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Published: July 10th 2017
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So to start with, the trip to Dwarka with my Family was not something I always had in my mind. But to me, it was like a calling last year which I could not ignore. So I sat and read all about it on the web. Found out everything there was to it. But to be there was a different story altogether. I recall asking some people who were actually from Gujarat to give me some tips and ideas as to how I should plan my trip so that I wouldn't miss anything.
I started checking the train schedules and was planning my itinerary. A thought popped in my head as to how easy things have become due to web and travel sites for travels nowadays. For the most part, I wasn't willing to make this a casual trip but a resounding memory of reminiscence. But to get to Dwarka there is no direct train. It was all en-route. The most direct option was a plane to Porbandar which was a whopping 27k with all discounts and other gimmicks applied on a good day. Even after that from Porbandar, there was a bus towards Dwarka which takes up to 2-3
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Famous Jalebi-Gathia in Ahmedabad. hours to reach Dwarka.
Besides I had not visited Gujarat since like never. So I decided to have Dwarka as my last place to visit. We took a flight from Pune to Ahmedabad which took like an hour. After reaching Ahmedabad with my parents we settled down in a small hotel based on a good deal I go. Thanks to TripAdvisor for this. I visited the most important places in this city which require another separate post. From Ahmedabad, I took a train to Veraval overnight. Veraval is a small town port for fisheries which is close to Somnath. As per what I remember, it was around 5-6 km from the main Somnath Temple area. Well, these also had many memorable moments and the Somnath Temple.Wow simply great.I mustn't digress, so back to Dwarka, we took an afternoon bus to Dwarka from Somnath at around 3 in the afternoon. We took 6 hours almost to reach Dwarka. The bus was creaky and wobbly but that didn't affect my enthusiasm to be there. This is what adds to such travels. As I looked out the bus window and gazed at the wonderful satin silhouette of the evening sky. It was
the most amazing skyline I had seen since a long time. The colors were mind boggling. I have attached a video. The vast landscape where nature was nestled so peacefully and not to mention the vast number of Windmills across them. This sight was just blissful. Here I was traveling to a place of our Lord who walked these lands about 5 millenniums ago. Could it be so accessible? I started picturing the times of that age. I wondered how great those times would have been. There were a lot of things which crossed my mind but I can't express all of them here.
It was around 8 pm I reached Dwarka. We checked into the Dwarika Hotel which was 700 meters from the main temple. The Dwarkadeesh Temple view from the hotel was magnanimous. The hotel was the best Dwarka had to offer. The old paintings of the Banks of Dwarka were all over the walls of this hotel. The food was exceptional. The rooms were very cozy. As I slept I couldn't shake off the feeling of being there early morning to the temple. The aarti takes place early in the morning at 6 am. We had
to be there by 5.30. Hoards of people were waiting outside in line just to get a glimpse. The temple was surrounded by an old marketplace selling all antique items and not to mention all stuff we would normally not get. Things like peacock feathers, yes peacock feathers.., locally made soaps, very beautiful paintings made by local artists. There were a large number of cows, I mean everywhere and it was like a barn all around. You had entered a medieval time or ancient market of India it felt. Finally, we got inside the temple. We were not allowed to carry any of our valuables. Especially no mobiles or other electronic items were allowed inside. We had to deposit it with temple authorities. We moved with a strange push and finally got in. The ''Aarti" started exactly at 6.00 am. For a few mins, I had nothing to say. Lord Krishna and his diadem were enthralling to a limitless extent. People surprisingly maintained a self-restrained decorum in the temple. After the Aarti was over I looked around there were many smaller temples of other deities like Lord Balarama and the 8 principal wives of Lord Krishna. A senior temple monk
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They were bidding goodbye. I didn't want to leave. was elaborating the memorable incidents of each of them. It was wonderful to know a part of the history which was not found in books.
We next moved to the inner part of the mini Dwarka city which was just below the temple. This was a huge place which was leading to the River Gomti and from there we could see the Sudama Setu built specially by Lord Krishna for his beloved and eternal friend Sudama. The river was pristine clean. A local photographer who had taken our picture gave it to us a memory. We bought a few incense sticks and feathers from the mini city as we moved around. Bhajans and aartis were being sung in the city with flower shops and garland-laden street up to the main market to the temple. They didn't have any rituals that they performed. It was a golden moment for me. My parents were absolutely blessed they said. When I asked the locals, they said that the temple was around 3000 years old excavated and this mini-city built around it was a miniature of the actual legend of the sunken Dwarka city in that age. It reminded us of the Yaduvanshi
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Lobby area for Dwarika Hotel. Clan on Devbhoomi from that time.
As I left the temple, It felt sublime. This was the pinnacle of my trip to Dwarka. After we left the temple area, we decided to travel to Bet (Baet) Dwarka which was around 20-25 km from the main inner city of Dwarka. We hired a local Cab instead of the bus as the heat was too much. On the way, we made four stops. The first stop was at Nageshwar Jyotirlinga Temple which is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas as mentioned in the Shiv Purana. I could see a huge statue of Lord Shiva in white from at least 2 km away. The temple was beautifully placed in between the Deodar forest. It had a beautiful architecture which was minute and must have taken years to build it.
Next stop was at Gopi Talav. which was 4 km from the Nageshwar Jyotirlinga Temple and 20 km from the hotel. The place was very quiet. It was like a calmness to see the pond with the pool bank around it. The whole place was shrouded in greenery. There were small shops and hyperlocal vendors around it selling various things. The small temple
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Paintings inside The Dwarika Hotel. and the resting quarters were next to the pond. Historically this was the place where Lord Krishna had gifted such a paradise to all Gopis.
At around 11.30 we moved from Gopi Talav and reached Baet Dwarka. There were frequent ferry rides which go roughly 2 kms inside the sea to reach a small detached island which is the for the worship of Lord Krishna and other deities. The ferry rides had an interesting thing like the birds hovering in hordes above our heads and clutching food from our hands and catching the food thrown in the air. It was amazing to see such a thing. Finally, we reached Baet Dwarka where the small island near Okha landmark which was a busy old style upwardly road-map. The top point was the temple. Several hand Rickshaws and tum-tums were there taking people to the temple. Once we reached the temple. It was an amazing sight. The trees were millennium old. The priest quarters were not of this age. The inner shrine was truly magnificent. We did the aarti and left from that place at around 1.00 pm for the return ferry. Our driver then took us to the last spot
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Paintings inside The Dwarika Hotel. that was Rukmani Temple. This was a small temple which was having such timeless architecture which cannot be described. It must have had almost all deities carved on its outer surface.
We finally moved towards the hotel and had a great lunch. Must say the food was just amazing. I have attached a few photos of what I have described here. But to express this wondrous place would be like belittling its magic. I have added a few photos in the section to give you a visual tour. I must say this is one place that became very close to my heart.
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