MUKTHI DWARAKA (PRABHASA THEERTHAM)
(The holy place where LORD KRISHNA disappeared)
Veraval also known as Somnath and Prabhas Theertham is located on the western coast in Gujarat and the last rail head in this route. This place is important for all Hindus . It is important because it was from this place that Lord Sri Krishna disappeared and ascended to Srivaikuntam as per the request of the devas.
This holy dhaam is one among the ” Nava Dwarakas” .(the junction point where Gomathi river joins the sea.
This “Prabhasa Kshetram” is also called ” Ban ka Theertham”
Prabhasam means well illuminating or very bright or well exposed. What was exposed? Some of the auspicious qualities of the Lord are brightly exposed here.
In Srimad Bhagavad Gita , Chapter 4, Arjuna asked the Lord, whether His birth was real ?
The Lord replied that just as Arjuna’s birth was real, His Avatar also was real.
Our bodies are made of Pancha Bhoota [space, air, fire, water and earth].
Then , Was His body also similar?
The Lord informed that His body was made of Aprakrytam and not of Pancha Bhoota.
His body was made of Pancha Shakti.
It is neither created nor destroyed.
The Three qualities are not in it.
Only sattva quality is there.
In Srimad Bhagavatam, Sukhacharya tells that at the end of Avatar, Lord Krishna proceeded to Sri Vaikuntam, with His body as such.
Lord Krishna after satisfying Himself that He had annihilated most of the demons in human form after Mahabharata war, decided to ascend to His eternal abode, Sri Vaikuntam.
Due to His presence, people belonging to His clan became proud and arrogant.
LORD wanted to reduce the burden of Mother Earth decided to put an end to the happenings.
As it was Lord’s will, he made Gandhari and the sapta rishis utter the curse of annihilation of Yadavas.
It so happened once few children of Lord Krishna were playing in the sea shore . One boy who was curious wanted to make fun of the Rishis. He dressed himself as a pregnant woman .They went near the holy saints and asked them to foretell as to what kind of a child would this pregnant lady bear.
The infuriated rishis cursed that the disguised lady would give an iron pestel which would destroy the entire Yadava race……… which came true.
The shocked Yadus ran to King Balarama for a solution.
Balarama was worried .He ordered them to powder the pestle into pieces and throw the powder away into the sea at Dwaarka .
The yadus acted accordingly and returned to their palace assuming all is fine now . A big iron piece which could not be powdered was thrown far away into the sea which was swallowed by a fish.
When this fish was caught and cut open by hunter, he found a big iron piece inside its abdomen . He found the piece to be very interesting .
Overjoyed he fixed the iron piece to his arrow and felt that would be useful during his hunting expedition. One day while strolling around the sea shore he happened to see something which attracted his attention . In the greenish grooves he could see pinkish shade ear lobes in the back ground .Mistaking it to be a deer’s ears he took his bow and shot the arrow which was just made with the iron piece . The arrow harmed Lord Krishna who was resting under a tree after all the catastrophe caused due the Rishis curse .
Over a period of time, the powder got deposited near the shore of the sea at Prabhasa Theertha and sharp blade type grass grew there.
When the Yadus who were fully intoxicated came to the sea shore the tamo guna in them made a twist in their behaviour .
By arguing with each other, they totally lost their mental balance and started hitting each other with the grass and got themselves killed.
Balarama , noticing that it was Lord ’s will decided to leave this earthly residence, assumed his original form as Adisesha and walked into the sea and disappeared.
The place where he disappeared can be seen even today in Dwaaraka . Over a period of time, this place has turned into mass of land due to reduction in the water level.
Lord Sri Krishna was resting under a banyan tree with right leg placed on left lap. A hunter named Jara (who was Vaali in his previous birth when Krishna incarnated as Lord Rama) , mistook ( LORD) Perumal’s thiruvadi to be a deer from a long distance and shot an arrow from a distance of 1 kilometre.
The hunter who came in search of his prey was shocked to see the Lord holy feet bleeding and begged for forgiveness. The Lord convinced that it was as per His divine plan and narrated his past birth as Vaali when Perumal hit him from behind and thus fulfilled Vali’s desire for revenge. He bestowed moksham to the hunter.
This shows Lord’s compassion to persons who try to him. In this avatar, he first killed Putana who had come to kill him and gave her moksham and at the end of the incarnation, he blessed Jara by giving him moksham.
According to the Priests version , it was said that Lord Krishna had once predicted that exactly seven days after his disappearance the Golden city of Dwarka will perish under the sea. This was what exactly happened as indeed Dwarka city is drowned in the sea due to some torrential rain. The whole incident was symbolic in nature for it paved ways to the beginning of demolitions and destruction.
Thus was the beginning of Kaliyug. Though we not yet certain of the reasons of his disappearance but few reasons can duly assigned to Lord Krishna’s leaving his spirit for the heavenThe moment Lord Krishna was preparing to ascend to Sri vaikuntam, all the three crore devatas headed by Brahma and PramaShivan arrived and were glorifying LORD by reciting Purusha Suktam, LORD disappeared from this place in the form of jyothi. (When the jyoti reached Suryamandalam, it transformed into a vigraham and descended on on Tirumala Hills .
The moment Krishna disappeared, Kali yugam started and to save His devotees from Kali, Lord decided to manifest in Tirumala and save the devotees till the end of Kaliyugam.
“Krite Nrisimha Bhoothosou Tretaayaam Raghunandanah /
Dwaapare Vaasudevas Cha kalao Vemkatanaayakah //
(meaning)
“While Narasimha was the Lord of Kritayuga, Rama (Raghunandana) was the Lord of Treta yuga, Krishna (Vaasudeva) of Dwaapara yuga, it is Lord Venkateshwara
(Venkata naayakah) who is the Lord of Kaliyuga.
” Again, of all the mountains where our Lord has taken his abode, Brahmaanda Puraana says
” Krite Vrishaadrim Vakshyanti Tretaayaam Anjanaachalam / Dwaapare Sesha Saileti kalou Sree Vemkataachalam //
As we are in KALIYUGA,
we surrender to this KALIYUGA VARADA – Lord Srinivasa.
He proclaimed that the devas as well as humans can have HIS darshan at Tirumala and allotted early morning time for the devas.
Even to this day, before closing the temple after Ekanta Seva , the priests at Tirumala temple fill the pancha paathirams with water for Brahma’s aaradhanai which is given as theertham after Suprabhatam.
Similar practice is followed in Badrinath at the time of closure of temple for 6 months during winter.
When the Badrinath temple is reopened during April, the lamp which was lit 6 months back still burns and the place would be filled with sweet fragrance of scent.)
Venkatadri Samam Sthanam Brahmande Nasti Kinchana,
Venkatesa Samo Devo Na Bhutho Na Bhavishyati”.
Jai Jai Sree Krishna
GOVINDA …GOVINDAA …GOVINDAAAA
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
