Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.31.23

dvārakāḿ hariṇā tyaktāḿ

samudro 'plāvayat kṣaṇāt

varjayitvā mahā-rāja

śrīmad-bhagavad-ālayam

SYNONYMS

dvārakām — Dvārakā; hariṇā — by Lord Hari; tyaktām — abandoned; samudraḥ — the ocean; aplāvayat — overflooded; kṣaṇāt — immediately; varjayitvā — except for; mahā-rāja — O King; śrīmat-bhagavat — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; ālayam — the residence.

TRANSLATION

As soon as Dvārakā was abandoned by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ocean flooded it on all sides, O King, sparing only His palace.

PURPORT

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains that whereas the external manifestation of the Lord's abode was covered by the ocean, the Lord's eternal Dvārakā exists beyond the material universe and certainly beyond the material ocean. Dvārakā had been constructed by Viśvakarmā, the architect of the demigods, and the Sudharmā assembly hall had been brought from heaven. In that city there were many beautiful and splendorous residences of the aristocratic Yadu dynasty, and the most beautiful residence of all was that of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī mentions that even in the modern age, people who live near the site of the original Dvārakā sometimes catch a glimpse of it in the ocean. Ultimately, the Lord's associates and abode are eternal, and one who understands this is qualified to become fully Kṛṣṇa conscious.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
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