DWARAKA 
The Earthly Abode of Lord Krishna

PLACES OF ITINERARY INTEREST

The pilgrims avail the darsan of the lovely face, beaming with radiant smile of Dwarakadish atleast at three places, besides the main Mandir, viz., 1. Okha Dwaraka, 2. Beti Dwaraka, and 3. Rukmini Dwaraka.

BETI DWARAKA

It is situated in an island in the bay of Cutch, and is 20 miles off the main temple. There is a motor able road upto Okha Dwaraka, and from here pilgrims go by boats. There are mechanized boats run by several companies and they charge one rupee per head for furring across a distance of 8 kms. It is quite pleasant, and all enjoy the voyage. The town authorities collect tax from every pilgrim. There are two temples dedicate°d to Sri Krishna, and in both of them Vallabha Sampradaya is observed. There are many old, dilapidated palatial , buildings identified as Sri Krishna residential quarters and palaces of his astamahishis. The image in the second one is that of Sankhodhara.

According to legend, there was a dreadful demon living in this region in Satyayuga and was torturing the sages and saints in several ways. In response to the soulful prayers of the afflicted, lord Mahavishnu killed him in his Matsya rupa and relieved His bhaktas from the demon once for all. The grateful sages built a temple here and worshipped Him, and that temple lies next to the Krishna Mandir. Its antiquity and the beauty of the image draws the devotees invariably ever. In Okha itself there is a shrine dedicated to Sri Krishna, but it is not given' due importance as the other two in the island. Pilgrims in their zeal for boat travel bypass this shrine.

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