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April/May/June, 2008
FROM THE VEDAS

As You Have Ever Been, Remain

Tejobindu Upanishad describes One beyond duality and non-duality
Tejobindu is the 12th of the 108 upanishads and is attached to the Krishna Yajur Veda. It includes this esoteric explanation of union with Parabrahman, the absolute, when nothing is and nothing is not.

Rest assured that to say anything is not Atma is a misconception. There is no manas that is not Atma. There is no world that is not Atma. When all sankalpas (eras) are gone and all actions over, Brahman alone remains, and there is nothing that is not Atma. Being devoid of the three bodies, the three periods of time, the three gunas of jiva, the three pains and the three worlds, and following the saying "All is Brahman," know thee that there is nothing to be known in the absence of chitta (consciousness); there is no old age in the absence of body; no action in the absence of hands; no death in the absence of creatures. There is no virtue, no purity, no fear, no repetition of mantras, no guru nor any disciple. There is no second in the absence of one. Where the second is not, even the first disappears.

Where there is Truth alone, there is no non-Truth possible; where there is non-Truth alone, there is no Truth possible. Auspiciousness is desired only if something inauspicious exists. If you regard fear and not-fear, then fear will arise out of not-fear. If bondage should become emancipation, then in the absence of bondage there will be no emancipation. If birth should imply death, then in the absence of birth, there is no death. If "thou" implies "I," then in the absence of "thou" there is no "I ." If the concept of "this" creates the idea of "that," then "this" does not exist in the absence of a way to indicate "that." If being should imply non-being, then non-being will imply being. If an effect implies a cause, then in the absence of effect, there is no cause. If duality implies non-duality, then in the absence of duality there is no non-duality. For anything to be seen, there is the faculty of sight; in the absence of the seen, there is no sight. In the absence of any interior, there is no exterior. If there should be fullness, only then is non-fullness possible.

Therefore, all of this exists nowhere. Neither you nor I, nor this nor these exist. There exists no object of comparison in the True One. There is nothing like or unlike the Unborn. There is no mind to think. I am the supreme Brahman. This world is Brahman only. Thou and I are Brahman only.

I am Chinmatra simply, and there is nothing that is not the Atma. This is certain. This universe is not. This universe is not at all. It was nowhere produced and stays nowhere. Some say that chitta is the universe. No, it does not exist. Neither the universe nor chitta nor ahankara nor jiva exists. Neither the creations of Maya, nor Maya itself really exists. Fear does not exist. Actor, action, hearing, thinking, the two samadhis, the measurer, the measure, ajnana (ignorance) and aviveka (confusion)--none of these exists anywhere.

Therefore the four moving considerations and the three kinds of relationship do not exist. There is no Ganga, no Gaya, no Setu, no elements or anything else, no earth, water, fire, vayu (wind), or akasha anywhere; no Devas, no guardians of the four quarters, no Vedas, no Guru, no distance, no proximity, no time, no middle, no non-duality, no truth, no untruth, no bondage, no emancipation, no Sat, no asat, no happiness, no class, no motion, no caste, and no worldly business. All is I; all is Brahman only and nothing else.

There exists, thus, nothing such as "consciousness alone is;" there is, at that point, no saying such as "Chit is I." The statement "I am Brahman" does not exist when one is Brahman; nor does exist the statement "I am the eternally pure." Whatever is uttered by the mouth, whatever is thought by manas, whatever is determined by buddhi, whatever is cognized by chitta--all these do not exist. There is no yogi or yoga when one is Brahman. All are and are not. Neither day nor night, neither bathing nor contemplating, neither delusion nor non-delusion--these do not exist then.

O Yogi, hear that there is not an atom which thou dost not penetrate; but yet thou art without their semblance. Thou art devoid of existence and non-existence. Thou art changeless, without kala or kashta (divisions of time). Thou art immersed in the bliss of Self. There is nothing that thou seekest which is not thyself. Have no doubt, thou art I. Know there is nothing not-Atma.
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K. Narayanasvami Aiyar published this translation of Tejobindu Upanishad (slightly edited here) in 1914 along with the Adyar Library as part of his book, Thirty Minor Upanishads. The translation had previously appeared in the monthly journal, The Theosophist. He collaborated on the work with Sundara Sastri.
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The Vedas are the divinely revealed and most revered scriptures, shruti, of Hinduism, likened to the Torah (1200 bce), Bible New Testament (100 ce), Koran (630 ce) or Zend Avesta (600 bce). Four in number, Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharva, the Vedas include over 100,000 verses. Oldest portions may date back as far as 6500 bce.
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2008/4-6/17_vedas.shtml

April/May/June, 2008
BIOGRAPHY

Sri Anandamayi Ma, 20th Century Mystic


The God-intoxicated Bengali saint spent her life absorbed in the Divine
Six months before Sri Anandamayi Ma's Mahasamadhi at age 86, a young Chinese-American, Stephen Quong, had a private meeting with her. He adopted the name Umananda. Now a Vedic Astrologer deeply immersed in Hinduism, he wrote the following account for Hinduism Today.

I first read about Sri Ma Anandamayi in 1970 in Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahamsa Yogananda. That initial contact with her words, her picture and her inspiring life story touched my soul deeply. I was fascinated and wistfully yearned that someday I could meet someone like her.

In the years following, I had many inner experiences which I attributed to the unseen workings of Sri Ma Anandamayi--receiving guidance and inspiration in meditation through darshan visions with specific instructions. While these experiences were of immense benefit, I yearned for an outer confirmation of the inner guidance. I was still seeking the relationship with the incarnation of the satguru, which I felt was indispensable for spiritual progress.

Then one day in the summer of 1981, I heard from friends that Sri Ma Anandamayi was still alive in India. I wrote to her immediately, not really expecting a reply. I asked her questions about my sadhana, my life direction, etc. To my great surprise, I soon received an aerogramme reply: "Your questions are too personal to be answered by correspondence. If you ever have a chance to come to India, I will answer them in person."

I was thrilled and elated to have received such a message from Sri Ma, but I felt uncertain about financing a trip to India. However, fate was about to help me--in a very unusual way.

In November, 1981, I was involved in a automobile accident. My car was crushed like an aluminum can in a head-on collision with a truck. The entire front end of the car was smashed beyond recognition except my personalized license plate lettered "JAI MA." I was knocked unconscious and almost died on the spot. While in a coma, I had the vivid experience of Sri Ma's blissful darshan (sight), and clearly heard the voices of brahmin priests chanting in Sanskrit this famous verse from the Bhagavad Gita: Sarvadharmaan parityajya maamekam sharanam vraja. Aham twaa sarvapaapebhyo mokshayishyaami maa shuchaa. It translates, "Abandoning all of your duties, take refuge in Me alone. I will liberate you from all of your misdeeds; grieve not!" Blissful at receiving Sri Ma's darshan and the words of Lord Krishna, I was totally content and prepared to depart my mortal frame.

Instead, I regained body consciousness. By Ma's grace I had a miraculously quick recovery from the injuries. Off crutches in only two weeks, I was soon flying to India, with costs paid for by the insurance settlement. I came face to face with Sri Ma Anandamayi in February, 1982, in Vrindavan, India.

Our meeting confirmed a precognitive vision which I had had in the summer of 1981, after receiving Sri Ma's letter. Just as in my vision, we met on the roof of her ashram shortly after sunset. One of her senior brahmachari disciples translated her Bengali into English for me. Two other women attendants were present. Sri Ma had just returned from a journey, and was taking rest. I was brought before her for a short private interview, but was warned not to ask her for mantra initiation; such a request could only be made after one year. I tried to distill years of questions into a few essential words. In the process, I realized that all of my questions could be answered by asking her just one.

Thus, to the utter dismay and consternation of the translator, my first and only question to Sri Ma was "May I have mantra initiation?" My reasoning was that the answer to this question would provide the answer to the other ones, such as: "Who is my guru?" "What is my sadhana?" and "What should I be doing with my life?" Sri Ma did not seem surprised or perturbed by my request. After a few questions about my family background and spiritual practices, she consented to give me mantra initiation on the next auspicious date. I was stunned. Was all this a dream? How could it be so easy? Did I really deserve to be her disciple? Sri Ma saw my transparent thoughts and with a gracious nod and smile, she indicated her complete, unconditional acceptance of me at that moment as I was. She confirmed our inner relationship, her wish to accept me as a disciple. I belonged to her and she belonged to me; until the end of time, we would never be separate.

At that moment, Sri Ma was nearing ninety, in poor health and suffering from intestinal parasites. In fact, she left her body six months later, on August 28, 1982. Yet even at that age, her spiritual radiance was undiminished, immense, awesome, almost mythical in proportion. It had almost no relationship to her joyous manners; instead, it was the radiance of the light of the Atman shining through the illusion of her physical frame. She had a titanic spiritual presence about her that transformed everything within hundreds of yards into bliss. Wherever she went, she carried a portable Devaloka. All who came near her felt the ocean currents of Satchidananda coursing through her. Because of this, her foremost disciple, Bhaiji, titled her Anandamayi Ma, "bliss-permeated Mother."

Sri Ma never appeared like an ordinary human being to me. I never related to her as an Indian woman, or even as a Hindu saint, or incarnation of the divine Mother or as a satguru. She was a personification of Absolute Reality, dwelling always in a state of cosmic consciousness, the natural state of sahaja samadhi. Many claim to have achieved that state, but in Anandamayi Ma its attainment was indisputable.

Steeped in the all-encompassing broadness of the Sanatana Dharma, firmly established in the experience of absolute oneness, kaivalya, and brimming over with intoxicating bliss, Anandamayi Ma personified the highest ideal of Hindu spiritual achievement. Since her early years, when she had the spontaneous experience and fulfillment of yogic, Vedantic, tantric and devotional sadhanas, she had the capacity to answer any and all questions without premeditation or hesitation.

During over 60 years of spiritual instruction, the eternal wisdom of the ages flowed from her lips in an endless stream. Speaking in her native Bengali tongue, Ma revealed the deepest mysteries of life in quaint, pithy phrases potent with mystical implication. Her words echoed the Upanishads: "There is only one all-pervading Atma, naught else except the One. You yourself are a barrier unto yourself in the form of samskaras (impressions). The destiny of every human being is to destroy the veil that hides his own Self."

A keynote of Ma's teachings was remembrance of God through repetition of the name of God. Whether evoked through mantra japa, kirtan or congregational singing of devotional songs (bhajan), the name of God was the sure solution to all of life's problems."If one loses one's being in the contemplation of the Divine Name, one can merge oneself in the ocean of Heavenly Beauty. God and His symbolic names are one and the same."

Saivites called her a Saivite, Vaishnavites claimed her as a Vaishnavite and Shaktas, a Shakta. Smarta Vedantins saw their highest philosophy pulsing alive in her. Christians and Muslims approached her without reservation. She was a Vedic muni, a sarvagya, blessed with the quality of omniscience. She never left India, never wrote a book, spent years in mauna (silence), had no guru, no lineage, belonged formally to no tradition, yet flooded forth a resounding nada shakti that originated in the Self and today continues to ripple around the world enigmatically empowering the spiritual search of many thousands. She said, "Sound used to rise up from my navel. I felt that the sounds touched every part of my body, and then worship would take place in every pore of my body. This sound would rise into my head and transform itself there into the mantra Om."

Sri Ma was an enchanting singer, her vibrant voice captivating, transcendental, magical in its power to elicit the deepest feelings of devotion to God. This feeling of the immanence of God was emphasized in temple and Deity worship: "Worship is not a ritual; it is an attitude, an experience."

She stressed purity: "It is the pure, undefiled flower that finds a place at the feet of the Lord and nowhere else. Take great care to spend your life in spotless purity. Speak about Him, meditate on His Glory, try to see Him in everyone, Him who is the Self, the breath of life, the heart of hearts."

Sri Ma was ravishingly beautiful, in a completely wholesome and spiritually uplifting way. Unforgettable. For her, true darshan was: "See That which, when seen, the wish to see anything more vanishes forever; hear That which, when heard, the desire to hear anything else does not awaken."

Often asked whether she was Goddess, a Divine Incarnation, a siddha (yogi with powers) or a tantric sadhaka (kundalini yoga adept), she would usually be silent or deflect the question. But once when she was asked "Who are you?" she said: "Purna Brahman Narayana!" (the Infinite God Eternal).

Later she added, "I am what I was and what I shall be; I am whatever you conceive, think or say. But it is a supreme fact that this body has not come into being to reap the fruits of past karma. Why don't you take it that this body is the material embodiment of all your thoughts and ideas. You all wanted it and you have it now."

On the nature of the guru, Ma said: "The guru actually emerges from within. When genuine search takes effect, his genuine manifestation is bound to occur; it cannot possibly be otherwise. The One, assuming for Himself the shape of the guru, of his own accord brings about His manifestation." Once the relationship to the guru was established, then surrender and obedience are essential."Carry out without arguing whatever I say, but be certain that it is for your best," Ma directed.

Resolute dedication to the path of enlightenment, without compromise, was her constant admonishment: "How much more time will you spend at a wayside inn? Don't you want to go Home? How exquisite It all is. One is in his own Self the wanderer, the exile, the home-coming and home. One's Self is all that there is."

Ma advocated the practice of surrender and equanimity as universal keys to spiritual development: "In whatever circumstances you may be placed, reflect thus: ÔIt is all right. This was necessary for me; it is His way of drawing me close to His Feet;' and try to remain content."

Sri Ma was often lost in bhava samadhi and other forms of trance-like ecstasies. Once she stayed in samadhi for five days without any response to outside stimuli. When asked about it, she replied, "It is a state beyond all conscious and supra-conscious planes--a state of complete immobilization of all thoughts, emotions and activities, both physical and mental, a state that transcends all the phases of life here below."

In her later years, the bhava samadhis so common in her early life came less frequently. She was stabilized in sahaja samadhi, the natural state of effortless abidance in the Self regardless of one's external circumstances. When questioned whether she had descended to a lower level, she replied: "Whatever anyone may say is all right. But there is no such thing as higher and lower levels."

Sri Ma's realization embraced all opposites. Though distinguishedly beautiful in appearance and motherly by temperament, she could equally display the more masculine, impersonal aspect of God. In her advanced years, she would still express the lustre, innocence and charm of youth encompassed by an aura of the wisdom of the ancients. She appeared to be in communion with higher deva-beings and higher lokas of existence amidst her activities. She remained unfathomable by the intellect, but immediately accessible through love. She respected the traditional customs of India, yet when in mystical trances, she often disregarded all religious convention. This generated serious concern among the strict brahmin community.

During her transcendental bhavas, she would be oblivious to differences of caste, color, creed, race or even species. There were occasions where she shared food with those of other religions and "untouchables." On occasion she ate off the ground with stray dogs. Later in life, she mysteriously lost the ability to feed herself, and was thereafter hand fed by her attendants for her bodily sustenance. Throughout all these unusual circumstances, Sri Ma displayed indifference to hunger, thirst, heat, cold, pain or pleasure.

Despite her own sometimes unconventional behavior, Sri Ma encouraged her disciples to follow the orthodox codes of conduct. Interestingly, during the 1970's, when hippies flocked to exotic India, there was a Hindu backlash against their immodest dress and un-Indian conduct in ashram environments. The brahmin management of Ma's two dozen ashrams became very strict in their enforcement of brahminical caste rules. Some of Ma's Western devotees, who had adopted Hindu beliefs and practices, were on occasion excluded from entry, worship or residence in her ashrams. But Ma privately assured those mistreated that in their personal relationship to her, caste, creed and nationality meant nothing. She loved them unconditionally.

This East/West clash dramatically brought into focus the question of whether Western-born persons who adopt Hinduism will ever be popularly accepted as legitimate Hindus by the born Hindu. That question is still unsettled, and even twenty years later Westerners find cool welcome at the major ashrams in Ma's name. Their requests to use the guest facilities are politely refused. The centers themselves are fairly quiet. The pounding din of Ma's God-conscious presence is mostly a treasured memory brought to life a few days a year when throngs of devotees visit her samadhi shrine. Some regular frequenters of the ashrams are wealthy Bengali devotees, businessmen and government officials.

In her later years, Sri Anandamayi Ma was treated like the spiritual queen of India, often visited by Kamala Nehru, wife of the first Prime Minister of India. She became the protector and confidante of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, cabinet members and countless government officials. She was universally revered by millions of sadhus, saints and devotees. In January, 1982, she was selected by the sadhus of the Haridwar Kumbha Mela as their Ishta Devata, or beloved personal form of God, and rode a caparisoned elephant to lead the procession of Naga Babas marching toward the holy Ganga. Gopinath Kaviraj, the great savant-saint of Banares, called her Adya Shakti, the incarnation of the highest Spiritual Energy. And Swami Sivananda, founder of the Divine Life Society of Rishikesh, offered her the ultimate accolade, calling her "the purest flower the soil of India has ever produced."
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http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2008/4-6/64-67_Anadamayi.shtml

[nichi]

Fascinated with cities which fall undersea, I found this one intriguing:

A R C H A E O L O G Y

DVARAKA


Behold the Holy City Where Krishna Was Prince
by Mark Hawthorne

The story of the tragic end of the fabulous city of Dvaraka has long been regarded as mere legend--that is, until an ambitious archeologist, Dr. S. R. Rao, began to investigate stone ruins sunk in the sea off the Kathiawar peninsula on India's western coast. The area lies, logically enough, adjacent to the modern city of Dwarka. Dr. Rao believes those sunken ruins to be Krishna's city, destroyed by a massive earthquake and tsunami. While such a catastrophic end might have seemed far-fetched a few years ago, the 2004 South Asian tsunami demonstrated to humanity once again the tremendous power of these cataclysmic natural events. Historically, decimation of coastal cities is more common than one might think. Less than 200 years ago, in 1819, in the same region of India, an earthquake sank the fort of Sindree and its surrounding village into the ocean. In November, 1775, in just ten minutes, a 9.0 quake destroyed the greater part of the coastal city of Lisbon, Portugal; one section of the city was submerged 600 feet.

Dr. Rao's underwater exploration of the ruins off modern Dwarka (as it is spelled on maps) suggests destruction was sudden and violent, with the ocean overwhelming walls and swallowing the city whole, just as described in the Mahabharata. "Dvaraka was submerged by tsunami-like high-energy waves, pulling down heavy blocks of stone used in the construction of the structures, " he told the 7th National Conference on Marine Archaeology at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) in October, 2005. "The heavy stones and rocks used in making the forts and gateways could not be destroyed by simple cyclones."

Dr. Shikaripura Ranganatha Rao's indomitable efforts in Dvaraka and later elsewhere have made India a leading force in marine archeology, even though he officially retired from the Archaeological Survey of India in 1980. The Survey, unwilling to part with Rao, enticed him back to found the now-renowned Indian National Institute of Oceanography. Among the many projects he became involved with, nothing has fired his talents and passion more than the offshore ruins in Gujarat.

The search for the lost city of Dvaraka had been going on since the 1930s, but with no success. The stone ruins off Dwarka, barely discernible from above water, could not be adequately studied prior to improvements in the field of underwater research. In 1983, Dr. Rao led the work of the Marine Archaeology Unit of the National Institute of Oceanography in studying these ruins. They started by examining what lay above sea level, to better understand what would be found under the water. In the center of modern Dwarka, beneath an ancient temple, Rao discovered layer upon layer of ruins, revealing a history of construction that included two earlier temples, an entire wall and figures of Vishnu. Digging further, he found the eroded remains of a town. Reaching sea level, which he estimates to represent about 1500 bce, he recovered red pottery that is characteristic of that period. The next phase of work would take him further down, below sea level, and thus further back in time.

Explorations between 1983 and 1990 revealed a well-fortified township, extending more than half a mile from the present shoreline and now mostly lying from 9 to 50 feet below sea level. Dr. Rao reasons that the submerged ruins date to 1700 or 1800 bce. His underwater explorations yielded large bastions, fort walls, two gateways and three-holed anchors, which he says demonstrate an evolution from earlier, single-holed anchors he previously found in Lothal and Mohenjo-daro. Dr. Rao is convinced that the underwater ruins match the Dvaraka of the Mahabharata. "You see, " he begins, his energy and vigor belying his 85 years, "when Krishna comes with Arjuna to see the city, there is mention of the fort walls and the antahpuras, citadels, describing a fully equipped, fortified town. We have found these structures, six sectors and fortified parts of the city. The plan and certain details described in the Mahabharata match the archeological findings." Dr. Rao goes on to describe a submerged area covering at least 2,000 by 5,000 feet, or 235 acres, with houses, a temple, public buildings and semicircular bastions that had been designed to divert the waters and protect the city from sea storms. The city's walls were erected on a foundation of boulders, showing that the land was reclaimed from the sea. The layout of the city is in alignment with the temples onshore in modern Dwarka.

It was the discovery of a seal (photo, right) that convinced Dr. Rao he had found Krishna's city. The seal is engraved with the images of a bull, a goat and a unicorn in an unmistakable style--a motif he says is no doubt of Indus origin and goes back to the 16th or 17th century bce. It is a small, flat artifact, no bigger than the palm of your hand, carved from a conch shell. This, Rao believes, is a seal of free pass: only those carrying it were allowed to enter the fabled city. "There is a reference in the Mahabharata, " he explains, "that when Dvaraka was attacked by king Shalva, Krishna was not there. Upon his return, Krishna takes certain measures to defend the city. One of them is described to be a mudra seal, an identity that every citizen of Dvaraka must carry. It was the duty of the gatekeepers to make sure that absolutely nobody without this seal would have entered the city. This gave us reliable evidence to identify these ruins, where we found the seal, as Krishna's Dvaraka. Finding this mudra was very exciting." Skeptics point out, however, that the discovery of a single seal, which could even have come from another area, is not irrefutable evidence of the city's identity.

Dr. Rao contends that a scripted piece of fired pottery found underwater provides further dating evidence. Using thermoluminescence analysis (useful on any object that has been heated, but having an error of plus or minus several hundred years), he dates it to the late Harappan period, about 1,700 bce. Using his own system of translation of the Harappan script, he believes the shard reads, "Mahagacha-sha-pa, " or "Sea God protect." Dr. Rao's translation system, while regarded as a step in the right direction, is not accepted by some linguists.

Critics also point out that only the Mahabharata describes the destruction of Dvaraka as being "a matter of a few moments." The Harivamsha and the Matsya Purana state that it took seven days to vacate Dvaraka before it was submerged by the sea. Dr. Rajiv Nigam, head of the geological division of the National Institute of Oceanography, and some other scientists believe in this more gradual submergence of the city.

Another issue is that Dr. Rao's dating of 1700 bce does not agree with the traditional dating of this event. Based on the Indian calendar, some Indian historians hold that the destruction of Dvaraka took place around 3200 bce. This event marked the beginning of the Kali Yuga, our present age when ignorance and darkness prevail in the world.

In spite of the objections, Dr. Rao's evidence is exciting and compelling. It is difficult to dispute that he has found an ancient submerged city; the question is whether or not it is Krishna's Dvaraka. In either case, it is an enchanting doorway to an important part of India's history. Dr. Rao wants the ruins preserved, protected and available. He proposes, "In my concept, tourists or even scientists could go around the structural remains of Dvaraka, in the sea, inside a giant acrylic tube to see the ancient city. Let us hope that some day the project will be taken up." The State Government of Gujarat and the Travel & Tourism Department are working on his proposal, which could give rise to the world's the first underwater museum. Rao's work with Dvaraka is part of growing international interest in near-shore archeology which has turned up remarkable discoveries, as in Mahabalipuram, In this growing field of research, the future might reveal much more of India's fascinating and still hidden past.


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The Beauty and Tragic End of Krishna's City
The Mahabharata tells the story of holy Dvaraka, home to Lord Krishna in the last decades of his life. It is said that to avoid conflict with the powerful king of Magadha, a sworn enemy that had attacked them repeatedly, the Yadava clan of Krishna left their home in Mathura and fled to the west. Finding a delightful, peaceful place, they created a city to be their capital. It was made into a safe heaven, a fortress to withstand the fierce wars of the time. The Mahabharata recounts, "The city was well fortified on all sides, with arches, combatants and walls and turrets, and engines and streets barricaded with spiked wood-works, towers and edifices."

Descriptions of Dvaraka give a glimpse into the beauty which Krishna imbued into his city. "Arjuna could see the splendid fortress city from a distance, shining like the sun on the horizon. It could only be reached by passing along a heavily guarded gate. Tall flags lined the roofs of mansions, and the ground was strewn with flower petals. As Krishna's chariot moved slowly toward his father's palace, Krishna saw the opulence of his city--the orchards and flower gardens, the beautiful lakes teeming with swans and thick with red and blue lotuses. Golden archways studded with precious stones stood at every crossroad, and white mansions lined the roads."

Some texts record that the city was designed by Tvastar, the architect of the gods. It is praised in the Bhagavad Purana, the Skanda Purana, the Vishnu Purana, the Harivamsha and the Mahabharata, all boasting Dvaraka's unsurpassed beauty and referring to it as the Golden City. "In the city, gardens flourished with celestial trees and the gold-towered buildings had balconies of crystal, " says the Vishnu Purana.

After the epic Kurukshetra war ended with the victory of the virtuous Pandavas, Lord Krishna retired to live in Dvaraka for thirty-six years. Ill omens hinted at the shadows of the upcoming Kali Yuga: fratricide fights broke out between the Yadavas; hideous spirits traversed the skies, and Yama, God of Death, was seen in every household.

Distraught, Krishna retired into the forest and sat under a tree in meditation. A hunter mistook his partly visible foot for a deer and shot an arrow, mortally wounding Krishna. Not long afterwards, the sea mercilessly devoured the fabled city of Dvaraka.
http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/2008/1-3/62-66_dvaraka.shtml