Bhagavatham Stories

This, then, is the story of Dvaraka: a city built by Krishna and Pradyumna not as a monument to themselves but as a proof of possibility. It is not a story with an ending, because the city endures—because people continue to choose the principles that made it, because each generation learns to ask the hard questions anew, because the work of building community is never finished and therefore never becomes meaningless.

What is the meaning of such a story? Perhaps it is this: that human communities do not have to be organized around domination. That people do not have to exploit each other. That systems can be designed to promote flourishing rather than merely allow it for a few. That ordinary people, gathered together with genuine commitment, can create something far more remarkable than any individual alone could achieve. That the work is hard but not impossible. That it is worth doing.

There is a temptation, when telling a story like this, to offer it as a model to be copied exactly. But Dvaraka cannot be replicated; it can only be learned from. Every city, every community, every person must ask: What principles matter most to us? What kind of world do we want to build together? What are we willing to sacrifice to create it? What does love require of us right now, in our time, facing our challenges? There are no universal answers to these questions, only the eternal challenge to ask them faithfully.

If this story offers anything, it is permission—permission to imagine that another way is possible, that cities and communities and nations need not be organized around the domination of some by others, that human nature is not fixed in greed and violence but is capable of extraordinary generosity and wisdom when invited to be. It is proof that such communities can endure, not just for a season but across centuries, not through perfection but through persistent commitment to something worth living for.

And so the story does not end. It continues in every person who chooses to build with others, who listens more than he demands, who uses power in service rather than in domination, who teaches the young to think rather than to obey, who honors beauty alongside bread, who insists on justice even when it is difficult, who chooses to kindle light rather than accept darkness. The story of Dvaraka continues in every attempt to create a community built on love, in every courageous step toward a more just world, in every conversation where people choose dignity over efficiency, meaning over mere comfort.

The flames of Deepavali continue to burn. The gardens continue to grow. The Archive continues to expand. The councils continue to deliberate. The schools continue to awaken young minds. And somewhere, tonight, someone who has heard this story will lie awake thinking: Perhaps we could build something like this. Perhaps we could try. And in that thought, the story of Dvaraka continues—in the hearts and minds of all who choose to make it real.