Dwarikadhish Temple – History, timings, contact number- other information

Friends welcome to the kingdom of Lord Krishna, the city of Dwarka. And the main attraction of Dwarka city is the Shri Dwarikadhish temple which is dedicated to Lord Krishna himself.

Shri Dwarikadhish temple is more than 2500 years old. The temple is situated on the top of a small hill that takes 50 steps to reach there.

Another impressive thing that one may notice is the flag, which is made of 52 yards of cloth.

This is seen fluttering due to the soft breeze blowing from the Arabian sea. There are two main doors to enter the temple and exit. They have been beautifully named as swarg and moksha dwars.

This temple is among the char Dham yatra pilgrims, which hold a special place for all Hindus. The others are at Badrinath, Jagannath, and Rameshwaram.

This city is believed to have been built by Lord Krishna when he came from Brij Bhoomi. It is also believed that the land was under the sea.

image courtesy

About the Shri Dwarikadhish Temple:

The temple is known as Jagat Mandir. It is dedicated to Lord Krishna and was made by his great-grandson Vajra Nabha.

He had built it over the land that was reclaimed from the sea. The architecture is based on the Chalukya style.

The city has been dated to the days of Mahabharata. The temple is five-storied and made of limestone and sand only.

There are intricate sculptures and the fineness of the artisans can be seen. The main idol of Lord Krishna is made of black stone.

In the temple complex, there are other shrines as well. These are dedicated to Subhadra, Vasudeva, Rukmini, and Balarama among many others. as a ritual, the devotees take a dip in the holy Gomti river before they enter the temple.

The Janmashtami festival is celebrated with joy and enthusiasm. At this time millions of devotees throng the temple on the same day.

There are prayers and rituals the whole day. The shrine can be considered as a hive of voices, colors, and faith all intertwining to give a surreal experience.

Shri Dwarikadhish Temple History:

The story behind the temple is very interesting. The temple is believed to be built by Vajra Nabha the grandson of Lord Krishna.

The name has been fondly kept as Dwarikadhish meaning the lord of Dwarka. The prestigious temple is among the four main pilgrims in the Char Dham yatra.

The temple is also among the 108 Divya Desam related to Lord Vishnu that has been mentioned in the old texts such as Divya Prabhanda.

The legend related to the Idol of lord Dwarikadhish:

• The first idol of the temple is believed to have been offered prayers by Rukmini herself. It was removed to save from the hands of the invaders.
• The second one was placed there. A devotee by the name of Badana visited the temple on daily basis. She was so pure in her devotion that Lord Dwarikadhish was pleased with her. He allowed her to take the idol to Dakor, her place. The priest obstructed her way. But she offered to pay the weight of the idol with an equal weight of gold. Lord Krishna showed a miracle and the whole idol was just equal to a small ring. So she had to give away only a small ring of gold.
• The idol now we see was found in the Savitri Talaav nearby unearthed during digging. It is said that the idol was missing eyes but all the makeup and shringar.
• There is a legend of Rukmini Shrine as well. The temple was built by Krishna himself. It is said the once a sage named Durvasa had gone to visit Krishna and his wife Rukmini. As they were on the way to meet him, Rukmini grew thirsty and wished to have some water. For this Krishna dug up a hole and made the river Ganga appear. On the occurrence of this event, Durvasa got very furious. He cursed Rukmini to stand where she was forevermore. Thus this is the place where the shrine stands today.

Shri Dwarikadhish Temple architecture

Limestone and sand have been used to build this temple. The temple is five stories tall. There are 72 pillars in all. All of them have been carved intricately.

The spire is 78.3 m high. The shikar on the top is 42 m high and a flag made of 52 yards of cloth is up there.

The flag has the symbols of a sun and a moon that symbolize the reign of Lord Krishna over the area for as long as the sun and the moon shall exist.

There are 2 main gates of the temple. One for the entrance and the other for exit. The entry gate has been named Swarg Dwar and the exit door is known as the Moksha dwar.

On the south side of the temple, there are 56 steps that lead to the gomti river.

Best time to visit Dwarka

Though the devotees throng the temple alike throughout the year, you can go in winter. There is pleasant weather from October to March.

If you are interested to visit the temple on the occasion of Janmashtmi then you must plan ahead and go in the month of September.

Dwarikadhish Temple Timings

Dwarkadhish Temple darshan timings – The Darshan start from 6:30 am in the morning to 1 pm in the afternoon

After that the darshan is closed till 5 PM

And then from 5 pm in the evening till 9:30 pm at night temple is open.

These timings are for all the days.

Dwarikadhish Temple Official Website

You can check the link below

https://devbhumidwarka.nic.in/

https://devbhumidwarka.nic.in/tourist-place/dwarkadhish-temple/

Dwarka Temple Contact number

You can visit the above website for details.

How to reach Dwarikadhish Temple

You can go by road from closeby cities, there are good highways in the area.

If you wish to go by train, the nearest station will be Ahemdabad, and then you will have to take a cab or bus.

For those who wish to go by air, the nearest airport is Rajkot, from here you will need to hire a cab or take a bus.

Other places of interest close by

• Dwarka beach, where you can enjoy a sunset and see coral reefs.
• Beyt Island: it is 30 km from the main city. There are water sports and dolphin spotting activities. There are many marine sports as well to be tried, kids enjoy a visit to this place.
• Nageshwar Jyotirlinga temple is one of the 12 main jyotirlingas in India. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is believed that those who offer prayers here become free from poison.

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Dwarikadhish Temple – FAQ’s

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