Nageshwar near Dwarka in Gujarat is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga Shrines of Shiva. Lord Krishna Himself used to worship it and perform Rudrabhishekam. It is located on the route between Dwarka and the Bet Dwarka island, on the coast of Saurashtra in Gujarat. The Rudra Samhita sloka refers to Nageshwar with the phrase ‘Daarukaavane Naagesham’. As dwaraka was built by Lord Krishna as his new capital and residance, it is a great pilgrimage center and one of the Char Dhama or four holiest places.
Dvaraka is one of the Sapta-puris or seven holy towns – Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Kasi, Ujjin, Kancipuram and Dvaraka – and one of the four Dhamas or holy places – Ramesvaram, Puri, Badrinath and Dvaraka.
Pandavas came here during their Vanavas to build a hermitage for themselves. Their cows used to go to the same river bank to drink water. After drinking water, milk used to flow automatically into the river as if the cows were offering to the river. One day Bhima saw this miraculous event and told Dharmaraja about the same. Then Dharmaraja said, “Surely, some great God must be living in this river”. Then the Pandavas started removing the water from the river. The middle part of the river was so hot that the water there was boiling. Bheema lifted his mace and attacked the river thrice. The water gave way instantly. Lord Shankara’s Linga could be seen as the Jyotirlinga.
Legend has it that a devotee by name Supriya, was attacked by a demon Daaruka, while in a boat and that the demon imprisoned him along with several others at his capital Daarukaavana, where he resided with his wife Daaruki. Shiva appeared in the form of a Jyotirlingam and vanquished the demon with the Paasupata Astram.
The Sivalinga is facing South, with the Gomukham facing East. There is a story for this position. A devotee by name Naamdev was singing bhajans in front of the Lord. Other devotees asked him to stand aside and not hide the Lord. To this Naamdev asked them to suggest one direction in which the Lord does not exist, so that he can stand there. The enraged devotees carried him and left him on the south side. To their astonishment, they found that the Linga was now facing South with the Gomukham facing East.
Another specialty of this Shivalinga is that unlike the other Shivalingas, which are made of black stone and look like a neat pillar rounded off at the top, this one is made of a stone known popularly as Dwaraka Shila, which has small chakras on it. The shape of the linga is more or less like a oval 3 mukhi Rudraksha.
Aurangazeb, the notorious Moghal emperor, wanted to destroy this Hindu temple. When he tried, thousands of bees came out of the temple and attacked Aurangazeb and his army. He left the demolition work midway and went away. The devotees rebuild the broken temple.
Two other sites in India, one near Audhgram near Purna in Andhra Pradesh and another near Almora in Uttar Pradesh also enshrine temples to Nageswara Jyotirlingam and they claim that is the real Nageshwar Jyotirlinga!!Nageshwar near Dwarka in Gujarat is one of the 12 Jyotirlinga Shrines of Shiva.
Lord Krishna Himself used to worship it and perform Rudrabhishekam. It is located on the route between Dwarka and the Bet Dwarka island, on the coast of Saurashtra in Gujarat. The Rudra Samhita sloka refers to Nageshwar with the phrase ‘Daarukaavane Naagesham’.
Dvaraka is one of the Sapta-puris or seven holy towns – Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Kasi, Ujjin, Kancipuram and Dvaraka – and one of 2the four Dhamas or holy places – Ramesvaram, Puri, Badrinath and Dvaraka.
Legend has it that a devotee by name Supriya, was attacked by a demon Daaruka, while in a boat and that the demon imprisoned him along with several others at his capital Daarukaavana, where he resided with his wife Daaruki. Shiva appeared in the form of a Jyotirlingam and vanquished the demon with the Paasupata Astram.
The Sivalinga is facing South, with the Gomukham facing East. There is a story for this position. A devotee by name Naamdev was singing bhajans in front of the Lord. Other devotees asked him to stand aside and not hide the Lord. To this Naamdev asked them to suggest one direction in which the Lord does not exist, so that he can stand there. The enraged devotees carried him and left him on the south side. To their astonishment, they found that the Linga was now facing South with the Gomukham facing East.
Another specialty of this Shivalinga is that unlike the other Shivalingas, which are made of black stone and look like a neat pillar rounded off at the top, this one is made of a stone known popularly as Dwaraka Shila, which has small chakras on it. The shape of the linga is more or less like a oval 3 mukhi Rudraksha.
Dwaraka Krishna temple.
Dwaraka was build by Lord Krishna as his new capital and residence. After HIS death it got submerged in the sea. According to the archaeologists, the present temple was built around 12-13th CE. Excavations around the temple revealed that the earliest temple would go back to at least 2200 years. According to legend it was built by Vajranabha, who built it on the land reclaimed from the sea by Lord Krishna.
Lord Krishna at Dwaraka temple
Krishna is worshiped as Sri Dwarakadeesha and His consort as Sri Rukmini Devvi.
Submerged Dwaraka discovered.
1983-1990, the Marine Archaeology department of India’s National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) carried out underwater excavations at Dwarka and found great evidence of the submerged Dwaraka. According to S. R. Rao “The available archaeological evidence from onshore and offshore excavations confirms the existence of a city-state with a couple of satellite towns in 1500 B.C.” He considered it “reasonable to conclude that this submerged city is the Dvaraka as described in the Mahabharata.”
Two other sites in India, one near Audhgram near Purna in Andhra Pradesh and another near Almora in Uttar Pradesh also enshrine temples to Nageswara Jyotirlingam and they claim that is the real Nageshwar Jyotirlinga!!
Fesivals: Being a great pilgrimage center of both Shiva and Krishna all the Vishnu and Shiva related festval are celebrate with great pomp and ceremony.
Other places to see:
Dwaraka was the abode of Lord Krishna and the Dwarakadheesh temple of Lord Krishna 17km away is a must see one.
Somnath Jyotirlinga is 233km away and very well connected by train and bus and taxi.
How to reach Dwaraka:
By Air: Porbandar Airport (PBD) is 98 kms away.
Jamnagar airport which is 127 km away
Ahmedabad airport which is better connected with other cities is 929 kms away.
By Rail and Road: Dwarka is well-connected with the major cities of Gujarat and many other major cities of India.
