Dakor

Dakor
—  city  —
Dakor Location of Dakor in Gujarat and India
Coordinates	22°45′N 73°09′E / 22.75°N 73.15°E / 22.75; 73.15Coordinates: 22°45′N 73°09′E / 22.75°N 73.15°E / 22.75; 73.15
Country	India
State	Gujarat
District(s)	Kheda
Population	23,784 (2001[update])
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 49 metres (161 ft)
Website	www.dakor.in

Dakor (Gujarati: ડાકોર) is a city and a Nagarpalika in Kheda district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is prominent for its grand temple of Shree Krishna-Shree Ranchhodraiji.

History

File:Dakor temple-View1.jpg

Dakor temple-view1-1957

The present Dakor owes its raison d’être not to Dank Rishi but to Bodana, a great devotee of Lord Krishna. In his previous birth, he is supposed to have lived in Gokul and been a cowherd called Vijayanand. On one 'Holi’ day, all the cowherds except Vijyanand worshipped Lord Krishna. His wife too worshipped Lord Krishna. But Vijayanand was proud and stayed at home. Lord Krishna came to his house in disguise of his friend and sent him to perform 'Holi' puja. Coming back, he realised that his friend was none else but Lord Krishna. Next day they fought a battle of colour. Lord Krishna lost and fell into the river. Vijyanand went after him where Lord Krishna revealed his true self. Vijyanand begged forgiveness. Lord Krishna took pity on him and solaced him with a boon that he would be born in Gujarat again in Kaliyug after 4200 years as Vijayanand Bodana in the house of a Krishatriya and his present wife Sudha would again be his wife, called Gangabai, when he will give them a glimpse (darshna) and relieve them by offering them emancipation (Moksha). So as the legend would have it, 'Vijayanand Bodana', a rajput of Dakor, becomes a staunch devotee of Lord Krishna. He used to let the basil plant (Tulsi) grow in an earthen pot with him on his palm and used to go every six months to Dwarika to worship Lord Krishna with the said Tulsi leaves . He did this continuously, unfailingly and untiringly till he was 72 years he then began to find it increasingly difficult to pursue this ritual. Seeing his plight, Lord Krishna told him that on his ensuing visit to Dwarika, he should bring a bullock-cart with him and Lord Krishna would accompany him to Dakor as he was exceedingly pleased with his devotion. Accordingly, Bodana went with bullock-cart to Dwarika. The hereditary priests of Dwarika (Gugli Brahmins) asked him as to why he had brought a cart with him. Whereupon, Bodana replied that he had done so to take away Lord Krishna. Looking to the ramshackle cart, they did not believe him but nevertheless locked and sealed the sanctum sanctorum of Dwarika Temple for the night. At mid night, Lord Krishna broke open all the doors, awoke Bodana and told him to take him to Dakor. Shortly afterwards, Lord Krishna called upon Bodana to rest in the bullock-cart and drove the cart himself till reached the vicinity of Dakor. Here (near Bileshwar Mahadev on Dakor-Nadiad road) they rested for some time, touching and holding a branch of neem tree. He woke up Bodana and asked him to take over. Since that day, this neem tree is found to have one sweet branch though the rest of the branches are bitter and it forms the subject of a well-known Gujarati song (bhajan).

In Dwarika, the Gugli Brahmins finding the image missing chased Bodana and came to Dakor in pursuit. Bodana was frightened but Lord Krishna told him to hide the idol of the deity in the Gomti tank and meet the Guglis. Accordingly, Bodana hid the idol and went to meet the Guglis with a pot of curd to pacify them. They became angry and one of them threw a spear at him. He fell down dead While hurting Bodana with a spear it also hurt the image of the deity hidden in Gomti tank and the water turned red with Lord Krishna's (Ranchhodraiji's) blood. It is said that even today the earth of Gomti tank where the image lay is red while rest of the tank is of brown mud. In the midst of Gomti tank, over the place where Lord Krishna was hidden, a small temple having the Lord's foot-prints is constructed and this temple is linked with the bank of Gomti Tank by a bridge.

Even with the death of Bodana, the Guglis were not appeased. Requesting Lord Krishna to return to Dwarika, they sat on the bank of Gomti tank and went on a hunger strike. At last, Lord Ranchhodraiji (Krishna) directed Gangabai, wife of Bodana, to give gold equivalent of his weight and ask the Guglis to return to Dwarika. Poor lady, the widow of Bodana, was a pauper and could not afford doing so. By a miracle, the idol became as light as a golden nose-ring (1, 1/4 val i.e.1/2 gram in weight) which was all that the widow of Bodana, Gangabai, had . The Guglis were disappointed but the Lord mercifully directed that they would find after six months an exact replica of the idol in Sevaradhan Vav (well with steps) at Dwarika. The impatient Guglis looked for the idol sometime earlier than they were told and as a result, found an idol which, though similar to the original one, was smaller, Pilgrims to Dakor still visit the places stated to have been associated with the legend viz. Where the branch of neem tree under which Lord rested while coming to Dankpur subsequently turned sweet; where the idol was hidden in the Gomti tank; whereon the balance was set up to weigh the original idol which Bodana had enshrined.

www.ranchhodraiji.org

This story is as told by the people there in 1957. BODANA, a Krishna devotee used to walk all the way from Dakor to distant Dwaraka, on every full moon night. As BODANA aged, it became harder for him to go to Dwaraka. Lord Krishna then told him that he need not walk all the way to Dwaraka as he had decided to accompany him and stay with him in Dakor.

So, some devotees started moving the idol of Lord Krishna. The local people objected to this and fought with the devotees. God told the devotees to throw his idol into the water. The local people searched for the idol by poking sticks into the water, but they were not able to find it. When the devotees removed the idol of Lord Krishna, wounds were seen all over the idol. These wounds were attributed as due to the sticks.

The local people then asked the devotees for gold equal to the weight of the idol. The only gold that the devotee had was his wife's nose ring. However, when the nose ring and the idol were weighed, they were found to be equal in weight. It is believed that Lord Krishna tilted the scales in favour of the nose ring, so that the local people could get only a very small quantity of gold. This idol of Lord Krishna was then installed at Dakor. This shows how Lord Krishna changed his residence for the convenience of his devotees.

Recently, Dakor is included in one of the six major pilgrimage places under "Yatradham Vikas Board" by Government of Gujart for development as a well-planned and well organised pilgrimage place to facilitate the lacs and lacs of visiting pilgrims. More than 70-80 lacs pilgrims visit the place every year and a continuous increase is witnessed every year. On "Fagun Purnima" celebration the town gets ready with all the means to welcome and serve 10-15 lac pilgrims. The sentiments and emotions of devotees during these celebration is unimaginable.

Festival

On full moon days, people visit the temple to seek the blessings as was done by the devotee who brought Shree Krishna to the temple. So there is a great inflow of people and the town is very crowded. There is a carnival or fair taking place around February and March, on the day of festival of Holi and observed by all Hindus as a mark for triumph of the truth and goodness.

On the day of sarad purnima which comes after end of navratra is the day believed on which lord krishna come to dakor as ranchodrai with his great devotee known as bodana. lord come to dakor to fulfil the promise that he will come to dakor with bodana.

Geography

Dakor is located at 22°45′N 73°09′E / 22.75°N 73.15°E / 22.75; 73.15.^[1] It has an average elevation of 49 metres (160 feet).

Connectivity

Dakor is connected through rail and road. Dakor is a station on the Anand-Godhra Broad Gauge rail line. Anand and Nadiad are around 30 km away and both are very much conntected by rail and roads. Ahmedabad and Vadodara are around 90 km away and both cities are connected with rail, road and by air.

Demographics

As of 2001^[update] India census,^[2] Dakor had a population of 23,784. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Dakor has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 82% and, female literacy is 69%. In Dakor, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References

1. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Dakor
2. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. Retrieved 2008-11-01. 

External links

• http://www.gujaratgifts.com/gujinfo/temples.htm
• http://www.gujaratplus.com/web/gujarat/info/pilgrim/pilgrim2.html
• www.ranchhodraiji.com
• www.ranchhodraiji.org