The Panch Dwarka Temples, Part 2

BY: SUN STAFF - 7.6 2021

Sri Dwarkadheesh Temple
 

Dwarkadheesh Temple Premises

Sri Krishna's Dwarkadheesh temple premises are considerably huge and house more than 24 temples apart from the main Dwarkadheesh temple. The various temples in the premises are: Shri Radha Krishna, Shri Purushottam, Shri Radhika, Shri Baldev, Shri Satyabhama, Shri Laxmi Narayan, Shri Trivikram, Shri Shakti Mataji, Shri Kusheshwar Mahadev, Shri Kashi Vishwanath, Shri Kolva Bhagat, Shri Datatreya, Shri Aniruddha, Shri Pradyuman, Shri Ambaji, Shri Devki Mataji, Shri Madhavray, Sage Durvasa, Shri Jambuvati, Shri Gyanmandir Nardapith, etc.

Gomti Ghat

Behind the temple flows the river Gomti. On the other side of Gomti River is Panchanand tirtha. There are five wells here, said to have been built by the Pandavas, on the bank of Gomti River. A temple of Sangamnarayan or Samudranarayan is also there. Next to this place is Chakratirtha, where one can find rocks with chakras. According to Vishnupuran, Lord Vishnu cleaned his Sudarshan Chakra here after destroying demons, hence the place is known as Chakratirtha.

Gomti Ghat

Gopi Talav

Among the many holy shrines in Dwarka is the Gopi Talav, or pond. It is 21 km from Dwarka and 5 km from Nageshwar Jyotirlinga temple. Lord Krishna killed the demon Bhaumasura here, freeing 16,000 princesses from His palace. These gopi princesses fell in love with Lord Krishna and wanted to marry him, thus the name Gopi Talav.

Another story is related with Arjuna. After the battle at Kurukshetra, Arjuna thought himself to be the best warrior of the world. To show him his place, Lord Krishna asked him to escort his queens to Bet Dwarka. On the way, just near this pond, Arjuna was attacked by people of Kaba community, and Arjuna was defeated. The queens were shocked at this and died in this pond. So it is called Gopi Talav. The famous phrase 'Kabe Arjun luntiyo,vohi dhanush vohi ban' reflects this incident.

Gopi Talav is a small pond and the sandal-like yellow sand is known as Gopi Chandan, which is treasured by the devotees.

Rukmini Temple, Dwarka
 

Rukmini Temple

This temple is 3 km from Dwarka. It is related to the story of the 12-year separation of Rukmini. When Krishna and Rukmini invited the sage Durvasa to Dwarka, he agreed to come on the condition that his chariot would not be pulled by any animal. Krishna and Rukmini decided to pull the chariot themselves.

However, on the way, Rukmini felt thirsty. Lord Krishna got water for her. She was so thirsty that she gulped all the water without offering it to anyone. This enraged the sage Durvasa who is known for his bad temper, and the sage cursed her. He said that for 12 years she will remain separate from Lord Krishna, and so the temple is three kilometers away from the main temple of Lord Krishna. Visitors can also see the ancient chori mandap in the temple.