Names, Places, Events, Things: Ruminations and Essays on Hindu Mythology

While traveling in North India, we came across a temple at Gokul that has the idol of Balarama with his wife Revati . This seems to be the only temple to boast a joda (pair), and so I decided to write about this largely unknown wife of Balarama. Revati was the daughter to king Raivata , a mighty king who ruled the kingdom of Kushasthali and Anarta - the ancient name of Dwarka in Gujarat. Some accounts suggest that Kushasthali was a powerful and prosperous kingdom under sea - something like the Atlantis, while Anarta corresponds to the present-day North Kathiawad region of Gujarat state. Raivata, also called Kakudmi , was the last known ruler of the dynasty of Sharyatas , who claimed their descent from Sharyati, a son of Vikukshi, son of Ikshvaku (founder of the surya vamsa and ruler of Ayodhya), who in turn was the son of Vivasvan Manu, son of Surya. Sharyati had three sons: Uttanabarhi, Anarta, and Bhurisena. Raivata was the son of Revata, son of Anarta. It is said that R...