside the legends, we would have to acknowledge the well-established historical fact that king BhimDev of Anhilwad Patan built the first Temple in present site in stone. This was said to have existed before the beginning of common era. So officially this would be considered as the first. The second temple was built by the Vallabhi chieftains who were Yadavs. This temple was constructed probably in the 7th century. In the year 725CE Junaid who was the Arab governor of SIND sent his army to destroy the temple. There after the Prathihar king Nagbhat II reconstructed the temple in 9th century. The 3rd temple was a substantial structure built from the red sandstone. In 1024 CE Mahmud of Ghazni in what central Afghanistan of would be today attacked Somnath after crossing the Thar desert. After looting all the riches of the temple, he destroyed most of it, Including the main Shivlingam. The 4th temple was then constructed by the Parmar King Bhoj of Malwas and the Solanki king Bhim of Anilwawad sometime in the 11th century. The wooden structure had to be replaced because of wear and tear. King kumar pal of pali replaced this temple to a stone one. That would have been the 5th one. In the year 1296 the temple was yet again disintegrated and eventually destroyed by Turkic Afghan Sultan Allaudin Khilji’s army. Mahipal Dev the Chudasama king of Saurashtra rebuilt the temple in the early part of the 12th century. His son Khengara installed the Shivlingam around 15 years later. This was the 6th, Somanath Temple. In 1375 the temple was attacked by the Muzaffar shah Zafar the sultan of Gujarat. Somanath was planted again by Mahmud Begada another sultan of Gujarat in 1451. The final blow fell in 1701 when the temple was destroyed by Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. He built a mosque on the site of the temple. Around 80 years later another temple was built at a site adjacent to the mosque jointly by Peshwa of Pune, Raja Bhosle of Nagpur, Chatrapati Bhosle of Kolhapur, Queen Ahilya bai Holkar of Indore, Patil Bhuv shinde of Gwalior. This was the 7th temple. More than 160 years passed before Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel India’s first home minister took upon himself the responsibility of reconstructing the temple at the original site. The mosque was shifted to the nearby site and the Pran prathista ceremony invoking GOD was performed in the temple by the first president of India. Dr. Rajendra Prasad. 11-May-1951. This was the 8th and current temple.
Zakaria was a Persian traveller who wrote about Somnath Temple in the 13th century translated title would be “Monuments of countries and memoirs of Men”. He had given the description of the temple and vivid details of its destruction by Mohmud Ghazni. He writes that among the wonders of Somnath was the temple and its Idol called Somnath. This Idol was in the middle of the temple without anything to support it from below or to suspend it from above. It was held in highest honour among Hindus and whoever saw it was stuck with amazement weather it was a Muslim or Infidel. Hindus would go on a pilgrimage whenever there was an eclipse of a moon more than a hundred thousand. Everything of the most precious was brought there as offerings. The edifice was built upon 56 teak pillars covered with lead. The shrine of the Idol was dark but was lighted by the jewel chandeliers of great value. The solid gold chains with bells weighed nearly 200 tones.
SOMANATH EXPERIENCE & ARCHITECTURE
The exquisite temple sits in the celebrated city of Somnath situated in the shore of the sea and washed by its waves. The most significant pilgrimage sites for Hindus and is also the first of 12 jyotirlinga temples in India. We entered the temple following the long queue of devotees walked in and out after Linga darshanam and decided to explore its external beauty.
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| Somnath Temple: Late Evening |
Hit by a sense of calmness and cosmic energy the moment I step inside the premises the entire time in that precinct was just out of the world experience for me, more so because of its legendry historical past. With almost choregraphed movements elated by the sight of the temple I walked with others. I could not help but lose myself into the figment of imagination marvelled at the power of the mind trying to reconstruct the same not one or two but 8 times. A massive timeless beauty. Oblivious to my surroundings I was engrossed consuming every bit of architecture. I now could easily discern that it was a combination of Nagara, Hoysala and Dravida style of architecture. The Adishtana undoubtedly resembling Hoysala architecture.
As we sat for almost 40 to 45 minutes on the lawn behind the temple I could only gape and wondered with the history of this Incredible and mind-blowing piece of Architecture. Still relishing the sight which came across the horizon of my heart gracing it with its beauty I walked like a lost soul to join the others.
We assembled back at the choutry by 7.45 pm. Dinner was served. Still dazed with the experience of Somanath we ate dinner almost in silence unlike our chatty selves. Lemon Rasam particularly was very tasty. We all relaxed, chatting as we waited for the cooking team to eat their dinner, clean up and join us. I made a quick call to Sameeksha (my daughter) who was staying at my mother's home to enquire about her performance in her exams. Somehow, I missed her here the most. Soon it was time to hop into our bus as we resumed our journey back to Ahmedabad by 9.15 pm.
My only apprehension of night travel in the bus was to find an appropriate position to sleep. I kept twisting and tossing all night. Uncomfortable and discomposed as I tried to position my arms, legs, and head suitably for most part of the night. It felt as though the movement of bus slow and laboured. I guess I might have had just about 2 hours of sleep in the night.
Day 5 : To be continued ... click here
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