The
Image of Krishna (Shrinathji)
removed to Mewar. Founding of Nathdwara
"When (The Invader) proscribed Kanhaiya, and rendered his shrines impure throughout Vraj, Rana Raj Singh "offered the heads of one hundred thousand Rajputs for his service," and the God (Shrinathji) was conducted by the route of Kotah and Rampura to Mewar. An omen decided the spot of his future residence. As he journeyed to gain the capital of the Sesodias the chariot-wheel sunk deep into the earth and defied extrication; upon which the Saguni (augur) interpreted the pleasure of the God (Shrinathji), that he desired to dwell there."
"This circumstance occurred at an inconsiderable village called Siarh, in the fief of Delwara, one of the sixteen nobles of Mewar. Rejoiced at this decided manifestation of favour, the chief hastened to make a perpetual gift of the village and its lands, which was speedily confirmed by the patent of the Rana. Nathji (the God) was removed from his Chariot, and in due time a temple was erected for his reception, when the hamlet of Siarh became the town of Nathdwara, which now contains many thousand inhabitants of all denominations, reposing under the especial protection of the God (Shrinathji)."
"When (The Invader) proscribed Kanhaiya, and rendered his shrines impure throughout Vraj, Rana Raj Singh "offered the heads of one hundred thousand Rajputs for his service," and the God (Shrinathji) was conducted by the route of Kotah and Rampura to Mewar. An omen decided the spot of his future residence. As he journeyed to gain the capital of the Sesodias the chariot-wheel sunk deep into the earth and defied extrication; upon which the Saguni (augur) interpreted the pleasure of the God (Shrinathji), that he desired to dwell there."
"This circumstance occurred at an inconsiderable village called Siarh, in the fief of Delwara, one of the sixteen nobles of Mewar. Rejoiced at this decided manifestation of favour, the chief hastened to make a perpetual gift of the village and its lands, which was speedily confirmed by the patent of the Rana. Nathji (the God) was removed from his Chariot, and in due time a temple was erected for his reception, when the hamlet of Siarh became the town of Nathdwara, which now contains many thousand inhabitants of all denominations, reposing under the especial protection of the God (Shrinathji)."
Mane Pyaru Laage Shriji Taru Naam
Tan Man Dhan Shriji Na Charano Ma
Shrinathji, Shrinathji, Shrinathji, Shrinathji
Shriji aavo te rang mane shid lagadiyo,
Bijo chadto nathi ekey rang Vitthal Nath.
Nathdwara
"This is the most celebrated - its etymology is
‘the portal (dwara) of God' (nath), of the same import as
his more ancient shrine of Dwarika at the ‘world's
end.”
Nathdwara is twenty-two miles N.N.E. of Oodipur, on the right bank of the Bunas. It owes its celebrity entirely to the image of Krishna (Shrinathji), said to be the same that has been worshiped at Mathura.
As containing the representative of the mildest of the Gods of Hind, Nathdwara is one of the most frequented places of pilgrimage."
"It was in the reign of [The Invaders] that the pastoral divinity was exiled from Vraj, which, during a period of two thousand eight hundred years had been the sanctuary of [Krishna's] worshippers. He had been compelled to occasional flights during the visitations and the first dynasties of the invaders; though the more tolerant of the Invaders not only reinstated him, but were suspected of dividing their faith between Kaniya and their own."
Nathdwara
"The statue now worshiped at Nathdwara, as the representative of ‘the god of the mount,’ [Mount Govardhan / Govardhana] is said to be the identical image raised in the cave of Girdhana, and brought thence by the high priest."
"The names and (at the time of writing, a century ago) abodes of the gods were as follows: Nathji, the god or Govardhan-Nath god of the mount...... Nathdwara.
1. Navanita-Priyaji ................................. Nathdwara
2. MathuraNathji ............................................ Kotah
3. DwarikaNathji .................................... Kankerowli
4. GokulNathji, or GokulChandramaji ........... Jeypur
5. Yadu-Nathji...................................................Surat
6. VitalNathji.................................................... Kotah
7. MadhanaMohanji ...................................... Jeypur
ShriNathji is not enumerated amongst the above forms; he stands supreme.
Navanita-Priyaji (Nonita, or Nanda), the juvenile Kaniya, has his altar separate, though close to Nath-ji.
He is also styled Bal-Mukund, ‘the blessed child,’ and is depicted as an infant with a bundi pera (penda) in his hand.
This image, of a former age and which, since the destruction of the shrines of Krishna by the Invaders, had lain in the Sacred Yamuna, attached itself to the sacredotal zone of the high-priest, while he was performing his ablutions, who, carrying it home, placed in a niche of the temple and worshiped it : and yet receives the homage of the high-priest and his family as their household divinity.
Of the second image, MathuraNathji, there is no particular mention; it was at one time at Kamnorh in Mewar, but is now at Kotah.
DwarikaNathji, which statue, now at Kankerowli in Mewar, is asserted to be the identical image that received the adoration of Raja Umrika, a prince of the solar race who lived in the Satya Yuga, or silver age. The god of the mount' revealed himself in a dream to his high-priest, and told him of the domicile of this representative at Kanouj.
The fourth statue, that of GokulNathji or Gokul Chandramaji (i. e. the moon of Gokul), had an equally mysterious origin, having been discovered in a deep ravine on the banks of the river. Gokul is an island on the Sacred Yamuna, a few miles below Mathura, and celebrated in the early history of the pastoral divinity. The residence of this image at Jeypur does not deprive the little island of its honours as a place of pilgrimage; for the god of Gokul has an altar on the original site.
The fifth, Yadu-Nathji, is the deified ancestor of the whole Yadu race. This image, now at Surat, formerly adorned the shrine of Mahavan near Mathura, which was destroyed by the Invaders.
The sixth, Vital-Nathji, or Pandurang, was found in the Ganges at Benares, Samvat 1572.
The seventh, Madhan Mohanji, has his rites performed by a female."
-----------
"Nathdwara, or the 'Portal of God'
Nathdwara is twenty-two miles N.N.E. of Oodipur, on the right bank of the Bunas. It owes its celebrity entirely to the image of Krishna (Shrinathji), said to be the same that has been worshiped at Mathura.
As containing the representative of the mildest of the Gods of Hind, Nathdwara is one of the most frequented places of pilgrimage."
"It was in the reign of [The Invaders] that the pastoral divinity was exiled from Vraj, which, during a period of two thousand eight hundred years had been the sanctuary of [Krishna's] worshippers. He had been compelled to occasional flights during the visitations and the first dynasties of the invaders; though the more tolerant of the Invaders not only reinstated him, but were suspected of dividing their faith between Kaniya and their own."
Nathdwara
"The statue now worshiped at Nathdwara, as the representative of ‘the god of the mount,’ [Mount Govardhan / Govardhana] is said to be the identical image raised in the cave of Girdhana, and brought thence by the high priest."
"The names and (at the time of writing, a century ago) abodes of the gods were as follows: Nathji, the god or Govardhan-Nath god of the mount...... Nathdwara.
1. Navanita-Priyaji ................................. Nathdwara
2. MathuraNathji ............................................ Kotah
3. DwarikaNathji .................................... Kankerowli
4. GokulNathji, or GokulChandramaji ........... Jeypur
5. Yadu-Nathji...................................................Surat
6. VitalNathji.................................................... Kotah
7. MadhanaMohanji ...................................... Jeypur
ShriNathji is not enumerated amongst the above forms; he stands supreme.
Navanita-Priyaji (Nonita, or Nanda), the juvenile Kaniya, has his altar separate, though close to Nath-ji.
He is also styled Bal-Mukund, ‘the blessed child,’ and is depicted as an infant with a bundi pera (penda) in his hand.
This image, of a former age and which, since the destruction of the shrines of Krishna by the Invaders, had lain in the Sacred Yamuna, attached itself to the sacredotal zone of the high-priest, while he was performing his ablutions, who, carrying it home, placed in a niche of the temple and worshiped it : and yet receives the homage of the high-priest and his family as their household divinity.
Of the second image, MathuraNathji, there is no particular mention; it was at one time at Kamnorh in Mewar, but is now at Kotah.
DwarikaNathji, which statue, now at Kankerowli in Mewar, is asserted to be the identical image that received the adoration of Raja Umrika, a prince of the solar race who lived in the Satya Yuga, or silver age. The god of the mount' revealed himself in a dream to his high-priest, and told him of the domicile of this representative at Kanouj.
The fourth statue, that of GokulNathji or Gokul Chandramaji (i. e. the moon of Gokul), had an equally mysterious origin, having been discovered in a deep ravine on the banks of the river. Gokul is an island on the Sacred Yamuna, a few miles below Mathura, and celebrated in the early history of the pastoral divinity. The residence of this image at Jeypur does not deprive the little island of its honours as a place of pilgrimage; for the god of Gokul has an altar on the original site.
The fifth, Yadu-Nathji, is the deified ancestor of the whole Yadu race. This image, now at Surat, formerly adorned the shrine of Mahavan near Mathura, which was destroyed by the Invaders.
The sixth, Vital-Nathji, or Pandurang, was found in the Ganges at Benares, Samvat 1572.
The seventh, Madhan Mohanji, has his rites performed by a female."
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"Nathdwara, or the 'Portal of God'
"One
of the most remarkable temples of India is the shrine of
Krishna, denominated Nathdwara, or the “Portal of the God.” It
is situated on the right bank of the Yamuna river, about
twenty-two miles north-east of Oodipoor. This fane, however,
owes its celebrity neither to its structure nor situation, but
to an image of Krishna, supposed to be the same which
has been worshipped in Mathura. Though less renowned,
Nathdwara is still one of the most frequented places of Hindoo
pilgrimage.
Yet
its consecration dates no farther back than the reign of (the
Invader), when the Pastoral Divinity was exiled from his
ancient classical seat in Vraj, where he had been worshipped
during a period of two thousand eight hundred years. At this
crisis, when the Invader had proscribed Krishna, and defiled
his shrines on the banks of the Yamuna, the “Holy Land” of the
Hindoo, Rana Raj Singh, prince of Mewar, offered the heads of
one hundred thousand Rajpoots for the service of the god,
together with a sacred asylum in his dominions.
An
omen decided the spot of His future residence. As he journeyed
to gain the capital of the Seesodias, the chariot wheel sunk
deep into the earth and defied extrication; upon which the
augur interpreted the pleasure of the God, that He desired to
dwell there. Rejoiced at this decided manifestation of favour,
the chief hastened to make a perpetual gift of the village and
its lands, which was speedily confirmed by the patent of the
Rana.
Upon
this, a temple quickly arose for his reception, and the hamlet
was gradually transformed into a considerable town, whose
inhabitants are under the jurisdiction of no tribunal but that
of the God." 1835
Nathdwara
"One
of the most remarkable temples of India is the shrine of
Krishna, denominated Nathdwara, or the “ Portal of the God.”
It is situated on the right that he has only to ask for mercy
in order to obtain it; and to believe that the compassionate
deity who guarded the lapwing's nest in the midst of myriads
of combatants, who gave beatitude to the courtezan who as the
wall crushed her pronounced the name of Rama, will not
withhold it from him who has quitted the world and its
allurements that he may live only in his presence, be fed with
the food prepared for himself, and yield up his last sigh
invoking the name of Hari (Krishna)."
"Nathdwara is still one of the most frequented places of pilgrimage. This fame owes its celebrity to an image of Krishna, supposed to be the same which has been worshipped in Mathura since ancient times."
"The Tyrant exiled the Pastoral Divinity from his ancient classical seat in Vrij, where he had been worshipped during a period of two thousand eight hundred years." 1834
"Nathdwara is still one of the most frequented places of pilgrimage. This fame owes its celebrity to an image of Krishna, supposed to be the same which has been worshipped in Mathura since ancient times."
"The Tyrant exiled the Pastoral Divinity from his ancient classical seat in Vrij, where he had been worshipped during a period of two thousand eight hundred years." 1834
