After ruling from Mathura for some time Lord Krishna took his clan on a long exodus across north India to the coast of Gujarat. Here he built a new city by the sea for his Yadava clan that he called Dwaravati or Dwarka. It was a city that thrived as long as Krishna was alive and it vanished beneath the ocean waves at his death, as if it could only exist in the presence of its creator.
Lord Krishna was never forgotten here at Dwarka and his quicksilver spirit still pervades this tranquil sea side city. Here he is worshipped every day with lighted lamps, flowers, incense and mantras at the magnificent Dwarkadhish Temple. They sing bhajans in his praise and dance in mystic joy. At Dwarka he is still Dwarkadhish, the supreme lord of Dwarka. Dwarka is mentioned extensively in the Mahabharata where many episodes in the life of the Pandava brothers of Hastinapur play out here. Arjun came to meet his dear friend often and would marry Krishna’s sister Subhadra. References to the city can also be found in the Harivamsa, Bhagavat Purana, Skanda Purana and Vishnu Purana. It is praised as a moksha kshetra, where devotees gain liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Today the stones of ancient Dwaravati may lie fathoms deep beneath the Arabian Sea but Krishna’s compassionate presence still beckons the pilgrim from every corner of the land. Read More: Dwarka - Lord Krishna’s City
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Ancient Dwarka is on the pilgrim trail for the devotees of Lord Vishnu and Lord Krishna and also those worshiping Lord Shiva and the goddess Mahadevi.
So Dwarka is a supreme tirtha for many reasons:
Daiwik Hotels welcomes you to an ancient city by the wave lashed coast of the Arabian Sea – the spiritually sublime Hindu pilgrimage of Dwarka.
Dwarka was once a magnificent city by the sea built by the warrior-king Lord Krishna. Today he is worshipped as a god and Dwarka is believed to be among Lord Krishna’s most sacred abodes. Dwarka is a complete pilgrimage, vibrant with spirituality, redolent with the prayers of devotees of Krishna, as for centuries it has been on the pilgrim path of the faithful. Read More: About Dwarka As it is high in the Himalayan mountain regions of Garhwal in the state of Uttarakhand, Badrinath can only be reached by road. The nearest railway station is at Rishikesh 298 km away. Badrinath is at a distance of 48 km from Joshimath.
To travel to the Chaar Dhaam in the hills of Gangotri-Yamunotri-Kedarnath-Badrinath it is a minimum of a journey of10 days. To include visiting other places and done at a more relaxed manner where you have the time to enjoy the beauty of the landscape a 15 to 20 day journey is a much more satisfying experience. There is no traffic on the narrow hill roads in the night and travel is only during day light hours. The Himalayas are young mountains and so there are landslides in the rainy season. This leads to the blockage of roads and one should be prepared for night stays along the way. Read More: Travelling To Badrinath For the adventurous pilgrim willing to trek in the hills around Badrinath there is much to savour. The region is strewn with temples, sacred waterfalls and hill streams. All the temples claim great antiquity with their own mythology and often the tale of a visit by the Pandava brothers. Then there is the village called Mana where it is said that the sage Ved Vyas composed the epic Mahabharata.
SAPTA BADRIThere are seven temples including the Badrinarayan temple in the circuit of seven Badri shrines. These are Adi Badri, Vriddha Badri, Dhyan Badri, Ardha Badri, Bhavishya Badri, Yogadhyan Badri and the main shrine called Badrivishal. The temples are at times located in remote villages and pilgrims wishing to visit all the seven temples will have to trek and even camp out in the open. It is recommended that they travel with a professional guide. The Adi Badri temple is located near Karna Prayag and has sixteen temples, some of them built during the Gupta period around the 10th century. The Vriddha Badri temple is in Animath village near Joshimath. The myth says that Vishnu appeared before Narada in the guise of an old man, a vriddha. The Dhyan Badri temple is in the Urgam region and also has a Shiva temple. The Ardha Badri temple is also near Joshimath and as the image of Vishnu is a small one it is called ‘ardha’ or half. The Bhavishya Badri temple is in the village of Subhain beyond Tapovan on the old pilgrim route to Lake Mansoravar. Finally the Yogadhyan Badri temple is in the town of Padukeshwar that is named after King Pandu the father of the Pandavas. The utsava murti of Badrinarayan is brought here and worshipped during the time when the main temple is closed. Read More: Other Sacred Places in Badrinath Viraja HomamA fire ritual that is not just for monks!
While eating, we destroy so many organisms, while walking, we hurt and destroy so many organisms, while breathing, we inhale so many organisms and destroy them. As human beings, we are susceptible to many flaws, such as anger, hatred, jealousy and greed. All these form a part and parcel of our so-called petty ‘life’ on earth. One cannot even imagine the heap of negative karmas that are accumulated everyday as a result of all our misdeeds. Similarly, we also perform so many good Karmas. Think of those compassionate deeds that you have done for others, some intentionally and some without your knowledge. ‘Karma’ is a Sanskrit word that has a twofold meaning: it means action as well as the particular result or consequence of that action. In order to liberate yourself from your Karmas, you must get rid of all your Karmas, positive and negative. Only then can you attain the pure blissful state and realize your true luminous Self (God). One such powerful way of getting rid of Karmas is to perform Yagya. Read More: Viraja Homam – The Final Fire Oblation – Aiming For Sanyasa Deeksha “When his devotees call him,
He comes glittering… And bestows his grace upon all He is indeed the thief who has stolen my soul away.” ~~~ Tamil poet Sambandar on Lord Shiva. During a tirthayatra we worship our deities by visiting their greatest shrines. For Lord Vishnu there is the Chaar Dhaam yatra that covers the four cardinal points of the Indian subcontinent as pilgrims visit Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameswaram. For the great mother goddess Devi we have fifty one sacred seats of the deity called Devi or Shakti Peethas. For Lord Shiva the pilgrimage follows a beam of divine light to the temples with the twelve jyotirlingams that are located all across the land, from Kedarnath in the Himalayas, Vishwanath by the Ganga River, Somnath by the Arabian Sea to Rameswaram by the Bay of Bengal. These circuits of yatras have been part of the Hindu spiritual life for over three thousand years and one wonders how in a country the size of India, with primitive forms of transport and communications, we created such an intricate network of connected pilgrimages. The Sanskrit scholar Diana Eck calls this network a “sacred geography” that offers moksha to the pilgrim. She says that the news of the sanctity of these shrines and their mythology was carried across India by pilgrims, traders and travelling story tellers called kathakaars. So from time immemorial our pilgrims united the country through their faith. These pilgrimages are listed in ancient texts like the Puranas, Mahabharata and Ramayana that were written by scholars and philosophers we call rishis. For example in the Tirthayatra Parva of the Mahabharata when the Pandavas are in exile and hiding in the forest they decide to go on a pilgrimage. The sage Rishi Pulastya guides them in their journey and this list of pilgrimages then inspires pilgrims for centuries. Read More: A COLUMN OF LIGHT ![]() “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” ~~~ The Dalai Lama When we say the word ‘religion’, many images, memories and experiences flash across our minds. We think of lyrical hymns echoing inside a church; the sound of bells as a priest raises an aarti lamp shimmering with golden flames to light the face of a smiling goddess; the mellow notes of a shabad kirtan floating out of a gurudwara at dawn and the azaan calling the faithful to start their day with prayer. For most of us, religion is the thread that holds our lives together. For centuries the many religions of the world have helped millions of people through the sorrows and challenges of their lives. Faith gives us courage and also moments of joy and peace. All religions appeal to the best side of the human character and when our lives are touched by kindness and compassion, it is what civilization truly stands for. Think about it, could any religion have survived if it did not offer a path for the survival and progress of mankind? We still gain strength from the teachings of the Buddha who spoke them two thousand five hundred years ago. Jesus Christ’s words of love and kindness still inspire us to reach out to help others. The shrine of the Sufi saint Sheikh Muinuddin Chishti at Ajmer still sways to quawwalli songs that talk of love, faith, equality and charity. And we have not forgotten the poems of Kabir, Basavanna and Sri Chaitanya. If we listen, faith makes us better human beings. Read More: WHAT RELIGION GIVES US “ For the ignorant you are the island city of the sun
Flowing from a bouquet of intelligence For the poor you are a rosary of wishing jewels.” ~~~ Praise for the Devi in Saundarya Lahari Devi or Ma means the Mother Goddess and within her we see every aspect of a woman. She is the gentle Parvati; the generous Annapurna; the warrior Durga and the fierce Kali. She can be ugra or angry and saumya or gentle. The goddess is what you want her to be. During the time of the Rig Veda the goddess was not an important deity. Our pantheon was dominated by gods like Indra, Varuna and Agni. Only a few hymns were dedicated to Prithvi, the earth goddess and Aranyani, the goddess of the forest. Then she was just given the status of the consort to a god and we got Saraswati, sitting beside Brahma; Lakshmi with Vishnu and Parvati next to Shiva. Read More: WELCOME THE GODDESS The Sermon on the Mount was the longest sermon given by Jesus Christ and it was among Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite religious texts. What is amazing is that Gandhiji was influenced and inspired by what a wandering Jewish healer and preacher said in far off Palestine, two thousand years ago.
History talks of many preachers and healers but only a few are remembered like Gautama Buddha, Confucius, Jesus Christ or Guru Nanak. It is because of what they said and that is the power of the words of Jesus. His religious philosophy is thoughtful and compassionate and it is encapsulated in exquisite phrases and illuminating stories called parables that reach out and touch our hearts. Jesus was a historical person who was born in Bethlehem, lived in Nazareth and was crucified in Jerusalem, the capital of Palestine. Today pilgrims walk along the path he trod from the Sea of Galilee, the Garden of Gethsemane and the hill of Calvary; praying at ancient churches that commemorate the extraordinary life of a man of peace and charity. Read More: SERMONS OF LOVE & KINDNESS |