To start with, the trip to Dwarka with my Family was not something I always had in my mind. But I just wanted a break from my irritating job. 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. This was the first time for me in Dwarka. Besides all the mythical stories, I found some magical energy here, being it the Lord Krishna devotees singing songs in the main temple or the beautiful skies over the Arabian sea.
The previous day I was in somnath where I saw one of the best modern Hindu architecture, The somnath temple. We took a bus to Dwarka from somnath at around 3 in the afternoon. It took almost 6 hrs to reach Dwarka. The bus ride is not so great as the road was not good but the landscapes on the way were just amazing 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.
We checked into the Gayatri shantivan which has the best sea view with a lighthouse right next to it. We took some rest and went for dinner and called it for the day.
I woke early in the morning to get a chance to view the spectacular view of the Arabian Sea. The light house added even more beauty. I wish to spend a lifetime near a lighthouse where loneliness will be the glimmer of luminous prancing upon ocean waves… rising and falling only for my breathing.
I just sat in the balcony and enjoyed the morning breeze.
We headed to the temple at 9 in the morning. 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.
After the darshan, 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 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.
As I left the temple, It felt sublime. 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 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 3 pm we reached the ferry point in okha from where we need to take a 2 km ferry ride in the sea to reach the island of Bet Dwarka. It was one of the most beautiful experience I had there. I'm an ocean lover so the ride make me feel so happy. There were lot of boats, smaller and bigger, and the atmosphere was so good.
We reached bet Dwarka by 4 pm and we had to wait for an hour as the temple opens at 5 pm. Temple was very old and beautiful. The trees were millennium old. The priest quarters were not of this age. It took around half an hour for darshan and we came back and headed to the ferry point. There are lot of shops outside the temple which has unique items. Return ferry is just amazing and the evening breeze of the Arabian sea make me...I can't describe how amazing I felt at that time.
We reached the hotel at 7.30 pm and that concludes my trip to Dwarka.
To express this wondrous place would be like belittling its magic. I must say this is one place that became very close to my heart.
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