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or a park. As in modern parks there are man made paths for pedestrians, there should be achittu (devoid of life or man made) paths in vanakhands. This is because the ascetics do not step on paths infested with living organisms including plants. Therefore those vanakhands must have had achitta paths, whether they were made by pedestrians or by passing chariots and bullock carts. Sudharma Swami and Jambu Swami could reach Purnabhadra chaitya only through such paths. Ashoka-tree
In the middle of that vanakhand at its exact center there was an Ashoka-tree. It was heavy with a variety of fruits, flowers and leaves. Its fragrance filled a wide area. Around it were many other varieties of flowering plants. Shilapattak
Under that Ashoka-tree there was a flat rock. It had standard length, breadth and thickness and it was smooth. It was octagonal in shape and soft to touch.
Thus it was worth looking at and describable.
Dvarka City
Detailed description of this city has been mentioned in Antakriddusha Sutra.
It was constructed by Vaishraman god for Shrikrishna. It was grand, rich, and prosperous in all respects. Its design was beautiful and it had very strong city ivalls. It
the western sea shore. It measured 12 vojans in north-south and 9 juns in east-west directions. Vaishraman god had constructed it by reclaiming land from the sea.
"Dvar' in Gujarati language also means port. In this context Dvarka was a city of ports.
Continued naval trade with western Arabia and Central Asia through these ports could be one of the reasons of prosperity of Dvarka. According to the story of Shrikrishna, some seafaring merchants had brought gem imbedded blankets to Dvarka which later reached Rajagriha through the land route.
That is the reason that all the citizens of Dvarka were wealthy. There was no poor or unlucky person.
At present there is a village named Dvarka in Saurashtra area. Twenty miles from this village there is an island in the gulf of Kuchha. There is another Dvarka on the island which is called Bent Dvarka. Here also there are temples of Shrikrishna, Rukmini and others. Devotees visit these temples also for worship.
Modern marine archaeologists have found ruins of palaces arches etc. of ancient Dvarka when they explored for the ancient city in the area between Saurashtra Dvarka and Bent Dvarka. Now they are busy searching other remains.
Antakriddasha Mahima
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