|| Little History ||

According to Hindu tradition still extant, the earliest known conqueror of Okhamandal was Shri Krishna, called also Ranchodji, the eight incaranation of Vishnu, Who after his seventeenth battle with Jara Sangh, king of Magadh Desh, fled from Mathura, and eventually arrived with his army at Okhamandal which he subjected after a hard struggle with the Kalas. Shri Krishna established his capital at Dwarka on the bank of the Gomti Creek.

Krishna was succeeded by the great grandson of Vajranabh, who enjoys the saintly reputation of having built the present temple Dwarkanath, called also Trilok sundar, signifying 'the handsomest of the three world' Many Hindus religiously believe that the temple was erected in one night by supernatural agency, under Vajranabh's direction.

Certain it is that whole of western and south-western Saurashtra, now included in a Jamnagar and Junaghadh districts was colonized by the Yadavas, whose most important leader was Shri Krishna. The Yadavas ruled and when they perished in a family quarrel under the influence of drink, and after Shri Krishna's death Dwarka submerged under the sea. In this region the original in habitants are said to Kabas, Modas and Kalas, The Kabas and Modas now seem to be extinct but the present day Vaghers are said to have descended from the Kabas.

The Kalas re-conquered Okhamandal in the 2nd Century A.D next a Syrian Sukkur Belium conquered this region and during this time Dwarka submerged by the sea. He was driven out by another Syrian named Mehem Guduka. Again Kalas now know as Vaghers.

It was 13th century when the Rathods came and took advantage of the Herule-chavada quarrels. The few surviving chavadas and Herules were absorbed by the Vaghers. Veravalji, the Rathod now became the sole ruler of Okhamandal. During the periods of Bhimji, Mahmud Begada who was sultan of Gujarat, conquered Okhamandal destroying the temple at Dwarka. Later the Vaghers drove out the Muslim.

The history of Okhamandal upto 1800 seems to be uneventful but since this date, until their final extermination or submission the Vadhelas and Vaghers came up repetedly against to the British and the Gaikwads.

The Temple : -

The temple has five storey tower which was built by Sambha, who is the grandson of Lord Shri Krishna. The city was built by Vishwakarma who is a celestial architect. The temple was made of limestone and sand. There is a flag hoisted in the temple tower everyday which waves in air beautifully welcoming the pilgrims. The structure of the temple is quite complicated. Even in Tsunami or Earthquake the temple was not destroyed. There are two gateways namely Swarga Dwar where pilgrims enter and Moksha Dwar where pilgrims exit. From the temple one can view the Sangamam of River Gomati flowing towards the sea. There are shrines for Vasudeva, Devaki, Balarama and Revathy, Subhadra, Rukmini Devi, Jambavathi Devi and Sathybhama Devi. There is a special temple for Rukmini Devi on the way to Bet Dwaraka. Bet Dwaraka can be reached through boat. It is also the temple which is like Palace where Lord Shri Krishna had ruled. It is the same idol of Lord Dwarakanath kept in Bet Dwaraka. The temple looks like a Palace and has many Shrines for Lakshmi Narayana, Trivikrama, Jambavathi Devi, Sathybhama Devi and Rukmini Devi.

Holi City

The city derives its name from word "Dwar" meaning door in Sanskrit. Dwarka is one of the holiest cities in Hinduism and one of the 4 main "dhams" along with Badrinath, Puri, Rameshwaram.

The Jagatmandir temple which houses the Dwarkadhish, a form of Krishna.

Nageshwar Jyotirling, one of the 12 holy shrines of Lord Shiva, is located near Dwarka.

Dwarka is also the site of Dwaraka Pītha (also known as Kālikā Pītha), one of the four cardinal mathas established by Sri Adi Shankaracharya, the others being those at Sringeri, Puri and Jyotirmath.

The Legend

Dvaraka is mentioned in the Mahabharata, the Harivansha, the Bhagavata Purana, the Skanda Purana, and the Vishnu Purana.

Sri Krishna renounced war in Mathura for the greater good (and hence the name Ranchodrai) and founded (and settled in) Dvaraka. Sri Krishna killed Kansa (his maternal uncle) and made Ugrasen (his maternal grandfather) the king of Mathura. Enraged, the father-in-law of Kansa, Jarasandha (king of Magadha) with his friend Kalayavan attacked Mathura 17 times. For the safety of the people, Krishna and Yadavas decided to move the capital from Mathura to Dvaraka.

Land was reclaimed from the sea near the western shores of Saurashtra. A city was planned and built here. Dvaraka was a planned city, on the banks of Gomati River. This city was also known as Dvaramati, Dvaravati and Kushsthali. It had well organized six sectors, residential and commercial zones, wide roads, plazas, palaces and many public utilities. A hall called "Sudharma Sabha" was built to hold public meetings. The city also boasted a good harbour.

After Krishna left for the heavenly abode, and the major Yadava heads were killed in disputes among themselves; Arjuna went to Dvaraka to bring Krishna's grandsons and the Yadava wives to Hastinapur. After Arjuna left Dvaraka, it was submerged in the sea. Following is the account given by Arjuna, in Mahabharata:

"The sea, which had been beating against the shores, suddenly broke the boundary that was imposed on it by nature. The sea rushed into the city. It coursed through the streets of the beautiful city. The sea covered up everything in the city. I saw the beautiful buildings becoming submerged one by one. In a matter of a few moments it was all over. The sea had now become as placid as a lake. There was no trace of the city. Dwaraka was just a name; just a memory."

The Vishnu Purana states that "On the same day that Krishna departed from the earth the powerful dark-bodied Kali Age descended. The oceans rose and submerged the whole of Dvaraka."