Dakor is also known as Dankpur . The village has been totally changed now . It has become center as religious and commercial place . The Small temple of Raanchhodrai ji at Dakor has become verry big . The temple is set in a large square ground with four gates and walls . there are many store rooms around the temple . The main mandir is built on high platform in a complex set style of medieval temples from religion . The form of Ranchhodrai ji here is as Lord Vishnu with four arms . As usual lord Vishnu bears the Conch , Lotus , Discuss and Mace in his hands , The lower arm is held with as Abhaya Mudra , giving protection to all those who come to him . At Dakor Lord worshiped more as Krishna than
Dwarkadhish .
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| RanchhodjiTemple_Dakor |
Ranchhodrai ji Temple Dwarka
The present temple was constructed by Shri Gopalrao Jagannath Tambwekar
in 1772 A.D. at the cost of rupees one lakh. It was built with brick
walls and stones pillars. It is raised on a high plinth of 168 feet by
151 feet with twelve stone steps on each side and surrounded by a
spacious courtyard. It has eight domes and twenty four turrets, the
highest of them being 90 feet making it the tallest temple in the
district. The main gate of the temple overlooks the (now crowded) banks
of the lake Gomati. Silver gates are protected by the Vedic Gods - Lord
Ganesha, Sun, Moon, etc beautifully carved in high relief. The gate
leads into the main courtyard. As tradition would have it, drummers sit
atop the main gate in a balcony of their own. The "Nagarkhana" resonates
with music during the main darshans and at Aarti times. On entering the
courtyard, one sees two tall structures, used to house the thousands of
lamps that are lit during the festive season, on either side.
Multi-storied and multi-tiered, this type of structure is very typical
of medieval Gujarati temple architecture. Back at the front gate, marble
stairs lead to the main audience chamber of the temple - the Jagmohan -
literally the place where the world is charmed (by the beauty of the
Lord). Three large entrances allow devotes to enter the main audience
chamber. The large open square structure of the audience chamber is
surmounted by an imposing, glittering dome. Till recently, the dome was
painted with Shri Krishna's rasa-lila in the classical Bundi style.
Recently, this has been replaced by an intricate inlay of mirror work,
depicting flowers and trellis in a classical Rajput garden. Painted
murals from Lord Krishna's life adorn the walls of the audience chamber.
A small section at the front of the chamber is railed off and reserved
for women.
As with all classical temples,
the inner sanctum of Ranchodrai is set in a straight line from the main
gate of the temple. The Lord sits under a canopied pavilion in the inner
sanctum. The whole structure is raised on a marble platform and the
pillars of the pavilion are covered in gold. The intricately carved
doors and windows to the inner sanctum are covered in silver.
There are three doors leading
into the inner sanctum. Door to the right of the Lord comes in from the
antechamber, leading to a special bathroom where the priests must bathe
before entering the inner sanctum. Corridors from here, also lead to the
treasure house of the Lord - housing His in-numerable jewels and
clothes.
The door in front of the Lord
faces the main audience chamber. At Dakor, the Lord spends as much time
as possible with His devotees. The main doors to the inner sanctum are
open most of the day. The doors only close when the Lord sleeps - during
the afternoon and at night. The door to the left of the Lord leads to
the bedchamber of the Lord - a mirrored chamber of thousand delights.
Various beds, mattresses and blankets are neatly arranged in here for
the Lord's comfort. Silver and gold bedsteads are covered in soft
cottons and silks. Perfumes and garlands are kept in readiness for the
Lord. A small corridor leads from here to the open hall behind the
bedchamber, where pilgrims perform various religious rituals to please
the Lord.
As at Badrinathji in the
Himalayas and Tirupati Balaji in South India, at Dakor, the temple of
Goddess Lakshmi, wife of the Lord, is situated outside the main temple.
Lakshmiji's temple is situated in a residential part of town at a little
distance from the main temple. It is believed that the Lord visits His
wife on every friday - on Fridays a courtly procession winds it's way
from the main temple down the lanes and bylanes of Dakor to unite the
couple.
Dakor History
In times of Mahabharata, the surrounding area of Dakor constituted the 'Hidamba'
van (jungle). It was a very dense jungle. It was pleasant and rich with streams
and lakes. It had become an attraction for the sages to establish their
hermitage for penance. Likewise, Dank Rishi had his hermitage (ashram) in this
area. During penance Lord Shiva was pleased with him and asked him to demand
something. Thereupon, Dank Rishi requested Lord Shiva to remain permanently in
his hermitage. Lord Shiva agreed to his request. He disappeared and left behind
him His replica in the form of Ban (Ling), which is known as Danknath Mahadev.
Thus in ancient times, Dakor was known as 'Dankor' after the name of Dankanth
Mahadev. It was also known as khakhariya because of many khakhra(palash) trees
in the vicinity.
Dakor Darshan timings
The temple normally opens at about 6:45 A.M. in the morning and closes at 12 Noon
between which there are five darshans namely, Mangla, Bal bhog, Srinagar bhog,
Gwal bhog and Rajbhog during which Aartis are performed. In the afternoon, it
reopens at about 4.15 P.M. and closes at 7.30 P.M. In between there are three
darshans namely, Usthapan, Shyan and Shakhdi bhog . At Utthapana Bhoga and
Shayana bhoga Aaratis are performed. The Darshana timings on Full -Moon days are
different and are declared by the temple authorities beforehand. For the
conveniece of the vaishnavas desirous to offer additional bhogs to the deity
except the scheduled ones, there is a provision in the Dakor Temple Scheme and
accordingly Mahabhog, Rajbhog and additional bhogs are offered to the deity. For
all such extra Bhogs the devotees can receive prasad except Rajbhog, through
Dakor Sansthan Trust which is the oldest Bhog of the time when the Deity Shree
Ranchhodraiji was installed in this temple i.e. when the Pran Pratishtha was
performed
