Dwarka

Why it is one of the Sapta Puri

A verse of the Garuda Purana calls seven cities givers of liberation: "ayodhyā mathurā māyā kāśī kāñcī avantikā, purī dvāravatī jñeyā saptaitā mokṣadāyikāḥ". Meaning: Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya, Kashi, Kanchi, Avantika and the city of Dvaravati, know these seven as givers of liberation. Dvaravati Puri (today’s Dwarka) is the seventh name in the list.

We read the verse in two places in the Uttara Khanda (Preta Kalpa) of the Garuda Purana: chapter 38 (verses 5-6) and chapter 49 (verse 114), in the Venkateshvara Press text. In both places the context is the tirthas where dying brings liberation. In the Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana (first half, chapter 7) Shivasharman, a brahmin of Mathura, resolves to visit the seven cities (verses 42-43) and goes to the other six.

Dwarka in the texts

According to the Bhagavata Purana (10.50.49-53), after consulting Balarama, Krishna had a fortress city twelve yojanas round built within the sea, showing all of Vishvakarma’s skill. In the Kashi Khanda of the Skanda Purana (first half 7.103-110) Shivasharman reaches Dvaravati; the text says that here there are doors (entries) to all four aims of life, so the wise call it Dvaravati (7.104), and it praises the gopichandana of the place (7.107).

According to Devbhumi Dwarka district Krishna came to settle here after killing Kamsa, the city was built by Vishvakarma at his command, and its old names are Mokshapuri, Dwarkamati and Dwarkavati. According to the Gujarat Pavitra Yatradham Vikas Board, tradition says the old Dwarka sank into the sea after Krishna left his body.

The main temples and ghats

The Dwarkadhish temple (Jagat Mandir) is the five-storeyed main temple in the Chalukya style; pilgrims first bathe at the Gomti ghat, where the Gomti meets the sea, and enter the temple by the Swarga Dwar (Devbhumi Dwarka district). Next to the temple is Adi Shankaracharya’s Sharada Peeth. The Rukmini Devi temple has 12th-century paintings on its walls (district); Gujarat Tourism links it with the story of Durvasa’s curse.

Bet Dwarka (Shankhodhar) is an island about 30 km away, reached by boat from Okha and, since February 2024, by the Sudarshan Setu bridge (district, Gujarat Tourism). About 18 km away is the Nageshwar temple, which Gujarat Tourism and the district count among the twelve Jyotirlingas, and about 20 km away Gopi Talav (district).

How to reach Dwarka

• Rail: Dwarka railway station (DWK) (Devbhumi Dwarka district).
• Air: Porbandar airport, 95 km, and Jamnagar airport, 110 km (Devbhumi Dwarka district).

Main festivals

Where the sources differ

• In popular recitation the second line is also heard as "purī dvāravatī caiva". The Garuda Purana text in which we checked it reads "purī dvāravatī jñeyā". The verse says "saptaitā" (these seven), so "purī dvāravatī" is one city, the city of Dwarka, not Jagannath Puri.
• The Gujarat Pavitra Yatradham Vikas Board calls this city the first or the foremost of the seven. The Garuda Purana verse only lists the seven names and ranks none; the other cities’ own sources also call their city the first.
• The Nageshwar Jyotirlinga: Gujarat Tourism, Incredible India and the district take Dwarka’s Nageshwar to be the Jyotirlinga, while Maharashtra Tourism takes Aundha Nagnath (Hingoli); the stotra says only "nāgeśaṃ dārukāvane".
• Distance to Jamnagar: the district gives 110 km, different Gujarat Tourism pages 110, 126 and 145 km.

Frequently asked questions