![]() Location of Sri Krishna Temple Sri Krishna Temple is located just behind the Gomti Temple. While walking from Samudra Narayan Temple along Gomti River Ghat, this temple is located at the opposite end. History of Sri Krishna Temple Satyabhama is one of Lord Krishna's queens. She is also one of the most beautiful women. Like most beautiful people, she is also very conscious about her beauty and vain about it. She is constantly jealous of Goddess Rukmini, the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi and the first wife of Lord Krishna. Though Lord Krishna pampers her, she thinks Lord Krishna is partial towards Goddess Rukmini. She finds out that Krishna has given Parijata Tree, the celestial flower, to Rukmini. She is jealous of Krishna having deep love towards Rukmini. She thinks of a plan to test Krishna's love for her. Krishna enters Satyabhama's chambers. She is sitting on her bed, sad, and forlorn. When Lord Krishna wanted to know the reason for her grievance, Satyabhama said, "Oh Lord! I want the Parijata tree." Lord Krishna was shocked to hear about the Parijat tree. He said, “This does not grow anywhere on Earth! It is a celestial tree that grows only in Heaven." Satyabhama was adamant. She repeated her request, "You have given a Parijata flower to Rukmini, so why not to me?" Krishna laughed, "I have given her just the flower. I can give you the Parijata flower as well. However, I am afraid I can't get you the tree, since it belongs to Heaven." Satyabhama is adamant and sticks to her demand. Lord Krishna says, "Ask me for anything that is feasible and I will get it. I can get you the most precious gems from the deepest oceans. I can get you fruits or flowers that grow on the tallest mountains. The Parijata is something I have no access to." Satyabhama says, "I want to perform a special puja that will make You love me more than ever. I need the Parijata tree to perform this puja." Krishna says, "The Parijata tree grows only in Heaven. It is under the custody of Lord Indra, the king of Heaven." Satyabhama says, "Please wage a war against Lord Indra. Once you defeat Him, you should be able to bring the celestial tree for me." Krishna realises the moment has now come to make Satyabhama feel humble. Lord Krishna requested Lord Indra to give the Parijat tree and after that Lord Indra waged a war against Krishna. There He defeated Lord Indra, and planted the Parijat Tree for Satyabhama. Architecture of Sri Krishna Temple The building of Sri Krishna Temple is white and the altar has a black idol of Lord Krishna. An orange idol of Lord Ganesha adorns the door of the altar. As in most temples of Dwarka, here too, the Lord is four-armed, sans the flute. Behind Sri Krishna Temple is the Hari Kund where Lord Krishna and Goddess Rukmini had a bath. In front of the idol, there is a huge weighing scale fixed from the ceiling. For a first time visitor, this may appear odd. Though it is quite common to see weighing scales in temples, they are generally kept in the back courtyard or at one end of the temple premises. Generally, in most temples, the weighing scales are for the tulabhara of the devotees. Tulabhara means the devotee gets weighed against items of his/her choice (this could be bananas, coconuts, jaggery, etc). After the tulabhara, the items weighed are given away. However, here, in this temple, the weighing scales commemorate an episode that happened 5000 years ago. That's the reason why they take centre stage here. Related Articles Gujarat, Indian State Gujarati Culture Tourism In Gujarat Nature Tourism in Gujarat Pilgrimage Tours in Gujarat Krishna Temples in India |