The Ancient City of Dvārakā

The Ancient City of Dvārakā
Photo by Fares Nimri / Unsplash

In the Mahabharata, the city of Dvārakā was created by Vishwa Karma (the architect of the gods) with instructions from Lord Krishna. In the Mahabharata, Dvārakā (also known as Dvāravatī, both names meaning “the many-gated city” in Sanskrit) is the capital of the Yādava who ruled the Anarta Kingdom. Volume 16 of the Mahabharata describes this important city, situated on the western point of Gujarat, submerged in the sea.

It really is stunning how much of the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Vedas are being verified archeologically. Like all mythology, there seems to be a bedrock of truth to many critical stories. The city of Dvārakā pre-dates Harappa and Mohenjo Daro by thousands of years and may push back the Indus Valley civilization to the end of the last ice age – over 10,000 years ago! When I was in India last year I was able to visit the National Museum in New Delhi and see the artifacts from these ancient civilizations first hand. There are so few artifacts remaining that it’s hard to really get an understanding of what life must have been like there. The few pieces that were found with their writing have never been translated. This remains another great mystery. Again, mind-boggling. Take a look at the following documentary when you have time. It’s about 45 minutes and as with all new discoveries, this one raises more questions than it answers.