Bhalpur Dwarka

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (Retd.), Jaipur

For another village see Bhalpur

Bhalpur (भालपुर) or Bhalpara (भालपरा) is a village in Junagarh district of Gujarat.

History

बाण तीर्थ: द्वारका कस्बे से करीब एक मील पश्चिम मे चलने पर एक और तीर्थ आता है। यहां जरा नाम के भील ने कृष्ण भगवान के पैर में तीर मारा था। इसी तीर से घायल होकर वह परमधाम गये थे। इस जगह को बाण-तीर्थ कहते है। यहां बैशाख मे बड़ा भारी मेला भरता है।बाण-तीर्थ से डेढ़ मील उत्तर में एक और बस्ती है। इसका नाम भालपुर है। वहां एक पद्मकुण्ड नाम का तालाब है। हिरण्य नदी के दाहिने तट पर एक पतला-सा बड़ का पेड़ है। पहले इस सथान पर बहुत बड़ा पेड़ था। बलरामजी ने इस पेड़ के नीचे ही समाधि लगाई थी। यहीं उन्होनें शरीर छोड़ा था

End of Vrishnis

After the death of Duryodhana in Mahabharata, Krishna received the curse of his mother. She bewailed the death of her son and of friend and foe; then recognizing Hari as the Prime Mover, the One behind All, she cursed him for letting such things befall. This was her curse: that after 36 years Krishna should perish alone miserably and his people, the Vrishnis, should be destroyed. These things in due time came to pass. A madness seized the people of Dwaraka so that they fell upon one another and were slain, together with all sons and grandsons of Krishna. Only the women and Krishna and Balarama remained alive.

Death of Balarama: Then Balarama went to the forest, and Krishna first sent a messenger to the Kuru city, to place the city and women of Dwaraka under the Pandavas protection, and then took leave of his father; afterward he himself sought the forest, where Balarama awaited him. Krishna discovered his brother seated under a mighty tree on the edge of the forest; he sat like a yogi, and behold, there came forth from his mouth a mighty snake, the thousand headed Naga, Ananta, and glided away to ocean. Ocean himself and the sacred rivers and many divine Nagas came to meet him.

Bhalka Tirtha, Prabhas Patan

Death of Krishna : Thus Krishna beheld his brother depart from human world, and he wandered alone in forest. He thought of Gandhari’s curse and all that had befallen, and he knew that the time had come for his own departure. He restrained his senses in yoga and laid himself down. Then there came a hunter Jara that way and thought him a deer, and loosed a shaft and pierced his foot; but when he came close the hunter beheld a man wrapped in yellow robes practicing yoga. Thinking himself an offender, he touched his feet. Then Krishna rose and gave him comfort, and himself ascended to Heaven.

According to tradition, the place where Jara hunter pierced Krishna's foot by Bhalla Bana (भल्लबाण) and Krishna ascended to Heaven is known as Bhalka Tirtha situated in Prabhas Patan (Verawal). There is a statue of Krishna with Jara hunter at Bhalka Tirtha.

Arjuna went to Dwaraka and brought away the women and children of the Vrishnis, and set out for Kurukshetra. On the way a band of warriors attacked the cavalcade and carried away a great part of women. Arjuna established the others with the remnants of Krishna’s descendants in new cities; but Rukmini and many others of Krishna’s wives became Sati, burning themselves on pyre, and others became ascetics and nuns. The waters of ocean advanced and overwhelmed Dwaraka so that no trace remained.

We need to search more about the death of Krishna. We get some reference to Bhalka as a tribe who might have caused the death of Krishna. Tej Ram Sharma tells us referring Buddha Prakash who suggests that the Vedic school of the Bhāllavins enshrined the memory of the Bahlikas; the modern sub-castes of the Barasarin sub-group of the khatris Bhalla and Behl represent the ancient Balhikas, and the Jat clans of Bhālār and Bhalerah, found in Multan, the Baloch tribe Bhalka, living in Sindh, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan and the clan Bhallowana, found in Shahpur, are remnants of the far-flung Bahlika tribes.

External links

• Bhalpara on Flickr

References

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