Rukmani Temple
The temple is located at Bet Dwarka, which is around 2 km away from the famous ‘Dwarakadish Jagat Temple’ in the state of Gujarat. Rukmini Devi temple is devoted to the Goddess Rukmini who was a consort of Lord Krishna. The original temple was built around 2,500 years back. The current imposing complex was established in the 12th century. Goddess Rukmini is also believed to be manifestation of Goddess’ Lakshmi’. The exterior infrastructure of the Rukmini temple is sculpted with beautiful images of various god and goddesses. The inner most part of the middle sanctum has a place on which a deity of Rukmini Devi is placed. It is a famed and well known temple which is visited by the tourists and pilgrims all across the world. Rukmini Devi Temple is a magnificent and architectural master piece located outskirts of the town. It was a temple of the 12th century which has extreme significance. Pre-dominantly, there are many tales and stories associated to the origin of this temple. People find unusual sculptures of god, goddesses together with assorted male and female figures and which can be seen on the exterior walls of this temple.
How to Reach:
By Air: Jamnagar is the nearby airport which is located near 137 kms from this temple.
By Road: Dwarka lies on the state highway
from Jamnagar. There are direct buses which are available from Ahmadabad and
Jamnagar.
By Railways: Dwarka is the railway station which has trains
that connect it to Jamnagar,Ahmadabad, and Rajkot.
History
Mythology says a legendary
tale is concatenated behind the whereabouts of Rukmini Devi temple. History
reveals- once upon a time, Lord Krishna along with Rukmini went to meet to the
sage Durvasha to invite him for dinner at Dwarka. Durvasha agreed and put a
condition that Krishna Rukmini will pull his chariot. The couple happily
agreed. Somehow they pulled the Chariot half the way and then Rukmini became
thirsty. Hence, Lord Krishna jabbed his toe into the earth to fetch a water
spring of the holy Ganga. Rukmini consumed the water without offering it to
sage Durvasha. Annoyed by her rudeness and disrespect, sage Durvasha cursed
Rukmini that she would be separated from her beloved husband Lord Krishna.
Since then, Rukmini temple is situated 2 km away from Dwarka Jagat Mandir. As
per another mythological story, Rukmini was born to Bhishmaka who was the king
of Vidarbha region. Rukmini wanted to marry Lord Krishna but her brother Rukimi
didn’t approve of her love for Krishna and therefore, both of them had to get
escaped to get married. After eloped with Rukmini, Lord Krishna and Rukmani got
married in a bijou village called Madhavpur Ghed which is located in Gujarat.
Consequently, a temple was built in the commemoration of this specific event.
