Dvārakā, also called Dvāravatī, is the island city in the western ocean that was built for Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. Viśvakarma, the builder of the devas, made it at Kṛshṇa’s request. It was the capital of the Yādava kingdom for most of Kṛshṇa’s life on earth. It was made safe against the repeated attacks of Jarāsandha on Mathurā, and it became the richest city in the world. All the Yādavas lived there, with Kṛshṇa’s queens and treasures from several divine realms, including the Pārijāta tree brought from Svarga. After Kṛshṇa left the earth, the ocean took the city back.

Why Dvārakā was built

After Kaṃsa died, his wives, who were the daughters of Jarāsandha, king of Magadha, urged their father to take revenge. Jarāsandha attacked Mathurā again and again with huge armies. The Yādavas were forced to defend themselves, and their position grew harder to hold. Kṛshṇa did not want the city and its people to suffer for ever, so he decided to build a new city that no enemy could enter. He asked Viśvakarma to build a splendid city on an island in the western ocean (paścimā samudra). Then Kṛshṇa moved the whole Yādava people from Mathurā to Dvārakā, where they lived under his protection, out of Jarāsandha’s reach. From Dvārakā Kṛshṇa later overcame Pauṇḍraka Vāsudeva. The Agni Purāṇa tells this in Chapter 12.

The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells it in the Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 246. After Kaṃsa died at Mathurā, Jarāsandha of Magadha, his father-in-law, attacked the Yādavas again and again, out of grief and hatred. The Yādavas were in distress and told Kṛshṇa. He asked Bhīma and Arjuna how to deal with Jarāsandha, who had a vara from Bhagavān Śiva that protected him from weapons. At the same time he began to build a new city that could not be taken. Viśvakarma, the divine builder, made Dvāravatī in the western ocean, and Kṛshṇa settled the Yādavas there. The city was twelve yojanas round, with wide streets, tall mansions, pavilions and divine gardens.

Dvārakā in the Agni Purāṇa

Construction

In the Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 12, Viśvakarma won twelve yojanas of land from the sea and raised the city of Dvārakā on it. It had golden ramparts, divine gardens, divine buildings and every provision for the capital of a supreme king.

The glory of the city

Under Kṛshṇa’s rule Dvārakā was a city of matchless splendour. Its golden walls shone with divine light. Its palaces housed Kṛshṇa’s chief queens. Rukmiṇī had been carried off from Vidarbha at her own wish, because she wanted no other husband. There were seven other chief queens. There were also the sixteen thousand and eight women freed from the captivity of Narakāsura, whom Kṛshṇa married to protect their honour.

Satyabhāmā was Kṛshṇa’s queen, known for her courage and plain speech. Her palace held the Pārijāta tree, which Kṛshṇa himself had brought from Svarga after defeating Indra, to honour Satyabhāmā’s wish. From Dvārakā Kṛshṇa ruled as the supreme king of the Yādavas, and he acted in the affairs of the world as the will of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa required.

In the end Kṛshṇa gave up his earthly form at Prabhāsa-kshetra, after the Yādavas had been destroyed. The ocean, which had given up its space for Dvārakā, took the city back and covered it with its waves.

Dvārakā in the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa

The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapters 103–104, gives a much fuller account of how Dvārakā was built, with a full teaching of Vāstu Śāstra.

The command

Kṛshṇa came back from the gurukula of Sāṇḍipani. He called Garuḍa, Viśvakarma and the ocean. He told the ocean to yield one hundred yojanas of space. The ocean knew Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and obeyed at once.

Vāstu rules taught to Viśvakarma

Auspicious trees inside the city: mango, banyan, aśoka, bilva, tulasī, kadamba, campaka, pārijāta, mandāra, and fruit trees.
Inauspicious trees outside: śālmali, palāśa, śamī, karavīra, and thorny trees.
A well at the north-east corner brings wealth. A well at the south-west corner brings loss.
The main gate should face east. Temples should face east or north. Water sources belong in the north-east, kitchens in the south-east (the direction of Agni), and sleeping rooms in the south-west.

The finished city

It was 100 yojanas square.
Seven deep moats (parikhā) ran round the city.
It had nine ramparts (prākāra), each of finer material than the one before.
It had lakhs of lakes for play and 3 lakh pushpavāṭikās (flower gardens).
Its streets were paved with gems and its towers were set with gems.

The Sudharmā Sabhā

The Sudharmā Sabhā was the divine assembly hall, brought from the divine realms. It stood at the centre of the government of Dvārakā. The account calls it the finest assembly hall in all the worlds.

Ugrasena’s coronation

When the city was finished, Kṛshṇa performed the royal abhisheka of Ugrasena as king of Dvārakā with the sacred waters of all the great rivers. Ugrasena had been imprisoned and shamed by his son Kaṃsa. Now he was restored to full kingship.

Dvārakā in the Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa

The Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, in the Vishṇu Parva, gives its own account of why Dvārakā was founded.

The decision to leave Mathurā

After Kaṃsa’s death, Jarāsandha attacked Mathurā with a vast army of allies. His two daughters Āsti and Prāpti had been Kaṃsa’s wives. He wished to destroy the whole Yādava clan. The war between the Yādavas and Jarāsandha lasted sixty-seven days. Jarāsandha was driven back again and again. But a voice from the sky (ākāśavāṇī) declared that he was not fated to die at the hands of Balarāma. So both sides stopped each time the decisive moment came.

In time it became plain that Jarāsandha could not be killed in the situation of that day. Jarāsandha also joined with Kālayavana. Kālayavana was a mighty yavana king, born through a vara won from Śaṃkara, and he could not be beaten by the people of Mathurā. He marched on Mathurā with a vast army of Śakas, Tushāras, Daradas and other peoples.

Kṛshṇa spoke openly in an assembly of the Yādava elders. The land of Mathurā was too small for the growing Yādava armies and treasuries. Enemies could besiege it easily. With both Jarāsandha and Kālayavana against them, they could not stay there. The Hari Vaṃśa tells this in the Vishṇu Parva, Chapters 35–57.

Garuḍa’s discovery and the move

Garuḍa had already found a good site. He told Kṛshṇa and Balarāma that there was an ancient settlement on the western seashore. It was Kuśasthalī, first built by a king of Sindhu in an eight-sided form. It lay among coconut groves, jasmine gardens and creepers, with the ocean on all four sides. Garuḍa said, “No force of the devas can besiege it. In time to come it will be famous as Dvāravatī.” He added that if the ocean gave more land and Viśvakarma enlarged the building, the city would become very beautiful.

When Kālayavana reached the gates of Mathurā, Kṛshṇa judged the time right and gave the order to move. The whole Yādava people, with their families, cattle, horses, elephants, chariots and armies, travelled west to the chosen place on the shore. Kṛshṇa led Kālayavana away from Mathurā on foot, to the mountain cave of the sleeping king Mucukunda. Mucukunda burned Kālayavana to ashes with his angry gaze. Kṛshṇa then brought the rest of Kālayavana’s army and its wealth to Dvārakā. The Hari Vaṃśa tells this in the Vishṇu Parva, Chapters 56–58.

The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells of Kālayavana in the Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 246. Kālayavana came to attack with an army of thirty million soldiers. Kṛshṇa did not fight him head on. He made a plan and led Kālayavana into the cave where Mucukunda was sleeping. Mucukunda’s gaze burned Kālayavana, and Dvāravatī was kept safe.

The building of Dvārakā

After the Kālayavana episode, Kṛshṇa began the formal building. On a day of the rohiṇī nakshatra, after a brāhmaṇa had performed the svastivācana, the work on the fortifications began. Kṛshṇa chose the site of the citadel himself. He told the builders to make a city like Svarga, like Amarāvatī in the plan of its streets, lanes and wide royal roads. The human builders began to lay the foundations.

Kṛshṇa then asked that Viśvakarma himself oversee the whole building. Viśvakarma came, sent by Indra, and placed himself under Bhagavān Kṛshṇa’s command. He said that the site was excellent but needed more room for all the Yādavas and their armies. He advised asking the ocean to yield twelve yojanas of land. Kṛshṇa spoke to the ocean, which knew Bhagavān Kṛshṇa and at once gave twelve yojanas of space. Viśvakarma then built Dvārakā on the land won back.

The finished city had these parts:

high ramparts (prākāra) with gateways and arches (toraṇa);
deep moats (parikhā);
quarters for merchants, with shops and stalls;
wells and bathing ghāṭas (diguda-bāvi);
rest-houses (calivendra);
fine pleasure gardens (udyānavana).

Its streets were lined with handsome buildings for men and women of every rank, and the whole city glowed. When his work was done, Viśvakarma was honoured by Kṛshṇa and went back to Svarga. The Hari Vaṃśa tells this in the Vishṇu Parva, Chapter 59.

Gifts to the city

When the building was done, Kṛshṇa called Śaṃkhanidhi, the keeper of Kubera’s treasure. He told him to see that every household in Dvārakā had plenty. Kṛshṇa said, “Let no poor man, no one who suffers hunger, no weakling, no unclean person and no beggar be seen in this city.” Śaṃkhanidhi called the nidhis (the divine treasure-spirits) and had them pour wealth into every home. From that day there was no poverty in Dvārakā.

Kṛshṇa then asked Vāyu to go to Svarga and, with the agreement of the devas, bring down the Sudharmā, the divine assembly hall of the devas. Vāyu did so, and the Sudharmā was set up in the heart of Dvārakā. Kṛshṇa then decked the city with padma flowers and other divine things from earth and Svarga. He named a senāpati (army commander), a purohita (household priest) and ten senior Yādava elders to look after the welfare of the clan. Dāruka became his own charioteer, and Sātyaki was named the chief of the warriors. The Hari Vaṃśa tells this in the Vishṇu Parva, Chapter 59.

Kṛshṇa’s reign in Dvārakā

Kṛshṇa and the Yādavas lived in great joy at Dvārakā. He defeated Narakāsura and brought back the sixteen thousand women who had been held captive. He freed them and married them to protect their honour. He won back the kuṇḍalas (earrings) stolen from Aditi and gained glory in Svarga. The wealth taken from Narakāsura, including great amounts of gold, gems, elephants and horses, was shared among the Vṛshṇi, Andhaka and Yādava clans. The Yādavas, made rich by it, performed many yajñas and lived happily in Dvārakā.

Nārada came to Dvārakā. In an assembly of the Yādava heroes he told all of Kṛshṇa’s deeds from childhood, from the killing of Śaṭāsura to the defeat of Mura, Niśunda, Narakāsura, Kālayavana, Śālva, Saubhapati, Dyumatsena and many others. He said: “Kṛshṇa will establish dharma among human beings, perform great yajñas with rich dakshiṇā, and then return to his own loka. When he leaves, Dvārakā will sink into the ocean. No one among devas or asuras is so able. He is Vishṇu, Nārāyaṇa himself, who has come down for the welfare of all the worlds.” The Hari Vaṃśa tells this in the Vishṇu Parva, Chapters 103–104.

Dvārakā in the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa

The Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 1st Skanda, Chapters 10–11, shows Dvārakā at the height of its glory, when Kṛshṇa came back to it after the war of Kurukshetra and before the coming destruction.

Kṛshṇa entered Dvārakā with great ceremony. The city was hung with golden banners on towers that touched the sky. Its streets were sprinkled with sweet water, and its people wore their best clothes. The Sudharmā, the divine assembly hall that the Yādavas had taken from the divine realms, stood at the centre of the city’s public life and was open to all the Yādavas as a place to meet. Kṛshṇa himself held court there.

The Bhāgavata adds one special detail. Dvārakā held sixteen thousand queens who served Kṛshṇa’s lotus feet with constant devotion. Each lived in her own palace, and each knew Kṛshṇa’s whole and undivided presence, because he can be everywhere at once. The Yādavas gathered in Dvārakā lived, the Bhāgavata says, like the pārshadas (attendants) of Bhagavān Vishṇu in Vaikuṇṭha. Kṛshṇa’s presence protected them and they went through life without fear. The Bhāgavata also says that the strong arms of Kṛshṇa, his protecting rule, enclosed Dvārakā on every side, and no enemy dared come near.

All this glory was swallowed by the ocean after Kṛshṇa left: the sixteen thousand queens, the Yādava guardians, the Sudharmā and the city itself.

Life in Dvāravatī in the Padma Mahā Purāṇa

The Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 252, describes Kṛshṇa’s life in Dvāravatī. He lived there with his father Vasudeva, the elder king Ugrasena, Saṅkarshaṇa (Balarāma), Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Akrūra and all the Yādavas. His sixteen thousand wives worshipped him every day, and so did his eight divine queens: Rukmiṇī, Satyabhāmā, Jāmbavatī, Kālindī, Mitravindā, Nāgnajitī, Bhadrā and Lakshaṇā. Kṛshṇa lived in great splendour in many mansions, enjoyed divine comforts and cared for the welfare of his people.

His childhood friend Sudāmā, a brāhmaṇa, came to Dvāravatī in poverty. Kṛshṇa received him with great honour. When Sudāmā went home, he found his house changed into wealth by Kṛshṇa’s grace.

The Pāṇḍava Aśvamedha horse at Dvārakā

The Pāṇḍava Aśvamedha horse was guarded by Arjuna. When it came to Dvārakā, the young Yādava princes seized it for sport. Ugrasena stopped them at once. Ugrasena and Vasudeva together welcomed Arjuna with honour, and Arjuna then went on following the horse westward toward Sindhu and Gāndhāra. The Mahābhārata tells this in the Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 83.

The end of Dvārakā

The omens and the submersion in the Mausala Parva

The Mausala Parva records in vivid detail the doom that came upon Dvārakā. As the ruin drew near, Kāla (Time) himself went about the houses of the Vṛshṇis and Andhakas by day and night, seen and unseen. He was bald, dark and tawny, and terrible to look at. Rats overran the streets and gnawed the hair and nails of sleeping men. Animals gave birth to unnatural young. Fire burned to the left. The sun looked as if it were ringed with headless bodies. The Pāñcajanya conch wailed of its own accord in Kṛshṇa’s house.

An eclipse had fallen on the thirteenth day of the dark fortnight, as at the time of the Bhārata war. Kṛshṇa knew that Kāla had come, and he ordered a tīrtha-yātrā festival to Prabhāsa on the seashore. The Mahābhārata tells this in the Mausala Parva, Chapters 2–3.

Before the departure, the Sudarśana Cakra rose into the sky before the eyes of the Vṛshṇis. Dāruka’s divine horses fled over the sea. The apsarasas carried away the palm banner of Balarāma and the Garuḍa banner of Kṛshṇa. The Yādavas slew one another at Prabhāsa, and Kṛshṇa and Balarāma departed. Arjuna then came to a Dvārakā that had become like a widow. After the funeral of Vasudeva, the survivors left under Arjuna’s lead. The ocean, which had once given up the land for the city, rushed in and swallowed gem-filled Dvārakā completely. Wherever Arjuna had walked on and left behind, the sea covered the ground with its waters, and the fleeing citizens cried out in wonder. The Mahābhārata tells this in the Mausala Parva, Chapters 3–4 and 7.

The end in the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa

At the time of Kṛshṇa’s Goloka-ārohaṇa (his ascent to Goloka), when all the avatāra-aṃśas (portions of the avatāra) had merged back into their sources, the ocean took back the space it had given. Dvārakā was swallowed beneath the waves, with its fine buildings, gem-paved streets and palaces. The ocean had given the space for the time of Kṛshṇa’s life on earth. When that life was complete, the space was returned. The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa tells this in the Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 129.

The end in the Padma Mahā Purāṇa

After Kṛshṇa went up to Vaikuṇṭha, all the old Yādavas, Vasudeva, Ugrasena, Akrūra and others, gave up their bodies and joined Kṛshṇa in the eternal world. The sixteen thousand wives of Kṛshṇa who were left were seized by enemies of the devas on the road to Indraprastha. This was the result of an old śāpa (curse) by the ṛshi Ashṭāvakra on the wives of devas and gandharvas who had laughed at him. Arjuna performed the last rites. The city of Dvāravatī was then submerged in the great ocean. The Pārijāta tree that had stood in Dvāravatī went back to the divine realm of Indra, from where it had been brought. The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in the Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 252.

Dvārakā within Indraprastha

Apart from the Dvāravatī in the western ocean, a copy of Dvārakā was set up within Indraprastha by the command of Bhagavān Vishṇu, when Indraprastha was consecrated as the gathering of all tīrthas. This Dvārakā within Indraprastha has the full holiness of Kṛshṇa’s city. The Padma Mahā Purāṇa tells this in the Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapter 200.

Sources

Agni Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 12
Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapters 103–104 and 129
Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 1st Skanda, Chapters 10–11
Hari Vaṃśa Purāṇa, Vishṇu Parva, Chapters 35–57, 56–59, 64 and 103–104
Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 14–16
Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 83
Mahābhārata, Mausala Parva, Chapters 2–4 and 7
Padma Mahā Purāṇa, Uttara Khaṇḍa, Chapters 200, 246 and 252