Submergence of Dwaraka

After Lord Sri Krishna left for the heavenly abode, and the major Yadava heads were killed in fights among themselves; Arjuna went to Dwarka to bring Krishna's grandsons and the Yadava wives to Hastinapur. After Arjun left Dwaraka, it was submerged in the sea. This is the account given by Arjuna, in Mahabharat: "The sea, which had been beating against the shores, suddenly broke the boundary that was imposed on it by nature. The sea rushed into the city. It coursed through the streets of the beautiful city. The sea covered up everything in the city. I saw the beautiful buildings becoming submerged one by one. In a matter of a few moments it was all over. The sea had now become as placid as a lake. There was no trace of the city. Dwaraka was just a name; just a memory." The town has association with Shri Krishna, who founded this town by reclaiming 12 yojanas of land from the sea. During its glorious past, Dwaraka was a city of beautiful gardens, deep moats, and several ponds and palaces (Vishnu Purana), but it is believed to have submerged just after the disappearance of Shri Krishna. Due to its historical importance and association with the Mahabharata, Dwaraka continues to attract archeologists and historians besides scientists.

Unearthing historical vestiges - Prof S.R.Rao founder of Dwaraka

Article Source : The Hindu, Wednesday, Nov 20, 2002 - by RADHIKA RAJAMANI 
Credited with path-breaking excavations of the Harappan port of Lothal and the submerged city of Dwaraka and the `decipherment' of the Indus script, the renowned archaeologist and scholar Prof. S.R. Rao continues to work on the Indus script and marine archaeology with indomitable spirit and energy.

DWARAKA ON LAND: The Dwarkadeesh Temple and other buildings.
PROF. S.R. Rao is a renowned archaeologist and scholar who has two path-breaking excavations to his credit (both in Gujarat) namely the Harappan port of Lothal and the submerged city of Dwaraka which have fetched him laurels. One of the first, to work on the decipherment of the Indus script, he has several books to his credit besides numerous articles. S.R. Rao shows enormous enthusiasm to unearth more submerged cities (considering he is in his Seventies). . Excerpts from an interview when he visited the city recently: 

What drew you into marine archaeology?
Actually we had no idea of what it meant. It was in London that Ms Taylor, a librarian at the Institute of Archaeology who was also a diver asked me to take up some work on the Indian coast in the Seventies. She pointed to some shipwrecks of which I had no idea. When I was repairing the temple of Dwarkadeesh at Dwaraka (on land) I had to demolish a modern building in front of it and I found the 9th Century temple of Vishnu. I got curious and dug further deeper (30 ft) in 1979-80 on land. We found two earlier temples, a whole wall and figures of Vishnu. We dug further and actually found eroded material of a township lying at the bottom. Then arose the question of dating the remains of the township destroyed by the sea. Thermo-luminescence dating revealed a date of 1520 B.C. The Mahabharata refers to Dwaraka and this was how we thought of marine archaeology.

How did you begin the excavations?
We had no experience in marine archaeology. It was a new discipline to India. The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) gave us some money and we went to the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, as there were some divers there and started work in 1981. Real work started in 1982. We hired boats. First we found some evidence in Beth Dwaraka island because local tradition points to the antiquity of this compared to Dwaraka.
Read the rest of the exciting interview by clicking on the title of this post or visit the link -

Rama's Bridge

Rama's Bridge. A subset of Landsat 5 TM true color composite of Rama's bridge or Ram Setu (referred by British cartographers as Adam's Bridge). Path 142 Row 54; Bands 742 (RGB); Resolution 30 meter. Original image acquired on 6 February, 1988 at 4:42:00 GMTFile:Rama's bridge.jpg Adam's Bridge (Tamil: ஆதாம் பாலம் āthām pālam), also known as Rama's Bridge or Ram Setu (Tamil: இராமர் பாலம் irāmar pālam, Sanskrit:रामसेतु rāmasetu), is a chain of limestone shoals, between the islands of Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and Mannar, near northwestern Sri Lanka. Geological evidence indicates that this bridge is a former land connection between India and Sri Lanka.
The bridge is 30 miles (48 km) long and separates the Gulf of Mannar (southwest) from the Palk Strait (northeast). Some of the sandbanks are dry and the sea in the area is very shallow, being only 3 ft to 30 ft (1 m to 10 m) deep in places, which hinders navigation.
 
Ramayana and scriptures mention about the floating stones used by Hanuman and other Vanara Sena to build the Ram Setu connecting India and Srilanka at Rameswaram. In this show, you will see the original stones picked up from Ram Setu and the scientfic validation. 17 feet long Tomb of Demon Ravana found in one 'Gumpha' in revala area of Sri lanka. Proofs of flying machines with Ravana also found.

Wooden piece at Dwarka site to tell all... date, time

Express News Service Rajkot, May 4: Archaeologists are excited about a circular wooden structure found underwater at a near-shore excavation site off the coast of Jamnagar. Thought to be the remains of the lost city of ancient Dwarka, the wooden structure is well preserved and surrounded by another structure made of stone blocks. “It is significant as scientific dating of wood, which is carbon, is possible. This was not the case with evidences like stone, beads, glass and terracota found earlier,” said Alok Tripathi, Superintending Archeologist, Underwater Archeology Wing of Archaeological Survey of India. Click on the post title to read the rest of the article....

Dwaraka - Ancient structures under water and on land discovered!

T.S. Subramanian
CHENNAI: Ancient structural remains of some significance have been discovered at Dwaraka, under water and on land, by the Underwater Archaeology Wing (UAW) of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Alok Tripathi, Superintending Archaeologist, UAW, said the ancient underwater structures found in the Arabian Sea were yet to be identified. "We have to find out what they are. They are fragments. I would not like to call them a wall or a temple. They are part of some structure," said Dr. Tripathi, himself a trained diver.


Click on the Post title to read the rest of the story.....

Discovery of Dwaraka

Between 1983 to 1990, the well-fortified township of Dwaraka was discovered, extending more than half mile from the shore. The township was built in six sectors along the banks of a river. The foundation of boulders on which the city's walls were erected proves that the land was reclaimed from the sea. The general layout of the city of Dwaraka described in ancient texts agrees with that of the submerged city discovered by the MAU. According to the discoveries, Dwaraka was a prosperous city in ancient times, which was destroyed and reconstructed several times. The work of great excavators like Z.D. Ansari and M.S. Mate allowed chance discovery of temples of the 9th century A.D. and 1st century A.D. buried near the present Dwaraka. Conclusions arrived at after carrying out these underwater archaeological explorations support and validate the dates arrived at through astronomical calculations. They also prove that the reconstructed city was a prosperous port town, and that it was in existence for about 60-70 years in the 15th century B.C. before being submerged under the sea in the year 1443 B.C. "The discovery of the legendary city of Dwaraka which is said to have been founded by Shri Krishna, is an important landmark in the history of India. It has set at rest the doubts expressed by historians about the historicity of Mahabharata and the very existence of Dwaraka city. It has greatly narrowed the gap of Indian history by establishing the continuity of Indian civilization from the Vedic age to the present day." (S.R. Rao, former adviser to the NIO who is still actively involved in the excavations).

Some more facts on Dwaraka (Sri Krishna's city)

Scientifically proven scriptures: Krishna's city was named Dwaraka and the Hindu scriptures have described that the city was submerged in water in a particular area after Krishna's incarnation was over. The city has now been found by archaeologists in the same place mentioned by the scriptures. A mind boggling article on Dwarka:
http://www.hvk.org/articles/1205/16.html.
http://s8int.com/water25.html
Some more facts on Dwarka (Shri Krishna's city) and new under water finds in Shri Krishna's city City
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Dwaraka.htm#Underwater%20museum%20in%20Dwaraka%20yet%20to%20surface

Genealogy of the Bharata

Genealogy of the Bharata