Dvaraka Shilas

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Dvaraka Shilas
Dvaraka-shilas
From Padma Nabha Gosai's Book:
From Vaishnavism Through The Ages:
From Salagram kosha Chapter 4 section 5 on Dvarvati shilas - Dwarka shilas:
Nice revellation from Bimal Prasad prabhu ACBSP on Dvarka shilas, Govardhan, and
Salagrams:
Destination Dwaraka:
The Dwarkadish web-stie:
"I spent many hours questioning Puri Maharaja about points of Deity worship
since he did a lot of research for his Guru Maharaja on this topic. I mentioned
to him that certain Gaudiyas were saying our main focus was on Giriraja since we
wanted to finally attain Radha-Krsna's seva in Vraja, he replied "in our line
the mood of seva is set by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, who when
giving instruction and blessings to Bhaktisaranga Swami, gave him 3 silas, a
Dwarka, a Govardhana and a saligrama and told him to worship them all in the
same way". In other words he did not give preference to any one kind of sila,
there are also statements in shastra praising the worship of Dwarka sila in
conjunction with saligram."
by Bimal Prasad dasa ACBSP

Shastra tells us:
It is recommended to worship the Salagrama with a Dvaraka sila. A good
Dvaraka sila should be white, round or square, unbroken and without holes, and
with well formed cakras.
dve cakre dvarakayan tu salagrama siladvyam
etesam arcanannityam udvegam prapnuyad grhi
Worshipping two dvaraka silas or two Salagram silas at once will cause
disturbance in the mind.
Manra tantra prakasah
If one has two Salagrama, one should worship them separately, not together.
However if one has many Salagrams, one can worship them all together.
Worshiping Shalagrama-shila with Dvaraka-shila
The Brahma Purana states that wherever shalagrama-shila and Dvaraka-shila sit
together, there certainly mukti also resides. In the conversation between Brahma
and Narada in the Skanda Purana Brahma says, "O Munishvara! Wherever
dvaraka-shila sits in front of the shalagrama-shila every class of opulence goes
on increasing unlimitedly." In another place it says that one who daily worships
dvaraka-shila along with twelve shalagrama-shila will be honored even in
Vaikuntha-dhama.
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Identifying Symbols of Dvaraka-shilas
The Prahlada Samhita states that a dvaraka-shila with one cakra is known as
Sudarshana, a shila with two cakras is Lakshmi-Narayana, and one with three
cakras is Trivikrama. The shila marked with four cakras is Janardana, with five
cakras is Vasudeva, with six cakras is Pradyumna, and with seven cakras is
Baladeva. The one that has eight cakras is called Purushottama, with nine cakras
Navavyuha, with ten cakras Dashmurti, and with eleven cakras Aniruddha. That
dvaraka-shila with twelve cakras is Dvadasatmaka, and one with more than twelve
cakras is known as Ananta.
The Glories of Dvaraka-shila
The Varaha Purana says that whoever touches a shila with the mark of a
Vishnu-cakra will become free of all sins. The Garuda Purana declares that
simply the darshana of Sudarshana and other dvaraka-shila fulfils all desires.
The Skanda Purana declares that without a doubt if a very sinful man worships a
dvaraka-shila with devotion, or even without devotion, he becomes free from all
sinful reactions. According to the Dvaraka Mahatmya, a shila marked with cakras
coming from Dvaraka is also called cakra-tirtha. Even if this shila is
worshipped by a sinful person from a degraded country, the worships still
becomes liberated.
Benefits of Different Types of Dvaraka-shilas
The Kapila-pancaratra explains the benefits of worshiping different types of

dvaraka-shilas. That charming shila known as Sudarsana, which has one cakra on
it, gives one liberation. The Lakshmi-Narayana dvaraka-shila with two cakras
gives opulence and liberation, and an Acyuta-shila with three cakras gives one
respect equal to Lord Indra. The shila known as Caturbhuja with four cakras
brings religion, economic development, enjoyment, and liberation. A
Vasudeva-shila, Which has five cakras, will remove the fear of birth and death,
and a Pradyumna-shila with six cakras will give one beauty and wealth. The one
called Balabhadra-shila with seven cakras gives fame and a continuation of one's
dynasty, while a Purushottama-shila with eight cakras gives all types of
benedictions. With nine cakras, a Narasimhadeva-shila gives the highest
benefits, and a Dashavatara dvaraka-shila with ten cakras gives kingship. An
Aniruddha-shila, which has eleven cakras, give fame and lordship, and the one
known as Dvadasatmaka-shila with twelve cakras gives liberation and happiness. -
The Kapila-pancaratra also describes the bad results derived from worshiping
certain types of dvaraka-shilas. A black dvaraka-shila gives death, a smoke
colored one gives constant fear, a multi-colored one gives bad health and a blue
coloured shila takes away one's wealth. That dvaraka-shila that has a hole
passing through it brings poverty, a pale one gives terrible distress, and a
broken shila brings separation from the wife. The white shila gives sons,
grandsons, wealth, power, and all types of happiness, so this type of shila
should be adored. - The Prahlada-samhita also says that a black shila causes
death, reddish gives constant fear, multi-colored brings disease, yellow or
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smoke-coloured gives poverty, and a broken one causes death to the wife. Shilas
with a hole, uneven cakras, triangular in shape, or half-moon shaped should
never be worshiped. Garga and Galava Rishis have stated that a shila with
uniform cakras brings happiness, a twelve cakra shila is very auspicious, and
round and square shilas give happiness. But worshiping shilas that are broken,
triangular, having holes, with uneven cakras, or half-moon shaped is fruitless.
From Vaishnavism Thru' the ages:
As regards the Dwarkasila, this variety also is found to be divided into

different kinds in accordance with its colour and other qualities, which may be
summarised as under (Padmapurane quoted in Praanatoshanitantra, page 360.)
(1) The blue type: It is the giver of untimely death
(2) The reddish brown: It brings in serious dangers.
(3) Variegated: It gives insanity
(4) Yellow: It causes destruction of wealth.
(5) Smoky Colour: It causes untimely death of children.
(6) The broken type: It causes death of wife.
(7) The white type with dot prints: It fulfils all desires.
(8) The type with unbroken circular marks: It removes poverty and sorrow.
(9) The type having glaced circular shape: It gives the same results as above.
(10) The type with quadrangular shape: It gives the same result as above.
(11) The type with even number of circular marks: It gives bliss and worldly
pleasure.
(12) The type with odd number of circular marks: It causes sorrow and worldly
pain.
The same authority adds that one should not offer worship to any of the
following types because of their habit of giving undesirable results (loc. cit)
(1) The type with one or more holes on its body.
(2) The broken one.
(3) That which is neither round, nor has angles on its sides.
(4) That which has odd number of circles marked on its body.
(5) That which is shaped like the half part of the moon.
Salagram kosha Chapter 4 section 5 on Dvarvati shilas - Dwarka shilas:

It was mentioned earlier that in the Vaishnava tradition, the worship of the
Dvararvati-stone (obtained from the Gomati river in Dvaraka) along with the
salagrama-stone is considered meritorious, for the latter variety of stones are
special forms assumed by Krishna himself. However, the worship of the
Dvaravati-sila is not as widespread as the Salagrama-sila, nor has it ever had a
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popular appeal. It appears that its celebrity is confined to the Vaishnava cults
in Saurashtra, Bengal and Maharashtra; the Madhva sect in Karnataka has accorded
some importance to it. The Dvaravati-stone is not as frequently seen as the
salagrama-stones in temples or households. These stones are white in colour (the
hue-variations), small in size and have markings on them resembling the chakra
(in a rather distant way). The openings in them are not characteristic features,
and are not important even when they are found. We read in several Vaishnava
texts that the worship of these stones must be conjoined with that of the
Salagramas.
The chakra-mark is the most distinguishing feature of the Dvarvati stones, and
hence they are called ‘chakrankita-sila’.
The Skanda-purana has this eulogy…

According to Garuda-purana, there are twelve varieties of this stone, owing to
the number of chakras, colours and forms (‘dasadha cha prabhinnas ta
varnakrti-vibhedatah’). When there is only one chakra, the stone is called
Devesa; when there are two chakras, it is Sudarshana; three chakras represent
the deity Ananta. When there are four chakras, the stone is Janardana. Vasudeva
is represented by the stone having five chakras, Pradyumna by six chakras,
Bala-bhadra by seven, Purushottama by eight, Nava-vyuha by nine, Dasavatara by
ten, Aniruddha by eleven and Dvadastma by twelve. Nava-vyuha represents the
collection of nine forms of Vishnu: Vasudeva, Samkarshana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha,
Narayana, Hayagriva, Vishnu, Nrsimha and Varaha. The first four forms are well
known as ‘chatur-vyuha’. The twelve major forms of Vishnu are derived from these
nine forms, according to the Tantra-siddhanta division of Pancharatra.
The twelve forms of Vishnu are called ‘vyuhantara’: Kesava, Narayana, Madhava,
Govinda, Vishnu, Madhusudana, Trivikrama, Vamana, Sridhara, Hrshikesa,
Padmanabha and Damodara.
The Dasavatara-murti is the collective representation of the ten incarnatory
forms, which are also called ‘prahurbhava-gana’ (matsya, kurma etc).
The text also indicates the specific rewards for worshipping each of these
twelve varieties of Dvaravati-silas: 1) and 2) salvation; 3) freedom from the
fear of births and deaths 4) fulfillment of desires; 5) obtainment of prosperity
and elimination of enemies; 6) wealth and lustre; 7) continuation of progeny and
celebrity; 8) satisfaction of all that one aspires for; 9) rewards which are
difficult even for the gods to obtain; 10) sovereignty and prosperity; 11)
lordship; and 12) final emancipation. The stones having more chakras fulfill
whatever one longs for, when worshipped.
Prahlada-samhita, quoted in Salagrama-pariksha (by Anupasimha) gives the first

few names differently. The Dvaravati-sila with only one chakra is called
Sudarsana, with two chakras Lakshmi-narayana and with three Trivikrama. The rest
of the names are the same as given above. The name Ananta is given to stones
have more than twelve chakras. The name for Dasavatara in the above list is
given here as Dasamurti.
When the chakras are more than twelve, only even numbered chakras are to be
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preferred, according to Galava-smrtir.

The Dvaravati-sila also occurs in different colours, but white stones are
considered most suitable for worship. The dark (blue-black) stones forebode
death, the tawny ones cause anxiety, the multi-coloured ones bring about disease
and sorrow, the yellow ones take away wealth, the smoke coloured ones produce
loss of wealth, and the blue stones will bring about obstacles to any
undertaking. Only the white coloured stones will make for a worldly prosperity
in all aspects and spiritual welfare (Skanda-purana).
Garuda-purana gives a slightly different account, but white is the preferred
colour.
According to Galava-smrti, the Dvaravati-stones are auspicious if they are round

in shape or square; but not so if they are triangular or uneven in shape. The
stone which is split or broken must not be worshipped, nor the stone which is
crescent in shape. Such stones when worshipped do not bring any rewards.
As in the case of prohibited Salagramas, the Dvaravati-stones also have
ill-effects, when improperly selected and thoughtlessly worshipped. A crooked
stone will kill the progeny, a broken one will ruin any undertaking; the stone
with many fissures or holes will produce poverty and misery. The triangular,
uneven shaped and crescent-shaped stones must not be worshipped (Garuda-purana).
Go to Salagram kosha page
Destination Dwarka - looking for Dwarka shilas:

http://www.indianvisit.com/ivnew/destinationguides/historical/dwarka.htm
All about the Lost City of Dwaraka:
http://www.atributetohinduism.com/Dwaraka.htm
Dwaraka:
http://www.vihari.com/Divine/dwaraka.asp
Places of Pilgrimage in Gujarat - Dwarka:
http://www.shubhyatra.com/htm/gujarat/pilgrimage_dwarka.htm
Info' about Dwaraka - excavations and findings:
http://sarasvati.simplenet.com/sarasvati_river/legacy.html
Dwaraka Temples:
http://www.thebharat.com/tourism/temples/dwarka.html
Udupi Krishna a Shalagram carved to resemble Krishna in Dwaraka:
http://www.udupipages.com/temple/kmutt.html
Mahabharata a reality - myths cleared by Dwaraka excavations:
http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/ancient/mahabharat/mahab_reality.html
Mahabharat links:
http://www.hindunet.org/hindu_history/ancient/mahabharat/mahab_link.html
The Search for Historical Krishna:
http://www.swordoftruth.com/swordoftruth/archives/byauthor/navaratnarajaram/sfthkp1.html
The NEW Dwarkadish Temple Web-site:

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http://www.dwarkadhish.net/3e_dwarkadhish_temple/index.htm
Vedik links:

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1

by Bimal Prasad dasa ACBSP

Worshiping Shalagrama-shila with Dvaraka-shila

Identifying Symbols of Dvaraka-shilas

The Glories of Dvaraka-shila

Benefits of Different Types of Dvaraka-shilas

The Kapila-pancaratra explains the benefits of worshiping different types of

From Vaishnavism Thru' the ages:

As regards the Dwarkasila, this variety also is found to be divided into

Salagram kosha Chapter 4 section 5 on Dvarvati shilas - Dwarka shilas:

The Skanda-purana has this eulogy…

Prahlada-samhita, quoted in Salagrama-pariksha (by Anupasimha) gives the first

preferred, according to Galava-smrtir.

According to Galava-smrti, the Dvaravati-stones are auspicious if they are round

Go to Salagram kosha page

Destination Dwarka - looking for Dwarka shilas:

The NEW Dwarkadish Temple Web-site:

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