Dwarka: The city of Lord Krishna

 DWARKA: THE CITY OF LORD KRISHNA 

Dwarka, or also called, Dwarika, is a small town in the state of Gujarat, but the warmth and the josh of the city is certainly not small!

Last year, in June 2022, Ive gotten an opportunity to go and visit this beautiful city, where, during summer, the sun rises as early as 5:30 in the morning and sets by as late as 8:30-9:00 pm in the night!

I was astonished seeing this phenomenon and provided to all of this, the amount of sightseeing this city has got to offer is also amazing!

Dwarkadhish, translated, The lord of Dwarka, aka, Lord Krishna is the major deity over here and everyone, literally, everyone loves him as though he's their own baby and fondly call him "Laddu Gopal"! 😄

So, from the tourism point of view, the first thing that I'd suggest has to be the dwarkadhish mandir, and if possible try to make it to the Aarti which happens at 6:00 AM in the morning, where you get to witness the shringaar of the dwarkadhish, or the decked up Krishna and this is your only opportunity to get the famous Maakhhan Prashad or the offering of sweetened butter!

Not just the prashad, also try to join the hoisting of the flag which is on top of the gopuram, which is usually hoisted 5 times a day, and trust me, it is truly a sight to view!

Apart from the  temple, it has also got a beautiful river bank of the river Gomati, where you also find a long promenade with people busily walking here and there and ladies selling soo many types of shells, marbles and the popular Gomati chakra, which is a type of shell in the shape of a round coil.

And kid me not, the view that you get from the promenade is insane, the view of the river meeting the sea on one side and the view of the famous dwarkadhish mandir from distance and the view of the busy bazaars of the city of dwarka, with people selling soo many souvenirs, say, the sarees of the famous Bandhini work, dresses, Kurtis, idols of the famous laddu gopal, peacock feathers, fruits, vegetables, sweet shops, p.s, don't miss the famous gulab pak and Basundi, which is my personal favourite and last but certainly not the least, Chaiwaale!

And apart from all of these, there is a huge bridge across the river Gomati, called as the Sudama Setu, translated, Sudama's Bridge!

p.s, Sudama is known to be a very dear childhood friend of Lord Krishna!

Apart from all this, there is Rukmani mata mandir from a little distance from the city centre. It is also a very well decorated temple, with mata Rukmani, consort of Lord Krishna! 

Legend says that due to a curse of sage durvasa, there is shortage of water in this temple, and surprisingly, yes! The surrounding lands of this temple are quite barren and the prashad that you get in  this temple is water, Jal Prashad! 

Once you go there, if possible make an offering for the water facilities they're trying to bring in!

p.s, Ive also vlogged my entire experience in dwarka and have published, it would mean the world to me if you guys could watch it and let me know your honest views on it!

And from all this, you can also go and visit the Nageshwar jyotirlinga, which is not too far from the city where you get to witness the magnanimous Statue of Lord Shiva and also do the abhishek of the lord over there and also to the Famous Bet dwarka, which is a tiny island situated close to dwarka and the boat ride and visiting the temple over are experiences worth having! 😍

And also, try to visit the Gopi talaab, translated, Pond of Gopis, on your way to Nageshwar Jyotirlinga and visit the temple over there and do not forget to buy the famous Gopi Chandan which is the mitts, or the soil from the base of the pond, dried and powdered, it is more like, multani mitt, but a better smelling version and has amazing coolant properties, which is exclusively available only there!

P.s, Ive vlogged my experiences in both these places. here's the link to it!

So, That is it from my side, or rather, Dwarka from my point of view! Small, Well decorated and the most pleasant yet energetic place I've been to, so far!

Cheers,

Varenya B