The Opulence of Dwaraka

Dwaraka was an opulent kingdom of Lord Krishna. This city of Dwaraka was constructed by Vishwakarma, the architect of devatas. Krishna constructed Dwaraka in order to protect the residents of Mathura from the attacks of Jarasandha and Kalayavana.

The construction of Dwaraka

Krishna constructed Dwaraka city in the midst of the sea. Firstly, He constructed a very strong wall covering ninety-six square miles, and the wall itself was within the sea. It was certainly wonderful and was planned and constructed by Vishwakarma. No ordinary architect could construct such a fort within the sea, but an architect like Vishwakarma, who is considered to be the engineer among the devatas, can execute such wonderful craftsmanship anywhere in the universe. If huge planets can float in weightlessness in outer space by the arrangement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, surely the architectural construction of a fort covering ninety-six square miles within the sea was not very wonderful.(Also read: Dwaraka – The Submerged Kingdom of Lord Krishna)

It is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam that this new, well-constructed city, developed within the sea, had regular planned roads, streets and lanes. There were also well-planned parks and gardens filled with plants known as kalpa-vrikshas, or desire trees. These desire trees are not like the ordinary trees of the material world; the desire trees are found in the spiritual world. By Krishna’s supreme will, everything is possible, so such desire trees were planted in Dwaraka, the city constructed by Krishna. The city was also filled with many palaces and gopuras, or big gates. These gopuras are still found in some of the larger temples. They are very high and constructed with fine artistic skill. Such palaces and gates held golden waterpots (kalashas). These waterpots on the gates or on the palaces are considered auspicious signs.

Almost all the palaces were skyscrapers. In each and every house there were underground rooms containing big golden and silver pots for stocking grain. And there were many golden waterpots within the rooms. The bedrooms were all bedecked with jewels, and the floors were mosaic pavements of marakata jewels. The Vishnu Deity, worshiped by the descendants of Yadu, was installed in each house in the city. The residential quarters were so arranged that the different castes—brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras—had their respective quarters. In the center of the city was a residence made specifically for King Ugrasena. This was the most dazzling of all the houses.

When Indra saw that Krishna was constructing a particular city of His own choice, he sent the celebrated parijata tree of the heavenly planets to be planted in the new city, and he also sent a parliamentary house, Sudharma. The specific quality of this assembly house was that anyone participating in a meeting within it would overcome the influence of invalidity due to old age. The demigod Varuna presented a horse, which was all white except for black ears and which could run at the speed of the mind. Kuvera, the treasurer of the devatas, presented the art of attaining the eight perfectional stages of material opulence. In this way, all the demigods began to present their respective gifts according to their different capacities. There are thirty-three million demigods, each entrusted with a particular department of universal management. All the demigods took the opportunity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead’s constructing a city of His own choice to present their respective gifts, making the city of Dwaraka unique within the universe.

Note: The contents of this post have been adapted from the book Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The painters own the copyrights of the paintings published in this post.