What is Dvaravati sila?
A '''dvaravati shila''' is a type of [[coral]] stone (''[[Shaligram|shaligrama]]'') discovered from the Gomti river in [[Dwarka]] in [[Gujarat]], [[India]]. In ancient [[Sanskrit]] literature, Dvaraka was called Dvarawati and was listed as one of the seven [[prehistoric]] (oldest) cities in the country. The Sila stones found at the mouth of the Gomti river is called the Dvaravati Sila and is used in worship. [http://www.shaligram.com/Dwarka_Shila-0-3-1.php1 Dvaraka Silas] are coral with [[chakra]] (wheel) markings. The chakra-mark is the most noticable feature of these stones, and this is why they are called ‘chakrankita-sila’.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.shaligram.com/dwarka-pages/dwarkaintro2.php |title=The Shaligram stone is also known as salagram shila or saligram stone or shalagram<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2008-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319021627/http://www.shaligram.com/dwarka-pages/dwarkaintro2.php |archive-date=2008-03-19 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://www.astrojyoti.com/dwarakashila.htm Dwaraka Sila<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Aniconic representation]] of God is by a symbol rather than an image. Indian art likes the iconic image, but some [[aniconism]] does happen in folk worship, in early [[Hinduism]] in the form of [[Vishnu]]'s [[Shaligram|Saligrama]] [[Sila (murthi)]] (fossil stone), Dvaravati Sila (coral stone), [[Govardhana Sila]] (stone from the [[Govardhan hill]]), etc. They have solar significance (importance of the sun), and their use in worship is very common among all groups of [[Vaishnavite]]s of [[Hindu]] religion. == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Hinduism]] [[Category:Gujarat]]