Dwarka, the City of the Lord

To protect his people from Jarasandha's repeated attacks, Krishna had Vishwakarma build Dwarka in the sea; after the Lord's departure the city was taken back by the ocean.

After Kansa's death, his father-in-law Jarasandha, the powerful king of Magadha, swore revenge. According to the Bhagavatam he attacked Mathura seventeen times with huge armies, and each time Krishna and Balarama defeated him. But each war brought suffering to the people. When Jarasandha prepared to come an eighteenth time, and the foreign king Kalayavana also marched against Mathura, Krishna decided to protect the Yadavas by moving them to a safe place.

Krishna asked Vishwakarma, the divine architect, to build a city in the midst of the western sea. Overnight, it is said, a magnificent city arose, with golden palaces, broad roads, gardens, assembly halls and strong walls, and by his yogic power Krishna brought the citizens of Mathura there. This city was Dwarka, the city of many gates. The gods sent gifts, including the celestial assembly hall Sudharma.

Krishna himself left the battlefield on foot, drawing Kalayavana after him into the cave where the sage-king Muchukunda slept; the sage's fiery glance destroyed the invader. Because the Lord chose to leave the battle for the good of his people, devotees lovingly call him Ranchhod, "the one who left the battlefield". In Gujarat he is worshipped with great affection as Ranchhodrai.

For many years Dwarka flourished. Krishna lived there with his queens, ruled through the elders under King Ugrasena, received sages and devotees, and from there went out to help the Pandavas and to establish dharma. The Yadavas grew prosperous and powerful.

In time, as the Mahabharata's Mausala Parva tells, pride entered the Yadava clan. Cursed by sages whom some young Yadavas had mocked, the clan fell into a drunken quarrel at Prabhasa and destroyed itself. Balarama left his body in meditation, and Krishna, resting under a tree, was struck in the foot by the arrow of a hunter named Jara and returned to his eternal abode. Arjuna came to lead the surviving women and children away, and as soon as they had left, the sea rose and swallowed Dwarka.

Today, on the shore of the Arabian Sea where the Gomti meets the ocean, stands the Dwarkadhish temple, also called Jagat Mandir. It is one of the four sacred dhams and one of the seven holy cities of India. Pilgrims come from everywhere to see Dwarkadhish, the King of Dwarka, and to feel that the Lord who once ruled here still welcomes every devotee home.

Source

Shrimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10, ch. 50–51 and Canto 11, ch. 30–31; Mahabharata, Mausala Parva

Place

Dwarka (Gujarat)

Lesson

The Lord protects his people with wisdom, and even the greatest city passes away; only his presence is eternal.