01Durvasa’s curse
Krishna and Rukmini invited Durvasa to their home, and the rishi asked that the two of them draw his chariot. On the way Rukmini grew thirsty; Krishna struck the earth with his toe and Ganga water sprang up, and she drank without first offering it to the guest. Durvasa cursed her to live apart from her husband and the land to be without sweet water. That is why her temple stands outside the city, and why pilgrims here make jal daan, paying for water to be given to others, before darshan.
02The carved shrine
The temple is small and every surface is worked: a band of elephants at the base, a band of human figures above, and on the spire rows of gods and goddesses. The style is that of the Solanki period in Gujarat, and the shrine is usually placed in the 12th century, though parts have been rebuilt. Rukmini stands inside in marble, four-armed, holding the conch, discus, mace and lotus, as Lakshmi does. The priests tell the Durvasa katha to every group.
The life of this place
- c. 12th centuryThe carved stone shrine is built.
The temple is about 2 km north of the Dwarkadhish temple on the Okha road; autos and the Bet Dwarka buses stop here.
