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Location of the Dwarkadhish Temple
The temple is located at Dwarka in the state of Gujarat. It is located in the North-west of India, on the shore of Okhamandal Peninsula which is on the right of the bank of river Gomti. It is near 10 kilometers from Bhavda village in the East. And very recently it was counted under the newly formed district of Devbhoomi Dwarka. It is near the subtropical thorn woodland biome. It is at the mouth of the Gulf of Kutch.
Structure of the Temple
The temple is now just a five-storied structure on the bank of the River Gomti. It is supported by 72 pillars and its height is 78.8 meters, which is 84 feet. Dwarkadhish temple hall is very big and very beautifully decorated with sculptures made all over the walls.
Read: Gir National Park | Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat | Gir Forest
Climate
In Dwarka, the climate is very hot in summer and quite cold in winter. In summers the temperature is between 30∙c to 40∙c. And sometimes the temperature also reaches up to 42∙c to 45∙c. And in Winter the temperature is between 23∙c to 18∙c but sometimes even falls to 6∙c. The average annual humidity is a minimum of 72% and a maximum of 80%. It is in a subtropical desert with low latitude.
History
The Hindu Mythology says that the city of Dwarka was built by Krishna in one night, with his supernatural power, with lord Vishwakarma who is considered to be the God of architecture. The original temple was built almost 5000 years earlier by Lord Krishna himself. But sometimes it is also said that the temple was built by Krishna’s grandson “Vajranabha” in around 400 B.C. Krishna was considered to be living in this city for more than 100 years. And when he died or left the world, it was believed that the city got submerged 7 times underwater. It is said that in a fight Mohmud Begada destroyed the temple. And it was again rebuilt by Vallabha Acharya and was also named Jagat Mandir. It is said that some natives and friends of Lord Krishna asked him to settle in Dwarka to hide from his uncle and enemy “Kansa”. As Kansa’s future was predicted by great priests, that he would be killed by Lord Krishna, so he wanted to kill Lord Krishna before Krishna could kill him. Kansa was a very cruel king and Krishna was Kansa’s sister’s son. Krishna settled in Dwarka after he killed Kansa at Mathura.
About
The place is sacred for Hindus. It is a very popular place for pilgrimage. It is one among the Char Dhams. The name of the place is given on the name of the king of the place “Dwarka”. “Dwar” in Sanskrit means “entrance”, so this place is considered to be the entrance or door to go towards God or the entrance to “Salvation” or “Moksh”. There is an interesting story about the temple. Once a girl named “Badana” entered the temple. She was a very dedicated devotee and seeing her devotion the principal deity walked with her.
But the priest suspected that he has stolen the idol. She begged him to leave her. She continuously told that she did not steal the idol but the priest was not ready to believe her and was forcing her to get back to the temple and keep the idol back. So, in order to get rid of this allegation, she promised to give as much “gold” to the weight of the Idol and that is when the priest was ready to leave her.
But as God knew she was innocent and very poor and that she did not have much to offer, when the idol was placed on one side of the scale and just the nose ring of Bedana was put on the other side, surprisingly the weight-matched. After this incident, an ethereal voice instructed the priest to dig a particular place the next day to find an idol. But the priest dug the place without waiting for the next day, and everyone could see an incomplete statue lying there. But that statue was rescued and installed in the Dwarkadhish Temple.
Final Words
The government of India considers Dwarka to be one of the 12 heritage cities in India. The bridge named Sudama Setu was opened which is situated over the Gomti River to connect the mainland Dwarka with Panchkula island. The place is very well connected to the rest of the cities of India, through various means of transport like Railways, Airways and different modes of Road transports like Buses, cars, etc.
