Dwarka: The Flag, Gomti Ghat and Sharada Peeth

The flag changed several times a day on the Jagat Mandir, the fifty-six steps of Swarga Dwar down to Gomti Ghat, and the Sharada Peeth of Adi Shankaracharya.

The most stirring sight at the Jagat Mandir of Dwarka is the flag (dhwaja) streaming from its tall spire. The flag is changed several times a day. Devotee families vow to offer a flag in thanksgiving or for a wish fulfilled, and they often have to book their turn long in advance. On the appointed day the family brings its flag to the temple in procession, with drums, shehnai and bhajans. The flag is worshipped, and then experienced temple servants climb the spire to tie it in place. It usually bears the emblems of the sun and the moon, and in popular speech it is called the "bavan gaj ni dhaja", the flag of fifty-two gaj. The family takes home the flag that is brought down as prasad.

The temple has two main entrances. The principal gate on the market side is called Moksha Dwar, and on the other side is Swarga Dwar, from which fifty-six steps lead down to the ghat of the Gomti river. By custom pilgrims first bathe at Gomti Ghat and then climb the steps of Swarga Dwar for darshan of Dwarkadhish.

Gomti Ghat is where the Gomti river meets the sea. At the confluence stands the temple of Samudra Narayan, and the ghat is lined with small shrines and sacred spots. Here devotees bathe, give charity and offer tarpan for their ancestors, and in the evening the aarti and lamps on the ghat make a beautiful sight.

Close to the temple is the Dwarka Sharada Peeth, the western of the four Amnaya Peeths established by Adi Shankaracharya in the four directions of the land; by tradition it is associated with the Sama Veda. So at Dwarka the devotion of Shri Krishna and the tradition of Advaita Vedanta flourish side by side.

District

Devbhumi Dwarka