Dvaraka Krishna's City

8/3/2019 Dvaraka Krishna's City

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MahabharataIs History

Not a Myth



Mahabharata ± History not a Myth

The following slides are a set prepared

using material available on the internet.

The objective is to bring awareness to thefact that Dwaraka ± the city where Krishna

lived, has been explored by the marine

archeological unit and scientific evidencenow points to the fact that Mahabharata is a

book of history and is not mythology.



DWARAKA ± Krishna¶s city

"The findings in Dwaraka and archeologicalevidence found are compatible with the

Mahabharata tradition and removes the lingering

doubt about the historicity of the Mahabharata.

We would say that Krishna definitely existed´

- S.R. Rao.

Source: Report about the excavations done by Dr. S.R. Rao of the Marine Archaeology Unit of the National Institute of Oceanography of India. Dr. S.R.

Rao served the Archaeological Survey of India for over 32 years. He is the discoverer

of a large number of Harappan sites including the port city of Lothal in Gujarat.



Artist's view of ancient fortified Dwaraka in Kusasthali



Submergence of Dwaraka ± as written in Mahabharata

After Sri Krishna left for the heavenly abode, and the

major Yadava heads were killed in fights amongthemselves; Arjuna went to Dwaraka to bring Krishna'sgrandsons and the Yadava wives to Hastinapur. After Arjuna left Dwaraka, it was submerged in the sea. This is

the account given by Arjuna, in Mahabharata: "The sea, which had been beating against the shores,

suddenly broke the boundary that was imposed on it bynature. The sea rushed into the city. It coursed through the

streets of the beautiful city. The sea covered up everythingin the city. I saw the beautiful buildings becomingsubmerged one by one. In a matter of a few moments itwas all over. The sea had now become as placid as a lake.There was no trace of the city. Dwaraka was just a name;

just a memory."



Discovery of Dwaraka The search for the lost city was going on since 1930's.

Marine Archaeology Unit (MAU) of the National

Institute of Oceanography, took part in this search in1983. This search was carried out in the coastal waters of Dwaraka in Gujarat.

Between 1983 to 1990 was discovered, the well-fortified

township of Dwaraka, that extended more than half amile from the shore. The township was built in six sectorsalong the banks of a river. The foundation of boulders onwhich the city's walls were erected proves that the landwas reclaimed from the sea.

Dwaraka extended up to Bet Dwaraka (Sankhodhara) inthe north and Okhamadhi in the south. Eastward itextended up to Pindara. The general layout of the city of Dwaraka described in ancient texts agrees with that of thesubmerged city discovered by MAU.



The expedition of 1981"The search for the lost city has been going on since 1930," S.R. Rao,

former adviser to the NIO who is still actively involved in theexcavations, told India Abroad. "It is only after marine archaeologists

started exploring the seabed near modern Dwaraka from 1981 that the

structural remains of the city were found."

Rao said that if a fraction of the funds spent on land archeology were

made available for under-water archaeology, more light could be

thrown on Dwaraka, which had much archeological significance

because it was built during the second urbanization that occurred in

India after the Indus Valley civilization in northwestern India.

Dwaraka's existence disproves the belief held by Westernarcheologists that there was no urbanization in the Indian

subcontinent from the period between 1700 B.C. (Indus Valley) and

550 B.C. (advent of Buddhism). As no information was available

about that period, they had labeled it the Dark Period.



How was the city - Dwaraka Among the objects unearthed that proved Dwaraka¶s

connection with the Mahabharata epic was a sea engraved withthe image of a three-headed animal. The epic mentions such aseal given to the citizens of Dwaraka as a proof of identitywhen the city was threatened by King Jarasandha of the

powerful Magadha kingdom (now Bihar).The foundation of boulders on which the city's walls were erected proves that theland was reclaimed from the sea about 3,600 years ago. Theepic has references to such reclamation activity at Dwaraka.Seven islands mentioned in it were also discovered submerged

in the Arabian Sea.Pottery, which has been established by thermo-luminescencetests to be 3,528 years old and carrying inscriptions in lateIndus Valley civilization script; iron stakes and triangular three-holed anchors discovered here find mention in the

Mahabharata.



The work in Progress

What is needed, Rao added, is the political will

to reconstruct the cultural history of the Vedic

and epic periods of northern India. The maritime

museums at sites of wrecks and submerged

ports are absolutely essential, and portable

antiquities should be conserved properly, he

emphasized.



The Proposal

If the proposal to have a maritime museum is accepted by the Gujarat government, it would be the first of itskind in India, he pointed out. Recounting the start of exploration for Dwaraka, Rao said, "We carried out the

original survey with just four scuba divers, while theoperation called for the services of around 200 diversand other staff ". But for the work to progress now,more equipment is needed, besides funds and time, hewarned, adding:"We need two barges, one mounted with a crate, andequipment such as an airlift. We need 30 or 40 diversand engineers. The work should go on for at least sixmonths and cannot be halted midway."

Dvaraka Krishna's City

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