Dwarkadhish Ji is a Hindu Temple, situated on the southern bank of the Rajsamand lake in Kankroli. The temple commands a very fine view of the lake. This temple is built by Maharana Raj Singh of Mewar temple is dedicated to Dwarkadhish Ji, one of the seven swaroops of Pushtimarg of Vallabhacharya.
In 1956, the à Ârë DvÃÂrakÃÂdhëà Âa kë prÃÂkaá¹Âya vÃÂrtàwas published by VidyàVibhÃÂg in Kankaroli. This Braj Bhasha text was written by Brajabhà «á¹£aá¹Âa GosvÃÂmë. The introduction states that the original version of the text was composed in the 1700s. The text details the legends that the DvÃÂrakÃÂdhëà Âa image was worshipped by a series of sages and Hindu mythological figures before being worshipped by the family of Vallabha.
According to the vÃÂrtàliterature, Vallabha acquired DvÃÂrakÃÂdhëà Âa/DvÃÂrakÃÂnÃÂtha from NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹ÂadÃÂsa Darjë of Kannauja. Vallabha then entrusted DvÃÂrakÃÂdhëà Âa to his servant DÃÂmodaradÃÂsa Ká¹£atriya, upon whose death the image was returned to Vallabha's house in Aá¹Âaila. Later, Vallabha's son Viá¹Âá¹ÂhalanÃÂtha took DvÃÂrakÃÂdhëà Âa to Gokula. After Viá¹Âá¹ÂhalanÃÂtha raised his family, he partitioned various Kråṣá¹Âa idols in his possession among his sons, of which his third son BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa (1549âÂÂ1588) was entrusted the worship of DvÃÂrakÃÂdhëà Âa.
Viá¹Âá¹ÂhalanÃÂtha's sixth son YadunÃÂtha received the worship of the image BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa. However, YadunÃÂtha was disappointed at BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa's small size, thus his elder brother BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa suggested to Viá¹Âá¹ÂhalanÃÂtha that the two deities should be worshipped jointly by the two brothers. Viá¹Âá¹ÂhalanÃÂtha agreed on the condition that YadunÃÂtha's descendants at anytime could worship BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa independently if they so desired.
BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa's eldest son DvÃÂrakeà Âa (1572âÂÂ1613) and YadunÃÂtha's son Madhusà «dana both initially lived and worshipped their deities together after their respective father's deaths. However, Madhusà «dana soon desired to worship BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa independently to which DvÃÂrakeà Âa disagreed. The matter was brought to their uncle, GokulanÃÂtha, who reiterated Viá¹Âá¹ÂhalanÃÂtha's order that the descendants of YadunÃÂtha had the right to worship BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa independently if and when they desired. After a year of serving BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa by himself, Madhusà «dana returned BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa back to DvÃÂrakeà Âa. According to Shastri, BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa himself desired to be reunited with DvÃÂrakÃÂdhëà Âa; according to Entwistle and Peabody, Madhusà «dana desired to return the deity with Peabody stating Balakråṣá¹Âa was "spurned". DvÃÂrakeà Âa accepted BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa on the condition that Madhusà «dana would not ask for it back, to which GokulanÃÂtha drafted a written contract which was signed by the parties. Madhusà «dana was instead given the deity KalyÃÂá¹ÂarÃÂya, who was not only larger than BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa, but considered by some to have been worshipped by Vallabha despite not being an original navnidhi.
After DvÃÂrakeà Âa, his eldest surviving son Giridhara (1605âÂÂ1661) acquired the service of DvÃÂrakÃÂdhëà Âa and BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa. Giridhara had a son, DvÃÂrakÃÂnÃÂtha (1625âÂÂ1658), and a daughter, Gaá¹ÂgàBeá¹Âë. DvÃÂrakÃÂnÃÂtha's wife's name was JÃÂnakë Bahà «. DvÃÂrakÃÂnÃÂtha, seeking to increase his knowledge, left Gokul for Kashi. There during a solar eclipse, he stood in the Ganges river and inscribed the Sarasvatë mantra on his tongue. After studying in the city for several years, DvÃÂrakÃÂnÃÂtha returned to Gokul and had a dream in which Kråṣá¹Âa informed him he had committed the fault of anyÃÂà Âraya by seeking the refuge of Sarasvatë and was thus now longer fit for his service. DvÃÂrakÃÂnÃÂtha decided to immediately retire to the wilderness from which he was not heard from again. Some sources also state Giridhara himself was considered unworthy for service.
During the time of Giridhara in 1644, the mahÃÂrÃÂá¹Âàof Udaipur (Udayapura), Jagatasiá¹Âha I, came to the Braj region for pilgrimage. After touring various temples, he was impressed by the service rendered to DvarakÃÂdhëà Âa and became a disciple of Giridhara and granted him the village of ÃÂsoá¹Âiyàin Mewar.
Due to the incident with DvÃÂrakÃÂnÃÂtha, Giridhara or his daughter-in-law JÃÂnakë adopted a distant nephew named Brajabhà «á¹£aá¹Âa (born PrÃÂá¹Âavallabha) in 1660. Brajabhà «á¹£aá¹Âa (1643âÂÂ1701) was the son of à Ârëvallabha and the great-grandson of Brajabhà «á¹£aá¹Âa, who was the third son of BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa, the founder of the Third House (there being no other surviving descendants of BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa's first and second sons). Giridhara soon died, and with Brajabhà «á¹£aá¹Âa being a minor, the service of DvÃÂrakÃÂdhëà Âa and BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa and ancestral property was managed by Gaá¹ÂgàBeá¹Âë and JÃÂnakë Bahà «. The adoption was challenged by their uncle BrajarÃÂya of KÃÂà Âë, the son of à ÂyÃÂmalÃÂla and the grandson of PëtÃÂmbara (the fourth son of BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa), who considered himself higher in succession to Brajabhà «á¹£aá¹Âa and demanded the seat of the house. He took the matter to Mughal court in Agra (ÃÂgarÃÂ), where he lost and had to sign a deed-of-release acknowledging Brajabhà «á¹£aá¹Âa as the rightful heir. Upon returning to Gokul, BrajarÃÂya hired a band of thieves to steal DvÃÂrakÃÂdhëà Âa, BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa, and a pair of sandals that had belonged to Vallabha in the middle of the night and took them all to Agra. Gaá¹ÂgàBetë and the rest went to Agra, where with the help of Mughal authorities, the idols were returned. The date in 1663 on which the deities were returned is celebrated in the Third House as the PÃÂá¹Âotsava of DvÃÂrakÃÂdhëà Âa. Feeling insecure in Gokul, Gaá¹Âgàand her party decided to quit Gokul for Ahmedabad (AhmadabÃÂda) aka RÃÂjanagara where they could worship in peace. In the meantime, BrajarÃÂya began to consistently attend the court of the emperor Aurangzeb. It was also during this time that Brajabhà «á¹£aá¹Âa finally received a formal copper plate grant for the village of ÃÂsoá¹Âiyàfrom MahÃÂrÃÂá¹ÂàRÃÂjasiá¹Âha I, son and successor of Jagatasiá¹Âha. Eventually BrajarÃÂya was able to get a moment alone with Aurangzeb during a hunt in a jungle c. 1668. After pleasing the thirsty emperor with a glass of water, he was able to get a written order from Aurangzeb that he should be granted ownership of BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa. BrajarÃÂya arrived in Ahmedabad in 1669 and spend months searching for where DvÃÂrakÃÂdhëà Âa and BÃÂlakrá¹£á¹Âa were secretly being worshipped. Eventually locating the house (in Raipur/RÃÂyapura), with the aid of imperial troops, he forcefully entered the basement where the idols were being worshipped and seized BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa who was being rocked in a cradle by Gaá¹ÂgàBeá¹Âë, JÃÂnakë, and Brajabhà «á¹£aá¹Âa. BrajarÃÂya then took BÃÂlakråṣá¹Âa to Surat (Sà «rata), where his descendants would make a rival claim to the title of the Sixth House, based on the fact they held the deity first bestowed upon YadunÃÂtha. There exists a Gujarati treaty between all parties and the famous HarirÃÂya that ended the conflict status quo post bellum, which may have been forged by BrajarÃÂya himself. Brajabhà «á¹£aá¹Âa decided to leave Mughal provinces, and settled in the kingdom of Mewar.
Originally, Dwarkadhish Ji temple was in Gokul. During Mughal rule, temples were threatened with frequent invasions, vandalism and arson. Dwarkadhish ji, was also exposed to this danger. Apprehending danger to Dwarkadhish Ji, Goswami Girdharji took the deity with him to Ahmedabad. Due to apprehension there as well, he was invited to Mewar in 1671 AD.
Maharana Raj Singh granted village of Asotiya for Dwarkadhish Ji. Temple was constructed in Asotiya. After Rajsamand Lake was built, due to heavy rainfall, the Aasotia temple was flooded and the temple became islet. MaharajKumar AmarSingh allocated Darikhana and Haveli's high ground for construction of new temple of DwarkadhishJi.
Temple is built in haveli form and beauty of the temple tends to be enhanced because of the lush greenery of the surroundings. More and more additions were done to the temple complex over the time. The temple sits on the high bank of Rajsamand Lake. The shikhar is generally a noticeable characteristic decorated with various sculptures. The priest and attendants of the temples are Gosains, whose ancestors were Brijwasis. (inhabitants of Brij).
Darshan of the deity is available in following aartis:
People from every corner of the country come here for Darshan.
Festivals are held in the tradition of Pushtimarg.