By Gautam Mehta
Krishna's Dwarka may not be a myth
The Times of India News Service
AHMEDABAD: The mythical city of Dwarka, founded by Lord
Krishna, may have actually existed, as underwater remains of a
township and a settlement near Bet Dwarka indicate, according
to marine archaeologist S.R. Rao.
Mr Rao, who heads the Dwarka underwater excavation project,
is a consultant to the Marine Archaeology Centre of the National
Institute of Oceanography in Goa.
``The first settlement of the Yadavas and Lord Krishna was Bet
Dwarka nearly 3,600 years ago and later at Dwarka. The
underwater township and the signs of settlement near Bet
Dwarka, three temples and the remains of another township on
the seashore near today's Dwarka compare well with what has
been described in the Mahabharata and Harivansh,'' he said.
The submergence of Dwarka in the sea provided a clear
indication that in the last 3,600 years, the sea level along the
Gujarat coast had risen by as much as 30 feet and that it was
continuing to rise, he pointed out.
At the present pace of the rise of sea level, archaeologists and
scientists of the National Institute of Oceanography estimate that
the present ports and temples on the state sea coast may be
submerged in the sea in about 1,000 years.
Mr Rao said:``In the first phase of excavation by a 15-member
team, three temples and the evidence of a township were found
on the seashore near the present Dwarka temple. Later, another
major township was found nearly 30 km away at a depth of 30
feet near Bet Dwarka during underwater excavation. It was
spread over a four-km area. Many interesting pottery, vessels,
equipment and other remains were found at this site.''
He pointed out that excavation at the ancient sites of
Mahabharata had not yielded convincing evidence because of
the extremely limited excavation carried out at Hastinapur and
Mathura. However, the excavation at the temple of Dwarkadhish
in 1979-80 showed that it had been built over three temples, one
below the other.
Further digging yielded first habitation and debris sediment
brought in by a storm wave attested to the destruction of a town
by the sea. This evidence acted as a spur to undertake excavation
in the sea to locate the submerged town of Dwarka, he said.
According to Mr Rao, Bet Dwarka was identified with Kusasthali
where the first town named Dvaraka was built under Krishna's
leadership as described in the Mahabharat. The present town of
Dwarka, on the mainland at the mouth of Gomati river, stands
where Dvaraka or Dvaravati once was. According to the epic,
Krishna was said to have reclaimed land from the sea at the
mouth of the Gomati on the mainland to build a port town. Thus
came into existence the second Dwarka, Mr Rao said.
The second phase of underwater excavation would begin in
December this year.
Dec 1, 2000