Dwarakanath Temple

Overview

In olden days Porbandar was known as ‘Pauravelakul’ and then it was renamed as ‘Sudamapur’. This place has some reverence attached to it by the Kshatriyas of Rajasthan as Sudama (Lord Krishna`s Friend) and Mirabai (devotee of Lord Krishna) were born here.The newly weded Rajasthanis come her to be blessed by Sudama.

About The Temple

The Sudama Temple is dedicated to Sudama, the childhood friend of Lord Krishna.his is an exceptional temple in India where the temple is dedicated to the ardent devotee of Lord Krishna. The Temple was built between 1902 and 1907. It is located in the centre of the city of Porbandar,Gujarat. The contruction of the temple was hindered by the shortage of funds, later it was resumed by the contribution of various tradesmen and artists.

Architecture

Though the architecture of the temple is not too extravagant, it is one of the well-built temple in Porbandar. The pillars of the temples are carved out of White marble and all the sides of the temple has a shikhara that is decorated with magnificent carving and architecture. These artistic creations can be seen from the pillars and arches that adjoin them.

About The Deity

Located at the centre of Porbandar, Sudama brahmana’s temple is one of the extraordinary temples in India which is dedicated to the great devotee of Lord Krishna. The main temple altar has the Deities of Sudama brahmana at the centre, Lord Sri Krishna at the left and Srimati Sushila Ji, the wife of Sudama brahmana on the right.

Legend and Stories

Sudama and lord Krishna were childhood friends; they stayed and learnt together in their master Sandipani Muni’s ashram. Sudama was a very self-satisfied person; he was completely free of worldly desires and riches. He and his wife lived with what came on its own and hence they were poverty-stricken. One day it got to an extent where they didn’t get any food. So his wofe asked her husband to go and get some charity from Lord Krishna. However, Sudama was very reluctant to ask Krishna for charity, yet the sight of the lord is always fortunate. Sudama took with his a hand full of flattened rice as gift to the Lord.

As Sudama approached the palace of Lord Krishna's principal wife, Rukmiṇi-devi, the Lord saw him from a distance. Krishna immediately rose from His seat on Rukmiṇi's bed and embraced His friend with great joy. Then He sat Sudama down on the bed, washed his feet with His own hands and sprinkled the wash water on His head. After this He presented him with various gifts and worshiped him with incense, lamps and so on. Meanwhile, Rukmini fanned the shabbily dressed brahmana with a yaktail whisk. All of this astonished the residents of the palace. Lord Sri Krishna then took the hand of His friend, and the two of them reminisced about the things they had done together long ago, while living in the school of their spiritual master. Sudama pointed out that Krishna engages in the pastime of acquiring an education only to set an example for human society.

In the course of His loving talks with His friend Sudama, Lord Krishna said, "My dear brahmana, have you brought any gift for Me from home? I regard as very significant even the smallest offering from My loving devotee." But the poor brahmana was ashamed to present Krishna with his meagre gift of flat rice. However, since Lord Krishna is the Supersoul dwelling in all hearts, He knew why Sudama had come to visit Him. So He grabbed the bundle of flat rice Sudama was hiding under his arms and ate a handful of it with great pleasure. Lord ate a morsel of the flat rice brought by His friend Sudama and bestowed upon him wealth greater than that of the King of heaven. He was about to eat a second morsel when Rukmini devi stopped Him.

Feeling as if he had gone back to Godhead, Sudama spent that night comfortably in Lord Krishna's palace, and the next morning he set off for home. As he passed along the highway, he thought of how fortunate he was to have been so honored by Sri Krishna. Absorbed in this meditation, Sudama arrived at the place where his home used to be - and he was struck with great wonder. Instead of his broken-down hovel, he saw a series of opulent palaces. While he stood astonished, a group of beautiful men and women came forward to greet him with singing and music. The brahmaṇa's wife, wonderfully adorned with celestial jewellery, came out of the palace and welcomed him with great love and reverence. Sudama entered his home together with her, thinking that this extraordinary transformation must have been due to the Supreme Lord's mercy on him. From then on Sudama lived his life amidst lavish wealth, yet he maintained his mood of detachment and constantly chanted the glories of Lord Krishna In a short time he broke off all bonds of bodily attachment and attained to the kingdom of God.

Prasad

Temple gives the ‘Sudama brahmaṇa’s tandul (flat rice)’ as the maha-prasad.

Accessibility

Sudama Puri is in the town of Porbandar, 104 km (2 hours) from Sri Dwarka Dhama. Porbandar is a coastal harbour city situated on the western coast of Saurashtra, Gujarat, along the Arabian Sea. Porbandar has an airport. There are daily flights from Mumbai to Porbandar. Porbandar is also well connected to Ahmedabad, Mumbai and other cities by rail. Taxis or buses can be hired from Dwaraka to reach Porbandar.

Temple Address