Kṛṣṇa’s entrance into Dvārakā

The entrance of Krsna in Dvārakā is described in the first canto of Srimad Bhāgavatam, chapter 11. There is a lot of spiritual significance in these verses.

During the time of the battle of Kurukṣetra and afterward, Krsna stayed a long time in Hastināpura assisting the Pandavas in many different matters. During all this time, the inhabitants of Dvārakā experienced the ecstasy of separation from the Lord.

When Krsna finally returned after this long visit, they bloomed with the ecstasy of again meeting the Lord after such a long period of separation. As soon as they heard the sound of His conchshell, all the inhabitants ran fast towards the Lord, to satisfy their long-cherished desire of being again with Him.

The entrance of Krsna in Dvārakā is described in the first canto of Srimad Bhāgavatam, chapter 11. There is a lot of spiritual significance in these verses. When it is described that the conch appeared to be reddened by the touch of the Lord's transcendental lips, a reference is made to the fact that a devotee can exhibit all kinds of wonderful spiritual qualities due to his contact with Krsna. This is something we can see in practice: people change when they sincerely start practicing devotional service. Negative traits disappear, they gain new qualities and abilities, and even their physical appearance changes. This is all due to the contact with the Lord. In the same way, material objects used in the service of Krsna become spiritualized, just like prasāda offered to Him.

As its customary in Vedic culture, the inhabitants of Dvārakā didn't go to see the Lord with empty hands; they brought many valuable offerings to Him. These offerings are described as being like the offering of a lamp to the sun. The sun the is source of heat and light for the whole universe and thus has nothing to benefit from a small lamp offered by a worshiper. Similarly, the Lord is the source of everything and the possessor of everything, and thus He doesn't have anything to gain from any material offering. The offering serves, however, as a vessel for our devotion to the Lord. The offering itself is not very important, but the devotion and the love carried by it satisfy the Lord and increase our relationship with Him.

As Prabhupada mentions: "Therefore, any presentation, however valuable it may be, is not needed by Him. But still, because He is the well-wisher for one and all, He accepts from everyone everything that is offered to Him in pure devotional service. It is not that He is in want for such things, because the things are themselves generated from His energy."

When the Lord finally entered the city, the dwellers of Dvārakā offered prayers to the Lord. Here are a few points:

- The Lord is transcendental to the influence of material time. He is the Predominator, while we are the predominated. The Lord is thus the shelter for all who aspire to attain the ultimate goal, worshiped by all demigods and important personalities.

- The Lord is the well-wisher of all. When we follow the instructions he gives through the scriptures, devotees, and the spiritual master, we become successful in all spheres of life.

- Our relationship with the Lord is eternal; it can neither be broken nor destroyed. This human form is a chance to revive it.

- Even the demigods rarely have the opportunity to see the Lord, but the inhabitants of Dvārakā can constantly see Him face to face due to their purity and love. This is the original state of the soul, which can be unveiled only by the practice of devotional service.

- The opposite of Kṛṣṇa is māyā or illusion. Without Him, all our knowledge is covered by illusion. We need to keep ourselves always in the presence of Krsna.

- We are molecular parts of the whole spirit and are separated from the Lord by the artificial covering of māyā, the illusory energy. When this curtain is removed, we can see the Lord face to face, and all the miseries of life end.

The opulence of Dvārakā is an example of how a society can become prosperous by the practice of Krsna Consciousness and the use of the gifts of nature. Prabhupada mentions in the purport that when people have the choice, they prefer to live in beautiful areas with nature, but in modern societies, this is available only to the rich. Poor people are forced to live in congested areas in the cities, which are just hellish. In Dvārakā, however, the whole city was beautiful.

"It is understood that the whole dhāma, or residential quarter, was surrounded by such gardens and parks with reservoirs of water where lotuses grew. It is understood that all the people depended on nature’s gifts of fruits and flowers without industrial enterprises promoting filthy huts and slums for residential quarters. Advancement of civilization is estimated not on the growth of mills and factories to deteriorate the finer instincts of the human being, but on developing the potent spiritual instincts of human beings and giving them a chance to go back to Godhead."

Not only was the city extraordinarily beautiful, but the inhabitants decorated the whole city with natural ingredients, like plantain trees, mango leaves, pots with water and grains, fruits, flowers, and so on, instead of paper and plastic like nowadays.

Apart from the decoration, it's described that Brāhmanas came forth to receive the Lord, alongside elephants, men blowing conchshells and musical horns, and so on. Vedic hymns were chanted, and all classes of people offered their respects.

Srimad Bhagavatam mentions that many hundreds of well-known prostitutes began to proceed on various vehicles. One may question how prostitutes are present in Dvārakā, the city of the Lord. The first point is that these were not prostitutes in the modern sense, but more like courtesans, unmarried girls who would make a career by chanting, dancing, and entertaining. They are described as prostitutes because, in the course of their activities, they would have affairs with different men, just like the apsarās in the celestial planets, who are also described as prostitutes in different passages. On the positive side, however, these ladies were all devotees and were very eager to meet the Lord. This shows how persons in all ways of life can be purified by the process of devotional service.

In the purport, Srila Prabhupada brings the topic closer to our reality by making the point that activities like drinking and prostitution are present in every society and are very difficult to eradicate. The real process of reformation is to enlighten people in Krsna Consciousness. As Krsna mentions in the Bhagavad-Gita (9.32), all classes of people can attain perfection if they take shelter in devotional service, including meat-eaters, drunkards, and prostitutes.

Similarly, the Lord was also greeted by dramatists, artists, dancers, singers, historians, genealogists, etc. This shows that all their professions were also present in Dvārakā, but they were all devotees, and their activities were centered around the activities of the Lord. In his purport, Prabhupada makes the point that the presence of such devotee artists is important for the spiritual enlightenment of the common man, by presenting knowledge from the Vedic literature in ways that are simple and capable of attracting the less enlightened classes of the population. Not everyone will come for a philosophical discussion, but everyone can come for a theatrical performance or a movie.

A little later, it's mentioned that the Lord reciprocated the greetings of all, showing that he is attentive to all kinds of devotees and the Lord is equally affectionate to all. No one who approaches the Lord sincerely is ever rejected or barred from entering His kingdom. It's just up to us to accept His association or not.

"Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, approached them and offered due honor and respect to each and every one of the friends, relatives, citizens, and all others who came to receive and welcome Him. The almighty Lord greeted everyone present by bowing His head, exchanging greetings, embracing, shaking hands, looking and smiling, giving assurances, and awarding benedictions, even to the lowest in rank. (SB 1.11.21-22)

These descriptions give us a glimpse of life in the spiritual world. Due to the influence of the false ego, the soul becomes ready to accept any material identity, from a demigod to a dog or hog, or even a tree, any position except his eternal position as a servant of the Lord. These descriptions are included in the Srimad Bhagavatam to help us become attracted to the eternal reality of the spiritual world, which is centered around such sweet exchanges of love with Krsna. The more we become attracted to these descriptions, the more our attraction for the temporary and illusory world of matter will be slackened.