Dvaravati sila

A dvaravati shila is a type of coral stone (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.

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’.

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 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 Vaishnavites of Hindu religion.