Dvaraka, Dvārakā: 22 definitions

Introduction
In Hinduism
In Jainism
1. General definition
India history
Languages
1. Marathi
2. Sanskrit
See also
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Introduction:

Dvaraka means something in Hinduism, Sanskrit, Jainism, Prakrit, the history of ancient India, Marathi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

In Hinduism

Vaishnavism (Vaishava dharma)

Source: ISKCON Press: Glossary

Dvārakā (द्वारका).—The island kingdom of Lord Kṛṣṇa, lying off India's west coast, where He performed pastimes five thousand years ago. The capital city of the Yadus. Lord Kṛṣṇa had this city built to protect the Yadus from the attacks by the demons. It is an island situated off the eastern part of India, which is now known as Gujarat. When Lord Kṛṣṇa left this world, the ocean enveloped the whole city.

Source: Acta Orientalia vol. 74 (2013): Historical sequence of the Vaiṣṇava Divyadeśas

Dvārakā (Tuvarai or Tuvārakai) refers to one of the 108 Vaishnava Divya Desam (divyadeśas or divyasthalas), located in the topographical division of Vaṭanāṭu (“North India”), according to the 9th century Nālāyirativviyappirapantam (shortly Nālāyiram).—Tradition would record the Vaiṣṇava divyadeśas or divyasthalas are 108. The divyadeśa is a base of the cult of Viṣṇu in Viṣṇuism [Vaiṣṇavism] tradition. The list of 108 [viz., Dvārakā] seems to have reached maturation by about the early 9th century CE as all the deśas are extolled in the hymns of the twelve Āḻvārs.

Source: Pure Bhakti: Brhad Bhagavatamrtam

Dvārakā (द्वारका) refers to:—Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s capital city where He performed His household and kṣatriya (warrior) pastimes. Modern-day Dvārakā is a small city located on the western tip of the Gujarat peninsula on the Arabian Sea. (cf. Glossary page from Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta).

context information

Vaishnava (वैष्णव, vaiṣṇava) or vaishnavism (vaiṣṇavism) represents a tradition of Hinduism worshipping Vishnu as the supreme Lord. Similar to the Shaktism and Shaivism traditions, Vaishnavism also developed as an individual movement, famous for its exposition of the dashavatara (‘ten avatars of Vishnu’).

Purana and Itihasa (epic history)

Source: archive.org: Puranic Encyclopedia

Dvārakā (द्वारका).—(DVĀRAVATĪ; DVĀRĀVATĪ). The place where the capital of Śrī Kṛṣṇa stood. General information. The King Jarāsandha was the enemy of the Yādavas. To save themselves from the attack of Jarāsandha, the Yādavas united themselves under Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and built a strong city in the western islands. That beautiful city was called Dvārakā. Kuśasthalī, is another name of this city. The beautiful mountain Raivataka stood as a fortress round the city which was so strongly built that it was not possible even for the gods to enter it. Even women could fight sitting inside the forts. The fortress Raivataka was three yojanas long. In each yojana three divisions of the army were camped. In each yojana there were hundred doors, with a strong army to guard each of them. (Mahābhārata Sabhā Parva, Chapter 14). (See full article at Story of Dvārakā from the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani)

Source: archive.org: Shiva Purana - English Translation

Dvāraka (द्वारक) refers to “door-keeper” (of Śiva), according to the Śivapurāṇa 2.5.19 (“Jalandhara’s emissary to Śiva”).—Accordingly, as Śiva says to one of his Gaṇas: “O great Gaṇa, you are blessed since you carried out my behest to the very letter. O excellent one, I am pleased with this action of yours. You shall hereafter be known by the title Kīrtimukha. You shall be my door-keeper (dvāraka). You shall be one of my great Gaṇas, very heroic and terrible to all wicked persons. You are my favourite. In the course of my worship, you too shall be worshipped always by my devotees. Those who do not worship you cannot be pleasing to me”.

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index

Dvārakā (द्वारका).—(also Dvāravatī and Kuśasthalī). Capital of Kṛṣṇa, built for him by Revata in the midst of sea 1(1/2) miles in circumference according to Vāstu rules and well furnished, for fear from Kālayavana;¹ sacred to Hari.² Kṛṣṇa released Nṛga in;³ Kṛṣṇa carried the spoils of war with the Yavanas to that place;⁴ return of Kṛṣṇa and Rāma to, after being besieged by Jarāsandha at Gomanta.⁵ Left by Akrūra, when the city had no rains; hence Kṛṣṇa sent for him;⁶ Kṛṣṇa and Sātyakī returned from Hastināpura to;⁷ here were sent 16000 maidens of Naraka's harem and 64 elephants of the Airāvata line;⁸ reached by Kṛṣṇa and Satyabhāmā after the fight for the pārijātā;⁹ arrival of Aniruddha's marriage party from Bhojakaṭa;¹⁰ visited by Citralekhā;¹¹ besieged by Pauṇḍraka;¹² described when visited by Nārada, as containing 900,000 houses;¹³ Śamba and others reached Dvārakā after Yudhiṣṭhira's Rājasūya.¹⁴ Blockaded by Śālva, and defended by Pradyumna and others;¹⁵ reached by Kṛṣṇa after the Kurukṣetra war; city described;¹⁶ reached by Kṛṣṇa and his party after a long stay at Syamantapañcaka;¹⁷ Kṛṣṇa performed the aśvamedha here;¹⁸ visited by sages from Piṇḍāraka, Kurukṣetra and other places and filled with Brahmaghoṣa;¹⁹ Nārada lived there for a time to worship Kṛṣṇa;²⁰ visited by Brahmā and other gods to invite Kṛṣṇa to go back to Vaikuṇṭha;²¹ evil omens in the city; people, advised by Kṛṣṇa, left for Prabhāsā.²² Dāruka informs Vasudeva and others of Kṛṣṇa's condition and Rāma's entry to his Dhāma;²³ swallowed up by the sea excepting Kṛṣṇa's mansion;²⁴ a Pitṛ Tīrtham;²⁵ represents the neck of the Vedas.²⁶ Pārijāta of heaven taken to.²⁷

1) Bhāgavata-purāṇa I. 8. 10-27; 11. 25; 12. 36; 13. 16; 14. 1-6; X. 50. 49-57; IX. 3. 28; Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa III. 71. 62-85; Matsya-purāṇa 4. 18; 246. 89; Viṣṇu-purāṇa IV. 1. 91; 13. 19; V. 23. 13-15.
2) Bhāgavata-purāṇa VII. 14. 31.
3) Ib. X. 37. 17-20.
4) Ib. X. 52. 5;
5) Ib. X. 52. 13-14 [1]; [56 (V) 7].
6) Ib. X. 57. 29-34.
7) Ib. X. 58. 28.
8) Ib. X. 59. 36-7.
9) Ib. X. [67 (V) 38-40].
10) Ib. X. 61. 40.
11) Ib. X. 62. 22. 64 [11]; Viṣṇu-purāṇa V. 32. 28-30.
12) Bhāgavata-purāṇa X. 66. [1 and 13].
13) Ib. X. 69. 3-7;
14) Ib. X. 75. 29.
15) Ib. X. 76. 8-14.
16) Ib. X. 80. [8-12]; 82. 1.
17) Ib. X. 84. 70.
18) Ib. X. 89. 22. [1]; 90. 1.
19) Ib. X. 28. 1-13.
20) Ib. XI. 2. 1.
21) Ib. XI. 6. 1-4.
22) Ib. XI. 6. 33-35; 30. 1, 5, 10.
23) Ib. XI. 31. 15-17.
24) Ib. XI. 7. 3; 31. 23; XII. 12. 60; Viṣṇu-purāṇa V. 37. 36; 30. 9-10.
25) Matsya-purāṇa 22. 38.
26) Vāyu-purāṇa 96. 60; 104. 76.
27) Viṣṇu-purāṇa V. 31. 10-11.

Source: JatLand: List of Mahabharata people and places

Dvārakā (द्वारका) refers to the name of a City mentioned in the Mahābhārata (cf. V.7.3). Note: The Mahābhārata (mentioning Dvārakā) is a Sanskrit epic poem consisting of 100,000 ślokas (metrical verses) and is over 2000 years old.

Source: Shodhganga: Temples and cult of Sri Rama in Tamilnadu

Dvaraka (Tuvarai/Tuvaraai) refers to one of the 108 divyadesas according to Priyavaccan Pillai’s compendium of the Ramayana based on the Nalayirativviyappirapantam.—Tuvarai is in the Kathyavad Peninsula in Gujarat. Lord Krishna is said to have moved to Dvaraka after the fall of Kamsa. Kamsa’s friend Jarasandha was always a nuisance to Krishna. He was killed with the help of Bhima. It is one of the few venues that is found on the seashore.

context information

The Purana (पुराण, purāṇas) refers to Sanskrit literature preserving ancient India’s vast cultural history, including historical legends, religious ceremonies, various arts and sciences. The eighteen mahapuranas total over 400,000 shlokas (metrical couplets) and date to at least several centuries BCE.

General definition (in Hinduism)

Source: WikiPedia: Hinduism

Dvārakā (also known as Dvāravatī, both names meaning "the many-gated [city]" in Sanskrit; sometimes transcribed as Dwaraka and Dwaravati respectively) is a city described in the Mahabharata, as a capital of the Anarta Kingdom.

Dvārakā in the Mahabharata

Pandava's sons lived in Dwaraka during their exile to woods. Their servants headed by Indrasena lived there for one year (the 13th year) (4,72)
A desert is mentioned to be present on the way from Indraprastha to Dwaraka (14-53,55)
Bala Rama mentioned about a sacrificial fire of Dwaraka, before he set for his pilgrimage over Sarasvati River (9,35)
One should proceed with subdued senses and regulated diet to Dwaravati, where by bathing in Pindaraka, one obtaineth the fruit of the gift of gold in abundance (3,82)
King Nriga in consequence of a single fault of his, had to dwell for a long time at Dwaravati and Krishna became the cause of his rescue from that miserable plight.(13,72)
Sage Durvasa resided at Dwaravati for a long time (13,160)
Arjuna visited Dwaravati during his military campaign after the Kurukshetra War (14,83)

In Jainism

General definition (in Jainism)

Source: archive.org: Trisastisalakapurusacaritra

Dvārakā (द्वारका) is the name of an ancient city, according to chapter 4.2 [vāsupūjya-caritra] of Hemacandra’s 11th century Triṣaṣṭiśalākāpuruṣacaritra: an ancient Sanskrit epic poem narrating the history and legends of sixty-three illustrious persons in Jainism.

Accordingly:—“Now there is a city named Dvārakā, the face-ornament of Surāṣṭra, the base of its wall washed by the waves of the western ocean. Its king was Brahmā, whose strength was undulled, by whom everyone was subdued and repressed, like a rival of Jiṣṇu (Indra). [...]”.

context information

Jainism is an Indian religion of Dharma whose doctrine revolves around harmlessness (ahimsa) towards every living being. The two major branches (Digambara and Svetambara) of Jainism stimulate self-control (or, shramana, ‘self-reliance’) and spiritual development through a path of peace for the soul to progess to the ultimate goal.

India history and geography

Source: Heidelberg: Glory of the Tiruvanantapuram Padmanabhasvami Temple

Dvāraka (द्वारक) refers to Kṛṣṇa’s abode, according to the Anantaśayanakṣetramāhātmya, a text talking about the Thiruvananthapuram temple in eleven chapters, written before the 14th century and claiming to be part of the Brahmāṇḍapurāṇa.—In the introductory verses of the Anantaśayanakṣetramāhātmya, the sages ask Sūta to tell them about the origin of the Tiruvanantapuram temple and Sūta explains it in detail. The māhātmya describes how several sages worshipped Kṛṣṇa in Dvāraka, Kṛṣṇa’s abode. Among them is a sage named Divākara, a pious and strict devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Pleased by his devotion, Viṣṇu appears before him as a radiant young child. [...]

context information

The history of India traces the identification of countries, villages, towns and other regions of India, as well as mythology, zoology, royal dynasties, rulers, tribes, local festivities and traditions and regional languages. Ancient India enjoyed religious freedom and encourages the path of Dharma, a concept common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.

Languages of India and abroad

Marathi-English dictionary

Source: DDSA: The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary

dvārakā (द्वारका).—f (S) Dwarka, the capital of kṛṣṇa, a sacred place and much resorted to by pilgrims.

context information

Marathi is an Indo-European language having over 70 million native speakers people in (predominantly) Maharashtra India. Marathi, like many other Indo-Aryan languages, evolved from early forms of Prakrit, which itself is a subset of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of the world.

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: DDSA: The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary

Dvārakā (द्वारका).—Name of the capital of Kṛṣṇa on the western point of Gujarath (for a description of Dvārakā, see Śiśupālavadha 3.33-63).

[Sanskrit to German]

Dvaraka in German

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

Relevant text

Search found 69 books and stories containing Dvaraka, Dvārakā, Dvāraka; (plurals include: Dvarakas, Dvārakās, Dvārakas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Verse 6.4.9 < [Chapter 4 - Journey to the City of Kuṇḍina]

Verse 6.7.42 < [Chapter 7 - The Marriage of Śrī Rukmiṇī]

Verse 6.6.46 < [Chapter 6 - The Yādavas’ Victory When Śrī Rukmiṇī is Kidnapped]

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Verse 1.5.90 < [Chapter 5 - Priya (the beloved devotees)]

Verse 1.5.35 < [Chapter 5 - Priya (the beloved devotees)]

Verse 2.4.247 < [Chapter 4 - Vaikuṇṭha (the spiritual world)]

+ 63 more chapters / show preview