From Our Special Correspondent
Bangalore, Feb.6

The sixth marine archaeological expedition of the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, led by Dr. S.R. Rao, Emeritus scientist has claimed the discovery of hitherto unknown features of the legendary Dwaraka of Sri Krishna, submerged by the Arabian Sea 3,500 years ago.

During the current season (November 1987 to February1988 the expedition said it came across the inner and outer gateways of the proto-historic port city, flanked by circular bastions built of massive blocks of sandstone. From the inner gateway a flight of steps led to the Gomati river, the submerged channel of which has been traced over a length of 1.5 km in the seabed.

According to Dr. Rao, the occurrence os smaller three-holed stone anchors of triangular shape weighing 100 to 140 kg suggests that small boats used to sail up the Gomati while the larger ones were moored farther away from the outer entrance gate.

A semi-circular mooring stone with a hole has been found here in situ. The outer wall acted as a pier also. The large three-holed stone anchors (150 to 250 kg) of prismatic shape lying in a row suggest that the jetty was about 1.2 km from the present shoreline , 12 metres below present water line.

The remains of a stone temple within the inner fortifications are indicated by a pillar and moonstone, while a circular stone base with a large hole was used for fixing a wooden flagpost near the outer gate of the port. Perhaps it served as a sign post.

Largest port

If the number, size and variety of stone anchors are any indication of the size of the port, it can be said that Dwaraka was the largest port of the second millennium B.C. on the Indian Coast. As many as 50 stone anchors are visible. But several hundreds must have been buried in the sediment.

Exploration since 1984 in the Dwaraka waters has been confined to the right bank zone towards the lighthouse of the ancient Gomati channel. The left bank zone remain unexplored for lack of funds and equipment such as sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiler.

The PORT-INPMO have extended to the left bank also as indicated by the stone anchors of various sizes. After proto-historic port city was submerged, the site was unoccupied for a long period. Some constructions of the early historic period have come to notice. Among important antiquities found this season in the Dwaraka waters mention may be made of bronze objects such as the bell and arms of Prabhaval and fragments of a marble statue.

They were recovered in a trench dug at 4.6 metres below sea level and seem to belong to the early historic or later period. In the last season and again during the present expedition, parts of the hull of a wooden boat were found.

Data on sea level fluctuations

Useful data on sea level fluctuations have been collcted during the present expedition. Three wavecut benches were encountered at depths of 11.22 metres, 4.6 metres and 1.34 metres. The proto-historic city was built on the lowest bench, the early historic and the medieval townships on the higher benches. The island of Bet Dwarka, 30 km north of Dwarka, which is also famous as the pleasure resort of Sri Krishna, was connected with the mainland between Otha and Aramda. The reclamation referred to in ancient texts was made in this zone when the sea level was lower 3,500 years ago. The ancient port was four km long on the eastern coast where the landward and seaward fortifications were identified in previous expeditions.

During the current expedition, according to Dr. Rao, a most impressive stone wall 550 metres in perimeter (1 mile plus) was discovered in the intertidal zone of the central sector, not far from BDK V (north sector) where shell workers lived.

To the south of the wall is a rock cut slipway for launching boats. Nine courses of stone masonry of the massive fort wall are still intact at many places. It must have been much higher in ancient times to prevent further erosion by the sea.

    The construction technique is interesting. Large trapezoidal blocks built course by course formed the outer shell holding together the rubble filling in the core. This gravity well was specially designed to serve as an anti-erosion structure in the sea, and is certainly a bolder experiment than that of their predecessors, the Harappans.

It served as a pier also. A trial dig in the inter-tidal zone and cliff of the northern sector indicated that the proto-historic settlement was completely washed away by the sea.

Older than Sri Krishna

Krishna-Kanhiya

The occurrence late Harappan artifacts such as chart blacken and perforated vessels suggests the existence of a settlement earlier than the Dwarka of Sri Krishna, to which reference is made in the epic. This we have in Bet Dwarka the Mahabharata (before 1,500 B.C.), the Mahabharata (1500-1400 B.C.) and post Mahabharata (third century B.C. onwards) settlements. The former two were submerged by the sea.

An important achievement of the present expedition is that two young archaeologists have been trained in diving, underwater research, excavation and documentation. They were able to work underwater for 1 ½ to 2 hours at a stretch, no small achievement for beginners. Thus for the first time scientific diving for archaeological excavation has been introduced by the marine archaeology unit.

SOURCE: http://s8int.com/water25.html

Sir,--This refers to the report “Dwaraka expedition finds more remains” reported from Panaji (The Hindu, Jan.1) about the wonders revealed by the fifth archaeological under water excavation recently.

More than a decade back, a very old, small temple within a big temple, believed to be the original “Krishna temple” was unearthed 20 to 30 feet deep, not far off from the location of the present one, by the first surface excavation of the Archaeological Department.

    Again, in early 1985, the fourth under-water excavation discovered two submerged sea walls, 20 to 30 feet below the sea-bed a few metres apart—also reported in The Hindu, the same year (1985), how the old Dwaraka Port, once the “gateway” of ancient India, was submerged four to five thousand years ago, was scientifically explained by Mr. C.S. Mahadevan of Madras vide The Hindu, February 21, 1985. Dwaraka was partially submerged according to him in 3031 B.C..

Later in 2700 BC, not only the remaining portion of Dwaraka but even the remaining portion of Lanka, Ravana’s kingdom got submerged in a cataclysm. This explanation is supported by the scientific reasons advanced by him. Due to the tilting of the axis of the earth, generally some of the islands throughout the world submerged.

The submerging of islands is more near the equator up to 30’ North or South latitude. So what happened in 3031 BC and 2700 BC and earlier in 12000 BC was due to this tilting of the earth.

This revelation by Mr. Mahadevan’s letter (The Hindu, Feb. 21, 1985) made interesting reading about Dwaraka once ruled by Lord Krishna who was born on July 26, 3112 BC according to him.

N. Bose, Madras 

Dwarka (Dvarka, Dwaraka, or Dvaraka, is a city and a municipality located in the Jamnagar district of Gujarat state in India). Dwarka also known as Dwarawati in Sanskrit literature is rated as one of the seven most ancient cities in the country. The legendary city of Dvaraka was the dwelling place of Lord Krishna. It is believed that due to damage and destruction by the sea, Dvaraka has submerged six times and modern day Dwarka is the 7th such city to be built in the area. According to Hindu legend the god Krishna built a city which was ultimately destroyed by rising sea levels. Now archaeologists and Indian Navy divers are investigating underwater ruins at Dwarka on India’s western coast, said to be Krishna’s city. The new efforts, it is hoped, will settle the debate currently raging over the age and authenticity of the site near the Samudranaraya temple. Divers have collected blocks and samples which will now be dated. Traditional Hindu scholars referencing ancient Hindu scriptures believe the location to be very ancient, originally built many thousands of years ago. Such notions are, of course, vehemently rejected by establishment scientists though they are willing to concede that there is evidence indicating an age of as much as 3500 years.

Of course the date when the city was destroyed would be long after the date of its inception, so a definitive maximum date has not been established. The new study is expected to resolve some of the issues. Archaeologists will now use the carbon dating technique to determine the exact age of the ruins. The earlier excavations, that first began about 40 years ago, had only revealed stones, beads, glass and terracotta pieces.

“The operations resulted in retrieval of wooden block from a submerged circular structure. The blocks were joined so well with the help of wooden dowels and nails that they remained in situ despite heavy surfs and strong currents for a long period,” said Alok Tripathi, Superindenting Archaeologist of the Underwater Archaeology Wing of the Archaeological Survey of India who is also an expert diver.

The samples of the excavation have been brought to the capital and shall soon be given for lab testing. Though there had been previous excavations, each cited different dates and were based on the interpretations of scholars as there was no material evidence to back those claims.

The first excavation in Dwarka, carried out by the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, Pune and the Department of Archaeology, Government of Gujarat in 1963, had revealed artefacts that were 2000 years old. Several other excavations followed, all revealing different artefacts and to different time periods.

Two years ago, the Underwater Archaeology Wing (UAW) of the Archaeological Survey of India undertook the systematic study of Dwarka and after thorough analysis of previous researches, started excavation work in January with the clear objective “to know the antiquity of the site based on scientific study of the material evidence.” The holistic nature of the excavations can be judged by the fact that for the first time “excavations were conducted simultaneously on land, near famous Dwarkadhish temple, and also offshore so that finds from all the excavations can be analysed, correlated and studied scientifically,” Tripathi said.

Dwarka is among several coastal Indian sites now under investigation which show evidence of advanced development before sea levels reached their current height and thus provide significant evidence of pre-diluvian civilization—the existence of which is denied by conventional archaeology.

(Taken from many sources) 

SOURCE: http://unmyst3.blogspot.com/2008/10/ancient-city-of-dwarka.html

Additional Photos - Various sources

Artist's view of ancient fortified Dwaraka in Kusasthali
(image source: The Lost City of Dvaraka - By S.R. Rao).


Lost City of Dvaraka Hardcover – January 1, 1999
by S.R. Ra

In the early eighties an important archaeological site was found in Bharat, at Dwaraka, the site of the legendary city of Lord Krishna. Dwaraka was submerged by the sea right after the death of Lord Krishna. This inscription refers to Dwaraka as the capital of the western coast of Saurashtra and still more important, states that Sri Krishna lived here. The discovery of the legendary city of Dwaraka which is said to have been founded by Sri Krishna, is an important landmark in the history of Bharat. It has set to rest the doubts expressed by historians about the historicity of Mahabharata and the very existence of Dwaraka city. It has greatly narrowed the gap in Indian history by establishing the continuity of the Indian civilization from the Vedic Age to the present day.

Krishna- the protector of Mathura, the lord of Dwaraka and the reciter of the Bhagwad Gita on the battlefield of Kurukshetra is one of the most enduring legends of Bharat. Are Krishna and Dwar-aka actual historical entities? For a majority of Indians, the answer is an unequivocal yes. Some archaeologists and historians too are now willing to accept that the common man's faith does have a basis in fact.

Dwaraka has a special importance as one of the major Hindu pilgrim place, known as the capital of Lord Krishna's Kingdom. It was the land of the hunter Ekalavya. Dronacarya had also lived here. Krishna decided to build a new city here and laid the foundation at an auspicious moment. He named the new city Dwaravati. Much later the poet Magha in his Sisupalavadha, sarga2, describes in slokas 31 onwards, the city of Dwaraka, sloka 33 can be translated:

"The yellow glitter of the golden fort of the city in the sea throwing yellow light all round looked as if the flames of vadavagni came out tearing asunder the sea."

Before the legendary city of Dwaraka was discovered some scholars were of the view that the Mahabharata being only a myth it would be futile to look for the remains of Dwaraka and that too in the sea. Others held that the Mahabharata battle was a family feud exaggerated into a war. Excavations done by Dr. S. R. Rao (One of Bharat's most respected archaeologists) at Dwaraka prove that the descriptions as found in these texts are not to be discarded as fanciful but are to be treated as based on actualities as seen by their authors. The architecture of the old Dwaraka of Shri Krishna is majestic and wonderful.

Dwaraka on mainland which was one of the busiest ports of the Mahabharata Period met a sudden end due to the fury of the sea. After the Mahabharata War Krishna lived for 36 years at Dwaraka. At the end, the Vrshnis, Bhojas and Satvatas destroyed themselves in a fratricidal feud at Prabhasa but Krishna did not interfere to save them. The portends of destruction seen by Sri Krishna who advised immediate evacuation of Dwarakaare stated in Bhagavata Purana. Dwaraka abandoned by Hari (Krishna) was swallowed by the sea. The submergence took place immediately after Sri Krishna departed from the world.

"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. Even as they were all looking, Arjuna saw the beautiful buildings becoming submerged one by one. Arjuna took a last look at the mansion of Krishna. It was soon covered by the sea. 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 beautiful city which had been the favourite haunt of all the Pandavas. Dwaraka was just a name; just a memory."

Since 1983 the Marine Archaeology Unit of the National Institute of Oceanography is engaged in the offshore exploration and excavation of the legendary city of Dwaraka in the coastal waters of Dwaraka in Gujarat. The strongest archaeological support comes from the structures discovered under the sea-bed off the coast of Dwaraka in Gujarat by the pioneering team led by Dr S.R. Rao, one of Bharat's most respected archaeologists. Dr. Rao has excavated a large number of Harappan sites including the port city of Lothal in Gujarat. For instance excavations in Bedsa (near Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh) have unearthed the remains of a temple of 300 BC in which Krishna (Vasudeva) and Balarama (Samkarshana) are identified from their flagstaff. Krishna's son Pradyumna, grandson, Aniruddha and another Yadava hero, Satyaki, have also been identified. A more recent historical record, dated 574 AD, occurs in what are called the Palitana plates of Samanta Simhaditya. This inscription ref ers to Dwaraka as the capital of the western coast of Saurashtra and states that Krishna lived here. The foundation of boulders on which the city's walls were erected proves that the land was reclaimed from the sea about 3,600 years ago. The epic has references to such reclamation activity at Dwaraka.

SOURCE: Youtube Link

Graham Hancock - Underworld: Flooded Kingdoms Of The Ice Age

Dwarka (Dvarka, Dwaraka, or Dvaraka, is a city in Gujarat state in India). Dwarka also known as Dwarawati in Sanskrit literature is rated as one of the seven most ancient cities in the country. The legendary city of Dvaraka was the dwelling place of Lord Krishna. It is believed that due to damage and destruction by the sea, Dvaraka has submerged six times and modern day Dwarka is the 7th such city to be built in the area. According to Hindu legend the god Krishna built a city which was ultimately destroyed by rising sea levels. Now archaeologists and Indian Navy divers are investigating underwater ruins at Dwarka on India's western coast, said to be Krishna's city. The new efforts, it is hoped, will settle the debate currently raging over the age and authenticity of the site near the Samudranaraya temple. Divers have collected blocks and samples which will now be dated. Traditional Hindu scholars referencing ancient Hindu scriptures believe the location to be very ancient, originally built many thousands of years ago. Such notions are, of course, vehemently rejected by establishment scientists though they are willing to concede that there is evidence indicating an age of as much as 3500 years.

Of course the date when the city was destroyed would be long after the date of its inception, so a definitive maximum date has not been established. The new study is expected to resolve some of the issues. Archaeologists will now use the carbon dating technique to determine the exact age of the ruins. The earlier excavations, that first began about 40 years ago, had only revealed stones, beads, glass and terracotta pieces.

• New Underwater Finds in Sri Krishna's City
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