Evolution of the Western Coastline of India and the Probable Location of Dwaraka of Krsna: Geological Perspectives

A description of Dwaraka and its environs, its growth and final destruction as narrated in the ancient classics of Mahabharatha, Hari-Vamsa, Skanda Purana and visnu Purana is presented and it is shown that the Dwaraka built by Krsna could not be the Dwaraka located at the western tip of Saurashtra Geological evidence shows (1) that the coastline of India is a rifted margin with present day Saurashtra, Kachchh, Pacham, Wagir Bela and other isolated masses occurring as islands off the rifted western margin, (2) the greater part of Saurashtra formed an island of explosive volcanic activity not directly connected with the Deccan trap of the mainland, (3) the existence of the Cambay basin, a long linear sedimentary basin, more than 500 km long with an average width of 50 km and maximum depth of 7 km linked the basin with the Gulfs of Cambay and Kachchh maintaining marine connection from early Cretaceous to late Pleistocene and early Holocene (5000 years ago), (4) filling up of the basin with enormous amount of alluvium brought by the rivers Saraswati, Luni, Sabarmati and others - are presented as evidences lending support to the view that the present day Dwaraka, isolated and far removed from Mathura could not be the original Dwaraka(Ur-Dwaraka) of Krsna Ur-Dwaraka was nearer to Mathura and could be reached via Pushkara (near Ajmer) and Mt Abu and in all probability was located on the eastern margin of the Cambay basin. The city either was drowned or washed away by the sea around 1400 BC West coast of Gujarat lies at the junction of the African, Asian and Indian plates and is riddled with many active faults and has been an active seismic zone. Authors make a strong plea for a multidisciplinary study by a group consisting of oceanographers, geologists, geophysicists, sedimentologists, engineers and meteorologists to make an intensive study of the region and elucidate the history of development of this terrain and incidentally solve the problem of the location of Ur-Dwaraka.