BET DWARKA - SANKHODHAR

Bet Dwarka is considered to be part of the ancient city of Dvārakā. In Indian epic literature such as the Mahabharata and the Skanda Purana, this city is the abode of Krishna. Gujarati scholar Umashankar Joshi suggested that Antardvipa in the Sabha Parva of the Mahabharata can be identified as Bet Dwarka, as the Yadavas of Dwarka are said to have travelled to it by boat.[1]

Undersea archaeological remains suggest the existence of a settlement during the Late Harappan period of Indus Valley civilization, or immediately after it. The settlement can be reliably dated to the time of the Maurya Empire, as a part of Okha Mandal or Kushdwip area. Dwarka is mentioned in a copper inscription (dated 574 CE) of Simhaditya, the son of Varahdas (the king of Dwarka) and the minister of the city of Vallabhi during the Maitraka dynasty.

Bet Dwarka under Baroda state, Amreli division, 1909

During the 18th century, the island, along with Okhamandal region, was controlled by the Gaekwads of Baroda. During the Indian rebellion of 1857, the Vaghers captured this region. In 1859, through a joint offensive with the British, Gaekwad and other princely state troops ousted the rebels and recaptured the region.

After Indian Independence in 1947, the area was integrated into the Saurashtra State. Later, Saurashtra merged with Bombay State under the state reorganization plans. When Gujarat was created from the bifurcation of Bombay State, Bet Dwarka was under the jurisdiction of the Jamnagar district of Gujarat. In 2013, it became part of the Devbhumi Dwarka district, created from the Jamnagar district.