The Enigma of Dvaravati?

Dr Uday Dokras
PhD Stockholm, SWEDEN

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 Who is Dvaravati?
Dvaravati, ancient kingdom of Southeast Asia that flourished from the 6th to the late 11th century. It was
the first Mon kingdom established in what is now Thailand and played an important role as a propagator
of Indian culture. The Khmer empire was a powerful state in South East Asia, formed by people
of the same name, lasting from 802 CE to 1431 CE. At its peak, the empire covered much of
what today is Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and southern Vietnam

Many ask the question- what is the relationship of this Kingdom with DWARKA also called
Dvaravati? Dwarka in Gujrath State,India is often identified with the Dwarka Kingdom, the
ancient kingdom of Krishna, and is believed to have been the first capital of Gujarat. The city's
name literally means gateway. Dwarka has also been referred to throughout its history as
"Mokshapuri", "Dwarkamati", and "Dwarkavati". It is mentioned in the ancient prehistoric epic
period of the Mahabharata.[2] According to legend, Krishna settled here after he defeated and
killed his uncle Kansa at Mathura. This mythological account of Krishna's migration to Dwarka
from Mathura is closely associated with the culture of Gujarat. Krishna is also said to have
reclaimed 12 yojanas or 96 square kilometres (37 sq mi) of land from the sea to create Dwarka.

The Dvaravati in Thailand was ruled by the Mon people who are the earliest known inhabitants
of lower Burma. They founded an empire, and introduced both writing and Hinduism into
Burma. Dvaravati was an ancient Mon Kingdom, It was an Hindu Sanscritized Kingdom,Much
later in the year 573, two Mon brothers, Prince Samala and Prince Wimala, founded another Mon
kingdom Hongsavatoi at the present site of modern Pegu. This kingdom flourished in peace and
prosperity for several centuries until it was occupied by the Burman dynasty.

The Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, or Ayodhyā, pronounced  was a Siamese kingdom that existed in

Southeast Asia from 1350 to 1767, centered around the city of Ayutthaya, in Siam, or present-
day Thailand. The Ayutthaya Kingdom is considered to be the precursor of modern Thailand and
its developments are an important part of the History of Thailand.The Ayutthaya Kingdom
emerged from the mandala of city-states on the Lower Chao Phraya Valley in the late fourteenth

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century during the decline of the Khmer Empire. After a century of territorial expansions,
Ayutthaya became centralized and rose as a major power in Southeast Asia.

From the above we can see that various Kingdoms and cities had Indian Names ( Sanskrit) In
Thailand.
1. Ayutthaya was Ayodhya the city of Ram the Hindu “GOD”
2. Dvarawati was Dwarka the legendary city founded by God Krishna
3. Many other cities flourished in Thailand as well as Cambodia all having Sanskrit names
and named after Hindu Gods
1. Khmer cities were according to inscription on the stele of Sdok Kok
Thom, Indrapura or Amarendrapura - the first capital of Jayavarman II reign about
781, before the foundation of Khmer Empire in 802.
2. Mahendraparvata (early 9th cent.) named after Mahendra or Shiva
3. Hariharalaya (9th cent.) the abode of hari. Hari (Sanskrit: हरि,) is a name of Vishnu
from Hindu tradition. Hari means the supreme absolute in the Vedas.
4. Koh Ker (928–944). Koh Ker is the modern name for an important city of the Khmer
empire. In inscriptions the town is mentioned as Lingapura (city of lingams) or Chok

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 Gargyar  (translated as city of glance, or as iron tree forest). However Lingapura
means the city of Shiva.
5. Yasodharapura (Angkor) (late 9th to early 15th cent.)
Yasodharapura यशोधरपुर "Yaśōdharapura"), also known as Angkor  is a city that was
the second capital of the Khmer Empire (after Amarendrapura), established by
King Yasovarman I  in the late 9th century and centred on the temple of Phnom
Bakheng.Yasodharapura was referred to in the inscriptions as Phnom Kandal (Central
Mountain). Phnom Bakheng was constructed just before the foundation of
Yasodharapura due to Yasovarman's belief that the mountain was among the holiest
of places to worship the Hindu deities. Yashodharapura was linked to an earlier
capital, Hariharalaya, by a causeway. The urban complex included
the Yashodharatataka.The succeeding capitals built in the area were called
Yasodharapura. One of those is Angkor Thom, centred on the Bayon temple by King
Jayavarman VII (1181-1218AD).
6. In 1352, King U Thong (also known as Ramathibodi I of the Ayutthaya Kingdom) laid
siege to it. The Ayutthaya were successful the next year in capturing the city, placing one
of their princes on the throne. In 1357 the Khmer regained it. Angkor Thom was raided
and abandoned in the 15th century by King Borommarachathirat II of Ayutthaya.

The Sanskrit Meanings of Thailand's Provinces

The name of Siam (Thailand) comes from the Sanskrit Syama, meaning “dark”. The capital of
Siam, Ayutthaya, was named after Ayodhaya, the capital mentioned in the Ramayana.

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Today’s Bangkok’s full name is as follows: “ Krung thep mahanakhon amon rattanakosin
mahinthara ayuthaya mahadilok phop noppharat ratchathani burirom udomratchaniwet
mahasathan amon piman awatan sathit sakkathattiya witsanukam prasit “

” The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the emerald Buddha, the impregnable city of
Ayutthaya, of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the
happy city, abounding in an enormous royal palace that resembles the heavenly abode where
reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn “.

The map above shows 42 of Thailand’s ancient 76 provinces, and their Sanskrit meanings:
❇1. Chaiyaphum — Land (bhumi) of victory (jaya)
❇ 2. Phitsnulok — Country (loka) of Visnu
❇ 3. Uttaradit — Northern (uttara) city
❇ 4. Lobpuri — Originally Lavapuri the city of Lava the son of Rama
❇ 5. Ayuthaya — Ayodhaya the city of Rama
❇ 6. Saraburi — City (puri) of wealth (sara)
❇ 7. Nakhon Ratchasima — City (nagara) of the lion (sima) king (raja)
❇ 8. Chonburi — City (puri) of water (jala)
❇ 9. Chantaburi — Moon (chandra) city (puri)
❇ 10. Phetchaburi — City (buri) of food (bhojya).
❇ 11. Ratchaburi — City (puri) of kings (raja)
❇ 12. Kanchanaburi — City (puri) of gold (kanchana)
❇ 13. Prachinburi — Ancient (pracin) city (puri)
❇ 14. Nakon Sawan — Heavenly (svarga) city (nagara)
❇ 15. Phetchabun — City (puri) of food (bhojya)
❇ 16. Kalasin — Black (kala) waters
❇ 17. Ubon Ratchathani — Royal (raja) lotus city (sthan)
❇ 18. Buriram — City (puri) of pleasure (ram)
❇ 19. Suphanaburi — City (puri) of gold (suvarna)
❇ 20. Surin — City of the God (sura) in (Indra)
❇ 21. Maha Sarakhan — Great (maha) wealth (sara) of gold (kanaka)
❇ 22. Sukhothai — City (sthana) of happiness (sukha)
❇ 24. Singburi — City (puri) of lions (simha)
❇ 25. Sakhon Nakhon — means the “city of cities” — the Sanskrit Sakala meaning “whole”
“total” and Nagara meaning “city”
❇ 26. Nakhon Phanom — City (nagara) of the Mountain
❇ 27 Nong Bua Lamphu — It seems that “Lamphu” is the same as the Lamphun mentioned
above as the 23rd city, and the “Bua” seems to be a shortened version of “Buana” which is Malay
for “world” and this is from the Sanskrit “Bhuvana” meaning “world”.
❇ 28. Nakhon Pathom — First (prathama) city (nagara)
❇ 29. Pathum thani — Lotus (padma) flower town (sthana)
❇ 30. Sisaket — was originally “Sri Nakhon Lamduan”, with “Sri” meaning “wealth”, “lord” the
“Nakhon”, Sanskrit “nagara” meaning “city” the original “Sri” forms the “Si” in “Sisaket”.
❇ 32. Samut Songkhram — War (sangrama) ocean (samudra)
❇ 33. Samut Sakhon — Oceans (samudra) lake (sagara)
❇ 34. Samut Prakan — Ocean (samudra) fortress (prakara)

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❇ 35. Bangkok — Known to the natives as Krung thep as explained above
❇ 36. Nonthaburi — City (puri)
❇ 37. Prachuap Khiri Khan — City of gold (khan) mountains (giri)
❇ 38. Uthaithani — Northern (uttara) city (sthana)
Other names further down the map which are not visible are:
❇ 39. Yala — Net (jala)
❇ 40. Nakhon Si Thammarat — City (nagara) of the auspicious (sri) Dharma King (dharmaraj)
❇ 41. Narathiwat — Residence (vat) of wise (dhi) people (nara)
❇ 42 Surat thani — City (sthana) of the Sun (Surya) its actually named after the Indian city of
Surat

Therefore, 42 names out of 76 Thailand’s provinces, are clearly understandable in Sanskrit and
many of the others we either have no information to their meaning or they are new names which
have gained their independence such as the province of Sa Kaew which was originally part of
Prachin Buri, a Sanskrit name meaning “ancient city”.

Running alongside Thailand, Burma and Cambodia is the Mekong river, a river which is known
as the “mother of waters”. The Chinese name for this river is “Meigong” — the river has most
probably derived its name from “Ma Ganga”.
Greater India, : The reason for this was that Greater India, or the Indian cultural sphere, was an
area composed of many countries and regions in South and Southeast Asia that were historically
influenced by Indian culture. The term Greater India as a reference to the Indian cultural sphere
was popularised by a network of Bengali scholars in the 1920s. It is an umbrella term
encompassing the Indian subcontinent, and surrounding countries which are culturally linked or
have received significant Sanskritisation and Indian influence in matters such as written language
and religion. These countries have been transformed to varying degrees by the acceptance and
induction of cultural and institutional elements that originated in India and spread elsewhere via
trade routes. Since around 500 BCE, Asia's expanding land and maritime trade had resulted in
prolonged socio-economic and cultural stimulation and diffusion of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs
into the region's cosmology, in particular in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka. In Central Asia,
transmission of ideas were predominantly of a religious nature. The spread of Islam significantly
altered the course of the history of Greater India.
By the early centuries of the common era, most of the principalities of Southeast Asia had
effectively absorbed defining aspects of Hindu culture, religion and administration. The notion of
divine god-kingship was introduced by the concept of Harihara, Sanskrit and other
Indian epigraphic systems were declared official, like those of the south Indian Pallava
dynasty and Chalukya dynasty. These Indianized Kingdoms, a term coined by George Cœdès in
his work Histoire ancienne des états hindouisés d'Extrême-Orient, were characterized by
surprising resilience, political integrity and administrative stability.

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To the north, Indian religious ideas were accepted into the cosmology of Himalayan peoples,
most profoundly in Tibet and Bhutan. Buddhist monasticism extended into Afghanistan,
Uzbekistan and other parts of Central Asia, and Buddhist texts and ideas were readily accepted in
China and Japan in the east. To the west, Indian culture converged with Greater Persia via
the Hindukush and the Pamir Mountain. It is however not  Akhand Bharat  literally meaning
Undivided.India.It.posits.that. India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Sr
i -Lanka and Burma are one nation.
Hinduism and Buddhism exerted an enormous influence on the civilizations of Southeast Asia
and contributed greatly to the development of a written tradition in that area. About the
beginning of the Common Era, Indian merchants may have settled there, bringing Brahmans and
Buddhist monks with them. These religious men were patronized by rulers who converted to
Hinduism or Buddhism. The earliest material evidence of Hinduism in Southeast Asia comes
from Borneo, where late 4th-century Sanskrit inscriptions testify to the performance of Vedic
sacrifices by Brahmans at the behest of local chiefs. Chinese chronicles attest an Indianized
kingdom in Vietnam two centuries earlier. The dominant form of Hinduism exported to
Southeast Asia was Shaivism, though some Vaishnavism was also known there. Later, from the
9th century onward, Tantrism, both

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Hindu and Buddhist, spread throughout the region. Beginning in the first half of
the 1st millennium CE, many of the early kingdoms in Southeast Asia adopted and
adapted specific Hindu texts, theologies, rituals, architectural styles, and forms of
social organization that suited their historical and social conditions. It is not clear
whether this presence came about primarily through slow immigration and
settlement by key personnel from India or through visits to India by Southeast
Asians who took elements of Indian culture back home. Hindu and Buddhist
traders, priests, and, occasionally, princes traveled to Southeast Asia from India in
the first few centuries of the Common Era and eventually settled there. Enormous
temples to Shiva and Vishnu were built in the ancient Khmer empire, attesting to
the power and prestige of Hindu traditions in the region. Angkor Wat, built in the
12th century in what is now Cambodia, was originally consecrated to Vishnu,
although it was soon converted to (and is still in use as) a Buddhist temple. One of
the largest Hindu temples ever built, it contains the largest bas-relief in the world,
depicting the churning of the ocean of milk, a minor theme of Indian architecture
but one of the dominant narratives in Khmer temples.

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Naresuan life - Wat Suwan Dararam 2142 BC

Despite the existence in Southeast Asia of Hindu temples and iconography as well as Sanskrit
inscriptions, the nature and extent of Hindu influence upon the civilizations of the region is
fiercely debated by contemporary scholars. Whereas early 20th-century scholars wrote about the
Indianization of Southeast Asia, those of the late 20th and early 21st centuries argued that this
influence was very limited and affected only a small cross section of the elite. It is nevertheless
certain that divinity and royalty were closely connected in Southeast Asian civilizations and that
several Hindu rituals were used to valorize the powers of the monarch.

The civilizations of Southeast Asia developed forms of Hinduism and Buddhism that
incorporated distinctive local features and in other respects reflected local cultures, but the
framework of their religious life, at least in the upper classes, was largely Indian. Stories from
the Ramayana and the Mahabharata became widely known in Southeast Asia and are still
popular there in local versions. In Indonesia the people of Bali still follow a form of Hinduism
adapted to their own genius. Versions of the Manu-smriti were taken to Southeast Asia and were
translated and adapted to indigenous cultures until they lost most of their original content.
Dwarka, a city in Gujarat’s Dwarka district is situated on Okhamandal peninsula’s western shore
and along the banks of River Gomti. Dwarka is one of the most significant Hindu pilgrimage
destinations and is said to be the ancient and legendary capital of Lord Krishna’s kingdom.
Dwarka is one of the Chardham of the greater Chardham circuit and is one of the revered ‘Sapt
Puris’; i.e. 7 holy pilgrimage spots for Hindus. To know more about the city’s historical,
religious and legendary backgrounds:

Sanskrit makes its first appearance in inscriptions in South Asia during the early centuries of
the Common Era. It then gradually takes over and becomes the inscriptional language par
excellence in the whole of the South Asian subcontinent and much of Southeast Asia. For almost
a thousand years Sanskrit ‘rules’ in this enormous domain. Sheldon Pollock (1996, 2006) speaks
for this reason of the ‘Sanskrit cosmopolis’, which he dates approximately between CE 300 and
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1300. Sanskrit gave a political dimension of the spread of Sanskrit. One defining feature of the
Sanskrit cosmopolis, was that Sanskrit became the premiere instrument of political expression in
the polities that comprised it, those of most of South and much of Southeast Asia.

“In the 8th and 9th centuries two significant transformations occurred in the political history of
the Khmers. The first was the establishment of a series of royal capitals north of the Tonle Sap
Lake in present-day Cambodia at Hariharalaya (Roluos), Mahendraparvata (Kulen) and
eventually at Yaśodharapura which was named after its first king Yaśovarman I; this last city is
now known as nagara (Sanskrit for “royal city”), or aṅgar (Angkor) in modern Khmer. The kings
of Yaśodharapura or Angkor developed an urban complex unprecedented in Southeast Asia,
featuring numerous hydraulic works and vast religious monuments. They also created a novel
centralized system of governance, appointing royal functionaries to provinces throughout the
region from the Mekong Delta to the Mun River Basin of present-day Northeast Thailand.

Yaśodharapura remained the capital of this kingdom with only one known exception until the
15th century. This period of remarkable political power and stability has been called the Angkor
or Angkorian period (9th-15th centuries) after the modern Khmer name of the city. The second
political innovation of this period has received comparatively little attention: the advent of an
idea that the polity was not explicitly defined by its royal center but by its territory and people. In
the 7th century before the rise of Angkor we read only of cities (pura)—Bhavapura, Īśānapura,
and Purandarapura—which served as charismatic centers to ill-defined kingdoms and their
outlying tributaries. In contrast, the polity in the Angkorian period (9th-15th centuries) was not
called after its capital city, Yaśodharapura, but had a distinct designation: Kambujadeśa, “the
land of the descendants of Kambu.” While Yaśodharapura referred to a political place or royal
city (pura), Kambujadeśa (i.e., Cambodia) represented a territory or space (deśa) inhabited by a
certain human collectivity, the Kambuja or the descendants of Kambu. Members of the polity of
Kambujadeśa/Cambodia were not only perceived to be descendants of this primordial ancestor
Kambu, but they were also by implication born in or native to (ja) a particular political space.
Thus, early Cambodia was more than an extension of a capital or of a king’s personality; it was
conceived, perhaps uniquely among polities in early Southeast Asia, to be an extensive
“territorial community of nativity.”1

______________________________________________________________

1. Chapter 12. The Spread of Sanskrit in Southeast Asia: Reflections on Cross-Cultural Exchange, book:
Early Interactions between South and Southeast Asia, Johannes Bronkhorst 2017

The Descendants of Kambu: The Political Imagination of Angkorian Cambodia By Ian Nathaniel Lowman
A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
in South and Southeast Asian Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley

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The Mon-Dvaravati Tradition of Early North-Central Thailand (700-900AD ) multiple competing
kingdoms emerged in central

Head of Krishna /Linga with One Face of Shiva (Ekamukhalinga)/Harihara/The Miracle of

Shravasti

Seated Buddha Flanked by Two Bodhisattvas/Buddha Preaching/Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

Seated Buddha/Buddha Preaching/Head of Buddha/Eleven-Headed Avalokiteshvara/Bodhisattva of Infinite

Compassion-Kurt Behrendt. Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The earliest images of Dvaravati site are Hindu as seen above a group that can be
stylistically related to pre-Angkorian sculpture such as that found at Prasat Andet.

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Dvaravati

Spread of Dvaravati Culture and Mon Dvaravati sites.

1.Mon Wheel of the Law (Dharmacakra), art of Dvaravati period, c. 8th century CE.
2. Buddha, art of Dvaravati period, c. 8th-9th century CE.
3. Bronze double denarius of the Gallic Roman emperor Victorinus (269-271 AD) found at U Thong,
Thailand.

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 4. Khao Khlang Nai was a Buddhist sanctuary. The central stupa, rectangular in shape and oriented
toward the east, is characteristic of dvaravati architectural style, dated back around 6th-7th century
CE.
5. Khao Khlang Nok, was an ancient Dvaravati-style stupa in Si Thep, dated back around 8th-9th
century CE, at present, it is large laterite base.

The Dvaravati was an ancient Mon kingdom from the 7th century to the 11th century that was
located in the region now known as central Thailand. It was described by the Chinese
pilgrim Hsuan-tsang in the middle of the 7th century as a Buddhist kingdom named "To-lo-po-
ti" situated to the west of Isanapura (Cambodia) and to the east of Sri Ksetra (Burma). Dvaravati
also refers to a culture, an art style, and a disparate conglomeration of principalities of Mon
people. Archaeological research over the past two decades or so has revealed the presence of a
"Proto-Dvaravati" period which spans the 4th to 5th centuries, and perhaps earlier.
The culture of Dvaravati was based around moated cities, the earliest of which appears to be U
Thong in what is now Suphan Buri Province. Other key sites include Nakhon Pathom, Phong
Tuk, Si Thep, Khu Bua and Si Mahosot, amongst others. Legends engraved on royal urns report
the following kings: Suryavikrama (673-688), Harivikrama (688-695), Sihavikrama (695-718). A
Khmer inscription dated 937 documents a line of princes of Chanasapura started by
a Bhagadatta and ended by a Sundaravarman and his sons Narapatisimhavarman and
Mangalavarman. But at that time, the 12th century, Dvaravati began to come under the influence
of the Khmer Empire and central Southeast asia was ultimately invaded by King Suryavarman
II in the first half of the 12th century. [4] Hariphunchai survived its southern progenitors until the
late 13th century, when it was incorporated into Lan Na.
The term Dvaravati derives from coins which were inscribed in Sanskrit śrī dvāravatī. The
Sanskrit word dvāravatī literally means "that which has gates" (from dvāra "door, gate,
entrance").
Little is known about the administration of Dvaravati. It might simply have been a loose
gathering of chiefdoms rather than a centralised state, expanding from the coastal area of the
upper peninsula to the riverine region of Chao Phraya River. Hinduism and Buddhism were
significant. The three largest settlements appear to have been at Nakhon Pathom, Suphanburi,
Praak Srigacha, with additional centers at U Thong, Chansen, Khu Bua, Pong Tuk, Mueang Phra
Rot, Lopburi, Si Mahosot, Kamphaeng Saen, Dong Lakhon, U-Taphao, Ban Khu Mueang, and Si
Thep.
The traditional chronology of Dvaravati is mainly based on the Chinese textual account and
stylistic comparison by art historians. However, the results from excavations in Chansen and Tha
Muang mound at U-Thong raise questions about the traditional dating. Newly dated typical
Dvaravati cultural items from the site of U-Thong indicate that the starting point of the tradition
of Dvaravati culture may possibly date as far back to 200 CE. [7][3] Archaeological, art historical,
and epigraphic (inscriptions) evidence all indicate, however, that the main period of Dvaravati
spanned the seventh to ninth centuries.[3] Dvaravati culture and influence also spread
into Isan and parts of lowland Laos from the sixth century onward. Key sites include Mueang Fa
Daet in Kalasin Province and Mueang Sema in Nakhon Ratchasima Province.[8][9]
 Dvaravati art

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Thailand, Ku Bua, (Dvaravati culture), 650-700 C.E.. Three musicians in right are playing (from center) a 5-
stringed lute, cymbals, a tube zither or bar zither with gourd

Dvaravati art is a form of artistic work originating from Mon. Dvaravati flourished from
the Dvaravati Mon ancient artifacts are in present-day Thailand and Burma, Mon states to the
west in southern Myanmar (Burma) and with the Mon state in northern Thailand. Dvaravati
experienced political domination by neighbouring peoples on three occasions: in the 10th
century, when the Burmese conquered the Mon state of Thaton west of the Tenasserim Yoma;
from the 11th to the 13th century, when the Khmer Empire (Cambodia) arose in the east; and
finally, in the late 13th century, when Dvaravati was absorbed by the Thai empire. Dvaravati art
came into form around the 6th century by the Mon communities as part of numerous minor
kingdoms that existed in Thailand. Surrounding geography proved treacherous for travel and
thus provided a fair amount of isolation for the individual kingdoms. Isolation enabled
development of a highly sophisticated and distinct Mon-Dvaravati style.[1]
Influence
Dvaravati itself was heavily influenced by Indian culture though the process of cultural diffusion
over several centuries starting from the Christian 5th century, and played an important role in
introducing Mahayana Buddhism and particularly Buddhist art to the region.[2][3][4]
Architecture: Archaeological research and restoration have indicated that Buddhist monuments
of the Dvaravati style exhibited contemporary art of Gupta temple-architecture with many
constructed with open-air structures. Chief among the architecture is the stupa style architecture.
Various pottery excavated from former Dvaravati sites in central Thailand exhibit the
sophistication and complexity of Dvaravati art.Many Buddha statues were created with
Dvaravati style. Some Buddha statues have mudras (hand positions) and others have katakahasta
mudra (fingers folded down into palms, suggesting if it is holding something), both of which
have evolved before 800 CE. Buddha statues are common artefacts.

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Pottery Artifacts have been collected over the years. Many pristine examples of artifacts can be
found in Thai museums such as the Phra Pathommachedi National Museum in Nakhon
Pathom city and the Prachinburi National Museum in Prachinburi, Prachinburi, Thailand.

br
onze statue Mon-Dvaravati period.

1.Gold plaque with Standing Buddha

6. Head of Krishna
7. Head of a Male Figure
8. Head of a Male Deity
9. Bronze standing Buddha
The Khmer Empire or the Angkorian Empire (Khmer: ចក្រភពអង្គរ), are the terms that
historians use to refer to Cambodia from the 9th century to the 15th century when the nation was
a Hindu/Buddhist empire in Southeast Asia. The empire grew out of the former civilizations
of Funan and Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalised most of mainland Southeast
Asia[3] and parts of Southern China, stretching from the tip of the Indochinese
Peninsula northward to modern Yunnan province, China, and from Vietnam westward
to Myanmar.
Perhaps its most notable legacy is the site of Angkor, in present-day Cambodia, the Khmer
capital during the empire's zenith. The majestic monuments of Angkor, such as Angkor
Wat and Bayon, bear testimony to the Khmer Empire's immense power and wealth, impressive
art and culture, architectural technique, aesthetics achievements, and the variety of belief systems
that it patronised over time. Satellite imaging has revealed that Angkor, during its peak in the
11th to 13th centuries, was the largest pre-industrial urban centre in the world.[6]
The beginning of the era of the Khmer Empire is conventionally dated to 802, when
King Jayavarman II declared himself chakravartin ("universal ruler", title equivalent to
"emperor") on Phnom Kulen. The empire ended with the Siege of Angkor by the
Siamese Kingdom of Ayutthaya in 1431.
The Dvārakā–Kamboja route is an ancient land trade route that was an important branch of
the Silk Road during antiquity and the early medieval era. It is referred to in Buddhist, Hindu,
and Jain works. It connected the Kamboja Kingdom in
today's Afghanistan and Tajikistan via Pakistan to Dvārakā (Dvaravati) and other major ports
in Gujarat, India, permitting goods from Afghanistan and China to be exported by sea to
southern India, Sri Lanka, the Middle East and Ancient Greece and Rome. The road was the
second most important ancient caravan route linking India with the nations of the northwest.

15
The Kamboja–Dvārakā trade route began at the seaport of Dvārakā. It passed through
the Anarta region to Madhyamika, a city near Chittor. South of Aravalli, the road reached
the Indus River, where it turned north. At Roruka (modern Rodi), the route split in two: one road
turned east and followed the river Sarasvati to Hastinapura and Indraprastha, while the second
branch continued north to join the main east-west road (the Uttarapatha Route across northern
India from Pataliputra to Bamyan) at Pushkalavati.
From Pushkalavati, the Kamboja-Dvārakā and Uttarapatha routes ran together
to Bahlika through Kabul and Bamyan. At Bahlika, the road turned east to pass through
the Pamir Mountains and Badakshan, finally connecting with the Silk Road to China.[1][4][5][6]
Both the historical record and archaeological evidence show that the ancient kingdoms in the
northwest (Gandhāra and Kamboja) had economic and political relations with the western Indian
kingdoms (Anarta and Saurashtra) since Ancient times. This commercial intercourse appears to
have led to the adoption of similar sociopolitical institutions by both the Kambojas and the
Saurashtras.
Historical records
References in both Hindu and Buddhist scriptures mention trading activities of the ancient
Kambojas with other nations:

 It is referred to in the Pali work called Petavatthu, wherein it is said that traders went with

caravans with wagons loaded with goods from Dvāravati to Kamboja.
 The Arthashastra by Kautiliya, a treatise on statecraft written between the 4th century
BCE and the 4th century CE, classifies the Kamboja and Saurashtra kingdoms as one entity,
since the same form of politico-economic institutions existed in both republics. The text
makes particular mention of warfare, cattle-based agriculture and trade. The description
tallies with those in the Bṛhat Saṃhitā, a 6th-century CE encyclopedia and the major
epic Mahabharata, which makes particular reference to the wealth of the Kambojas.
Archaeological evidence
Numerous precious objects discovered in excavations in Afghanistan, at
Bamyan, Taxila and Begram, bear evidence to a close trade relationship between the region and
ancient Phoenicia and Rome to the west and Sri Lanka to the south.
Because archaeological digs in Gujarat have also found ancient ports, the Kamboja–Dvārakā
Route is viewed as the logical corridor for those trade items that reached the sea before traveling
on east and west.
Dvaravati art in Isan

Where is the Isan region of Thailand?

Isan is Thailand's largest region, located on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River
(along the border with Laos) to the north and east, by Cambodia to the southeast and the
Sankamphaeng Range south of Nakhon Ratchasima.

16
The ancient culture was not limited to the Central Region of Thailand, but spread to the present-
day Northeast, where Fa Daed Song Yang in Kalasin is an outstanding example. More than
500km away from Bangkok is Fa Daed Song Yang City dating back to the Dvaravati period (6th-
12th centuries) and located in what is now Ban Sema in Kamalasai district of Kalasin. It was
registered by the Fine Arts Department as a historic site in 1936.

According to Pimnara, the sema stone inscriptions indicate development from the Dvaravati
period to the Ayutthaya and Lan Chang periods, while archaeological excavations confirm
human settlement since pre-historic times.
In the 7th century after the spread of Buddhism to the area due to the influence of trade, the city
flourished and was expanded. Evidence of human settlement includes graves where human
skeletons and fragments of pottery, as well as jars containing human bones, were found.
The main religion was Buddhism since many clay votive tablets and hundreds of sandstone sema
stones were unearthed.
"Buddhism was important during the Dvaravati period. Stories carved on sema stones are mostly
stories from Jataka tales and the Lord Buddha's life. The Northeast has many ancient sites related
to Buddhism. Other major ancient cities of the Dvaravati period include Khu Bua in Ratchaburi,
U Thong in Nakhon Pathom with Phra Pathom Chedi and Phra Prathone Chedi," Sunisa
Chitrbhandh, archaeologist and director of the administration office of the Fine Arts Department,
said.
According to the Fine Arts Department's related handbooks, Fa Daed Song Yang has been called
by several names. Locals called it Fa Daed Song Hang after a folk tale, while some historical
documents during the period of King Fa Ngum of Vientiane call it "Pone Phung Daed"
(sunbathing zone). It is located in Kalasin's low-lying plains where the Phan and Pao rivers
merge.
The city adopted Buddhism and also the post-Pallava alphabets from India via trade and contacts
with the Central Region. Fine Arts Department expert Toem Meetem read the inscribed words
behind two votive tablets and found that they were in an ancient Mon language, written with
post-Pallava characters used in India around the 9th century. Both inscription plates mention the
construction of Buddha images in dedication to monks who had ordained the owners of the
images. A sema stone at Wat Phochai Semaram contains an inscription stone written with the
post-Pallava letters saying, "Merit for Niamoon and for Saming Phra Jak in the future". Niamoon
is believed to be a person's name, while the words "Saming Phra Jak" are a pronoun for a
bureaucrat-turned-monk.
Archaeological excavations since 1967 found 14 Buddhist sites built in the Dvaravati art style
dating to the 7th-11th centuries. The main one is Phrathat Yakhu. At Fa Daed Song Hang, there
were traces of salt mining and the making of bronze and iron tools. Rice fields were symmetrical
square shapes. In addition, more than 10 stupas and several ponds like Nong Trapang Pond were
uncovered. Historical evidence shows the city came to an end and became deserted after being
attacked along with many other cities by the army of Burmese King Anawrahta (1015-1078).
About 20km from Muang Kalasin is Phu Khao. It boasts a reclining Buddha carved into a rock
cave by locals who had strong faith in Buddhism.

This practice is similar to the construction of the replicas of the Lord Buddha's footprints as the
symbol of Buddhism, according to Sunisa.

17
"Kalasin also has three reclining Buddha statues. One of the three statues is at Phu Khao and the
others from the Dvaravati period are enshrined at Wat Inpratharnporn [Phu Por]," Pimnara noted.
Besides in Kalasin, traces of Dvaravati culture can be found in other northeastern provinces like
Roi Et, Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom. Roi Et boasts several pre-historic archaeological
sites and ancient cities with moats while the base of Phrathat Phanom is believed to be Dvaravati
art. Sakhon Nakhon has a number of pre-historic sites, Dvaravati sites with sema stones, two
Khmer sanctuaries in Muang district and several cave paintings.

T he
Davaravati dress in Ancient culture in center Thailand 6-9th century. Dvaravati refers to a culture,
an art style, and a disparate conglomeration of principalities. Dvaravati itself was heavily
influenced by Indian culture and played an important role in introducing Buddhism and
particularly Buddhist art to the region. 

Wat Buddha Nimitr, or Phu Khao, in Sahat Sakhan district of Kalasin houses a 2m-long and
0.5m-high reclining Buddha statue carved into a rock cave. The statue is unique for lying on the
left side of the body and having no hair bun. Some people believe it represents the Lord Buddha
when he attained parinirvana , while another legend says it stands for Phra Mokkalana, one of the
Buddha’s major disciples. According to legend, the reclining Buddha was built more than 2,000
years ago when King Si Khottabun of Vientiane restored Phrathat Phanom and hosted
celebrations. A group of Khmer people, led by a man named Sa, travelled to the celebrations, but
failed to get there in time. They decided to bury all the money and valuables destined for merit-
making and carved the statue of Phra Mokkanlana at Phu Khao instead.

Wat Nua, or Wat Sri Boon Ruang, in Muang Kalasin boasts eight sema stones from the
Dvaravati period. They are believed to have been brought from Fa Daed Song Yang Ancient
City. Only one of the eight sema stones at Wat Nua is carved showing architecture and

18
traditional clothes of people at that time, but no specific story can be reaffirmed. The rest are
plain.

Most of the sema stones found at Fa Daed Song Yang are made of either red or white sandstone.
Two important ones found near Phrathat Yakhu depict Bhuridatta Jataka and Mahosot Jataka.
The first one shows Brahmin Arampai pulling the naga Bhuridatta near a termite mound and
trees. The naga Bhuridatta was one of the Lord Buddha’s previous lives. The second stone
portrays a scene from Mahosot Jataka, when Mahosot was pretending to kill King Chullaneewas
with a sword.

19
Situated at Ban Sema opposite the entrance of Fa Daed Song Yang Ancient City in Kalasin, Wat
Phochai Semaram, or Wat Ban Kom, displays many sema stones collected from Fa Daed Song
Yang. The carved stones are kept in a temple building while many others, which are not carved,
were erected in the front yard of the temple near the northern wall. Among the carved sema
stones is one depicting Phra Mahosot answering a king’s questions in the presence of a goat and
dog. The faces, eyes, noses, mouths, costumes and accessories of sculptures on these sema stones
are localised. The way their legs are crossed loosely and motifs like that of phak kood, local
vegetables, are unique to the area. Also displayed in the temple compound is a replica of a
carved sema stone called Pimpa Pilarp. The original was moved to the Khon Kaen National
Museum. It portrays a seated Lord Buddha and his former wife Pimpa Yasathara showing him
respect by wiping his feet with her long hair. Another outstanding one is the model of the sema
stone depicting the Lord Buddha being requested by his son Rahul to give him his throne and
fortune.

Wat Udom Pracharat in Muang district of Kalasin does not date back to the Dhavaravati period
but it is well worth a visit. The temple has an ubosot (ordination hall), or sim in the Isan dialect,
that was registered as a historic site in 1998. It was built of bricks and has a threetiered roof. It
reflects the influence of Vietnamese art since many Vietnamese people, including skilled
carpenters and stucco artisans, migrated to the northeast of Thailand after world wars I and II.
This ubosot has arched windows and doors, fresco art on the roofs and windows and naga
sculptures upon staircases. The front gable is decorated with fresco art in the images of the
Garuda and two dragons. Outstanding is hoop taem, or mural paintings, painted in 1933. Hoop
taem mostly depict folk tales and the Lord Buddha’s previous lives, blending local lifestyles and
art. In the Northeast, murals are painted on both the exterior and interior walls. The use of

20
colours focuses on blue, yellow, green and white. The exterior murals portray maha vesantara
jataka and boon phaves, especially the procession of Prince Maha Vesantara back to his city. The
interior murals, including those behind the Buddha statue, depict the Lord Buddha’s life starting
from the right to left side with Prince Siddhartha’s departure from his palace to the Lord Buddha
conquering the Mara. Some of the murals mix details of local culture, such as hua larn chon kan
(head-hitting games between bald men), funerals, boar hunting, modern soldiers and local
costumes.

21
Phrathat Yakhu is Fa Daed Song Yang City’s most important site. This 15m-high brick octagonal stupa is the largest among
all the 14 stupas found in the city. The base with four corners standing out is the art of the Dvaravati period while the upper
part was extended with bricks and fresco during the Ayutthaya period and decorated in a local northeastern style during the
Rattanakosin period. In 1983, 11 sema stones were brought back to where they are believed to have been erected. Every May,
local villagers organise the ‘‘Bung Fai’’ or bamboo rocket festival at Ban Sema to seek rain and good fortune for the
community./A Roman coin/ Lapis lazuli.

From the port of Dvārakā at the terminus of the Kamboja–Dvārakā Route, traders connected with
sea trading routes to exchange goods as far west as Rome and as far east as Kampuchea. Goods
shipped at Dvārakā also reached Greece, Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, southern India, Sri
Lanka, Myanmar, the land of Suwannaphum (whose location has still not been determined) and
the Indochinese peninsula.
Dvārakā was, however, not the only port at the route's terminus. Perhaps more important was
Barygaza or Bharukaccha (modern Bharuch, located on the mainland to the east of
the Kathiawar peninsula on the river Narbada.
Horse dealers from north-west Kamboja traded as far as Sri Lanka, and there may have been a
trading community of them living in Anuradhapura, possibly along with some Greek
traders. This trade continued for centuries, long after the Kambhojans had converted to Islam in
the 9th century CE.
The chief export products from Kamboja were horses, ponies, blankets embroidered with threads
of gold,
Kambu/Kambuka silver, zinc, mashapurni, asafoetida, somvalak or punga, walnuts, almonds, saf
fron, raisins and precious stones including lapis lazuli, green turquoise and emeralds.
Historical records: western sea trade
The sea trade from the southern end of the Kamboja–Dvārakā Route to the west is documented
in Greek, Buddhist and Jain records:

 The 1st-century CE Greek work The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions several
seaports on the west coast of India, from Barbarikon at the mouth of the Indus to
Bharakuccha, Sopara, Kalyan and Muziris. The Periplus also refers to Saurashtra as a
seaboard of Arabia.

22
 A century later, Ptolemy's The Geographia also refers to Bharakuccha port as a great
commercial center situated on the Narbada estuary. Ptolemy also refers to Saurashtra
as Syrestrene.
 The 7th-century CE Chinese traveler Yuan Chwang calls Saurashtra Sa-la-ch'a and refers
to it as "the highway to the sea where all the inhabitants were traders by profession".
 Undated ancient Jain texts also refer to heavy trade activity in Saurashtran seaports, some
of which had become the official residences of international traders.[  Bharakuccha in
particular is described as donamukha, meaning where goods were exchanged
freelyThe Brhatkalpa describes the port of Sopara as a great commercial center and a
residence of numerous traders.
 Other ports mentioned in texts include Vallabhi (modern Vala), a flourishing seaport
during the Maitraka dynasty in the 5th through 8th centuries CE. The existence of a port
at Kamboi is attested in 10th-century CE records.
The commerce of the western Indian coast was lucrative. Bharukacchan and Soparan traders who
established settlements or trading posts in the Persian Gulf reaped enormous profits from the
Indo-Roman trade and, according to the Vienna Papyrus, written in the mid-2nd century CE,
paid high rates of interest.
Archaeological evidence: western sea trade
There is good archaeological evidence of Roman trade goods in the first two centuries CE
reaching Kamboja and Bactria through the Gujarati peninsula. Archaeologists have found
frescoes, stucco decorations and statuary from ancient Phoenicia and Rome in
Bamian, Begram and Taxila in Afghanistan.
Goods from Rome on the trade route included frankincense, coral of various colors (particularly
red), figured linen from Egypt, wines, decorated silver vessels, gum, stone, opaque glass and
Greek or European slave?women. Roman gold coins were also traded and were usually melted
into bullion in Afghanistan, although very little gold came from Rome after 70 CE. In exchange,
ships bound for Rome and the west loaded up in Barbaricum/Bharukaccha with lapis lazuli
from Badakshan, green turquoise from the Hindu Kush and Chinese silk (mentioned as reaching
Barbaricum via Bactria in The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea).
Historical records: eastern sea trade
The eastern and southern sea trade from the ports at the southern terminus of the Kamboja–
Dvārakā Route is described in Buddhist, Jain and Sri Lankan documents.

 Ancient Buddhist references attest that the nations from the northwest, including the
Kamboja as well as the Gandhara, Kashmira, Sindhu and Sovira kingdoms were part of a
trade loop with western Indian sea ports. Trade ships regularly plied between Bharukaccha,
Sopara and other western Indian ports, and southern India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar,
Suvannabhumi and the Indochinese peninsula.
The Pali work called Petavatthu says that traders went with caravans with wagons loaded with
goods from Dvāravati to Kamboja. The Pali work Apadāna refers to a saint named Bāhiya
Dārucīriya who was born in the port of Bharakuccha and according to a commentary who made
several trade voyages. He sailed the length of the Indus seven times, and also travelled across the
sea as far as Suvannabhumi and returned safely home. Also, the 4th century

23
CE Pali text Sihalavatthu refers to Kambojas being in the Province of Rohana on the island of
Tambapanni, or Sri Lanka..

 An undated Jain text mentions a merchant sailing from Bharukaccha and arriving in Sri
Lanka in the court of a king named Chandragupta.
 There is also a tradition in Sri Lanka, (recorded in the Pūjāvaliya) that Tapassu and
Bhalluka, the two merchant brothers, natives of Pokkharavati (modern Pushkalavati) in what
then was ancient Kamboja-Gandhara and now is the Northwest Frontier Province of
Pakistan, "visited the east coast of Ceylon and built a Cetiya there.". In addition, several
ancient epigraphic inscriptions found in a cave in Anuradhapura refer to Kamboja
corporations and a Grand Kamboja Sangha (community) in ancient Sinhala, as early as the
3rd century BC.
 Several Iranian records mention an embassy from a Sri Lankan king to the Iranian
emperor Anusharwan (531–578). The Sri Lankan monarch is reported to have sent
the Persian emperor ten elephants, two hundred thousand pieces of teakwood and seven pearl
divers.
Archaeological evidence: eastern sea trade
Archaeological digs in Sri Lanka have turned up coins, beads
and intaglios from Bactria and Afghanistan. A fragment of a Gandhara Buddha
statue in schist was recently unearthed from the excavations at Jetavanaramaya in Anuradhapura.
Other finds in Sri Lanka, such as lapis lazuli of the Badakshan type, connect that island with
Kamboja, ancient source of the material.
Facts in the original Pali sources
According to Malalasekara, in the entry 'Kamboja' in Dictionary of Pali Proper Names: 'The
country was evidently on one of the great caravan routes, and there was a road direct from
Dvāraka to Kamboja (Pv.p. 23).'The Pali work called Petavatthu that Malalasekera refers to (as
Pv.p. 23) says that caravan wagons loaded with goods went from Dvāraka to Kamboja. The
introductory story as given in the Petavatthu Commentary says that the thousand caravan carts
that went from Dvāravatī to Kamboja passed through an arid desert where they got lost.
With regards Bāhiya Dārucīriya, Malalasekara writes that he 'engaged himself in trade, voyaging
in a ship. Seven times he sailed down the Indus and across the sea and returned safely home. On
the eighth occasion, while on his way to Suvaṇṇabhūmi, his ship was wrecked, and he floated
ashore on a plank, reaching land near Suppāraka.’
The Apadāna verses of Bāhiya say that he was born in the town of Bhārukaccha
( modern Bharuch) and departed on a ship from there. After being on sea for a few days, he fell
into the sea due to a frightful, horrible sea-monster (makara), but on a plank managed to reach
the port of Suppāraka.
The source for Malalasekera's statement that Bāhiya sailed down the Indus and went to
Suvaṇṇabhūmi is the Udāna Commentary of Dhammapāla, which says that Bāhiya was born in
the country of Bāhiya, and was a merchant. Masefield translates the commentary as follows: 'He
filled a ship with abundant goods, ... , for the purposes of trade, entered upon the ocean and, in
successively roaming about, on seven occasions approached his own city via an expedition up
the Indus. But on the eighth occasion, he embarked into his ship with his goods loaded on board

24
thinking he would go to Suvaṇṇabhūmi. Having ventured deep into the Great Ocean, the ship
went off-course in the midst of the ocean, without reaching the desired destination, with the
people (on board) becoming a meal for fish and turtles. But Bāhiya, being tossed about ever so
slowly by the motion of the waves as he made his way (to safety) after grabbing hold of a ship’s
plank, on the seventh day reached the shore in the locality of the port of Suppāraka.’
The port of Suppāraka, is either modern Sopara near Bhārukaccha or modern Bharuch,
or Vasai near Mumbai, about 290 kilometers south of Bhārukaccha

Figure 1. Selected historical sites in Thailand, showing core Dvaravati region. Inset details Dvaravati core
region and major Dvaravati sites after Indrawooth (2004) and Mudar (1999).

LAND USE, POLITICAL COMPLEXITY, AND URBANISM IN MAINLAND SOUTHEAST

ASIA.Lisa Kealhofer,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258125588_LAND_USE_POLITICAL_COMPLEXITY_AND
_URBANISM_IN_MAINLAND_SOUTHEAST_ASIA

25
So the main question now arfises: Was Dvaravati in Thailand named
after Krishna’s mythical city DWARKA in spite of the fact that no
evidence of Krishna- neither idols, or temples have been uncovered in
this region. Or was the name gin=ven to honour KRISHNA the central
figute of Mahabharagta? E shall never know but it seens probsble

Krishna Govardhan Pre Angkorean Period

Ancient
Khmer carving of Krishna, Angkor, Cambodia

26
Dvaravati or Dwarka: Myths & Legends
There are many mythical tales woven around the city of Dwarka, India the mythical city of
KRISHNA the Blue Hindu God. The most prominent myth is associated with the ‘hero of the
Dwapara’; Lord Krishna who is believed to have held his kingdom here. Dwarka in the ancient
times was known as Anarta which had been Lord Krishna’s terrestrial empire. Dwarka consisted
in islands like Antar dwipa, Dwarka Island and the mainland of Dwarka. The city had been the
capital city of the Yadava clan which ruled over the place since many years. In the great epic
Mahabharata Dwarka is mentioned as Yadavas’ capital city consisting in many other neighboring
states such as Vrishnis, Andhakas, Bhojas within its jurisdiction. The most important chiefs of
Yadava clan inhabiting Dwarka included Lord Krishna, who was the king of Dwarka, then
Balarama, Kritavarma, Satyaki, Akrura, Kritavarma, Uddhava and Ugrasena. According to the
most popular legendary tale, Lord Krishna migrated to Kusasthali; the name by which Dwarka
was known in the ancient times in order to evade the continual harassing raids done on Mahura
by Jarasandha; Kansa’s father in law. Jarasandha wanted to avenge the death of Kansa, the
wicked cruel uncle of Krishna whom the lord had killed and thus was attacking Mathura time
and again.

According to legendary, Kusasthali had been Lord Krishna’s ancestral native on his maternal
side. The city is said to have been set up a Yadava ancestor of Lord Krishna; Raivata after he got
defeated battle with Punyajanas and lost his kingdom to the latter. After the defeat, Raivata fled
to Mathura in order to keep himself and his clan members safe. Later on he returned to establish
the city of Kusasthali or Dwarka. This tale indicates that lord Krishna’s shifting to Dwarka from
Mathura took place in reverse order.

Marine archaeology has proved that the existence of the Dwarka and its submergence in the
second millennium B.C referred to in the Mahabharat, Harivamsa, Matsya and Vayu Purans
(Sanskrit texts) is a fact and not fiction. The implications of accepting the archeologists’ finds as
proof that the sunken city is indeed the legendary Dwarka would be very significant for the
understanding of what the Mahabharata is. It would no longer be merely a book of myths and
legends, but in fact, at least to some extent, a genuine account of past events.
 
Speculations and Conclusions
 
Based on the correlation between the excavated structures and artefacts with the description of
Dwarka in Harivamsha purana, and the fact that the carbon dating of artefacts fall around
3500BC, the same period concluded by many astronomical analysts as the period of the
Mahabharata war and the submersion of Dwarka, it is more than reasonable to conclude that the
excavated site near Bet Dwarka is indeed the legandary city of Dwarka.
 
The discovery of the second exploration at Gulf of Khambat proves that it was not just Dwarka
that got submersed, but more costal regions got encroached by the sea over centuries, and the
dating of artefacts to 7500BC indicates that the ancient indian civilization is more than 9000
years old, and the entire coastal regions has been going under sea from 9000BC, and this
phenomenon took over the city of Dwarka by around 3500BC.
 

27
Before the discovery of the legendary city of Dwaraka, some scholars were of view that the
Hindu Epic Mahabharata is only a myth and that it would be futile to search for the remains of
the ancient city and that too in the sea. Few scholars also believe that the Mahabharata battle was
a family feud which was exaggerated into a war. Excavations of Dr S. R. Rao at Dwaraka prove
that the descriptions found in the texts are not to be discarded as fancy stories but are to be
treated as based on logic and reasoning.
 
Thus the results have proved that the account in Mahabharata as to the existence of a beautiful
capital city of Dwaraka of Sri Krishna

was not a
mere figment of imagination but it did exist.

28