Jaya
Tirtha Charan dasan & Vedavati devi dasi's peetha - NZ
last updated 1st February 2016
Stories about some of the Silas and how They came
Who's
Who in pics
The seva pujan set up
Installation of Sri Sri Radhika Raman murthyThe
lead up to the installationMaking
things in sevaCooking
for the Lord
1995-2000 pith2002
pith2003
pith2005
pith (outdated - up until Octobber 2005)
Historical Evolution of the Altar - Picture Gallery
Radhastami 2005 picsLatest
Gallery of pics December 2005
Jhulan, Lord Balaram's and
Radhastami 2006Govardhan
puja 2006
Sri Sri Radhika Raman murthy's
one year advent anniversary brahmotsav
& Tulasi Salagram vivaha
- 5th November 2006
updates Gaura Purnima 2007 & Purushottam Adhika Maas June 2007
Lord Balaram's Appearance Day and Jhulan Yatra of Sri Sri Radhika Raman 2007
Sri Radhastami celebrations
September 2007A
few closeups from 3rd October 2007
Radhastami and Karttik 2008 through Janmastami 2009 pics
Ramnavami with Radhika Raman Salagram wearing Raamvesh 2010
Sri Raam Navami 2012 - 1st April 2012Nrsimha
Chaturdasi 2012
Sri Radhastami 2012Lord
Balaram's Appearance Day & Jhulan yatra 2013Janmastami
& SP Vyasa pujan 2013
when Harinaam Ruchi devotees came for darshan 27th January 2016 (more pics here)
Govardhan Puja 2015
(a few more pics HERE)
Janmastami darshan 2015
(a couple more pics HERE)
Gaura Purnima 2015
more pics HERE
Sri Radhastami 2014
more pics HERE
29th March 2014 we had a small program for my wife's 60th birthday celebration
Here's some pics of the Deities and the cake that day HERE
Gaura Purnima 2014 - 16th March 2014
Here's some close-ups HERE
Vasant Panchami 2014
Here's some close-ups HERE
Here's Everyone as of 5th January 2014
Here's some close-ups HERE
Sri Krishna Janmastami midnight candle lit ararti and Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad's Vyasa Puja pics HERE
Lord Balaram's Appearance Day & Jhulan yatra 2013 (pics here)
8th July 2013 darshan (a few
more pics)
2nd June 2013 darshan (a few more pics)
First program in our new rented house - April 2013
Sri Radhastami - 23rd September 2012 (more pics here)
July 2012 (and a few more pics here including close up of Radhika Raman Salagram's new Vihara)
Sri Nrsimha Chaturdasi 2012
Sri Raam Navami 2012
See pics here - 1st April 2012
Sri Radha-astami - 5th September 2011
(more pics including Srimati Radhika ke Charan Her lotus feet HERE)
Janmastami night 2011 a few more pics here
Sunday 7th August 2011 - a few more pics here
Indradyumna Swami's Vyasa pujan day (my wife's his disciple) some more pics
Nrsimha Chaturdasi 2011 - some wearing Their new South Indian Kreetams
Gaura Purnima - 20th March 2011
HH Janananda maharaj popped in with some disciples during Karttik. I was at that time observing chaturmasya by not shaving among other things
Vijay Dasami October 2010 (some pics here)
Sri Ramnavami 2010 - Lund Road (see more Ramnavami pics here)
Janmastami 2009
Jhulan yatra day 2009
February 2009
Karttik 2008
Radhastami 2008
Lord Balaram's Appearance Day & Jhulan Yatra - observed on 26th August 2007
10th June 2007
the day after the 12th Annual Katikati pizza Festival - 8th Jan 2007
pic by Gaura Gopal
Sri Sri Radhika Raman murthy's one year advent anniversary brahmotsav
& Tulasi Salagram vivaha - 5th November 2006 - see the link above
Sunday Fest program the day after the Spring Equinox (24th Sept 2006)
The Altar September 2006
(check out the Jhulan, Lord Balaram's and Radhastami pics)
The Altar April 2006
See Ramnavami pics with Radhika
Rama salagram in Rama vesh
The Altar as of February 2006.
The Altar as of December 2005.
This is the updated altar picture after the avahan of Sri Sri Radhika Raman murthy (bottom right in pic) November 2005
Click here for pics of the installation
(many pics are there now)
some pre-installation pics too,
and a few things we made to help it all happen
This is the pith (peeth) as of the Janmastami morning
27th August 2005
Janmastami midnight dipa darshan arati 2005
Stories about some of the Silas and how They came
Who's
WhoThe
seva pujan set up
Installation of Sri Sri Radhika Raman murthyThe
lead up to the installationMaking
things in sevaCooking
for the Lord
1995-2000 pith2002
pith2003
pith2005
pith (outdated - up until Octobber 2005)
Radhastami 2005 picsGallery
of pics
each Sila will be profiled further down
Sri Chaitanya Nrsimha - He's the Pradhan, He's the first Sila Who came in 1983
without His alankaras you can see His feline facial features, unfortunately
one cannot see the two small holes that are His natural eyes so well here,
His small mouth comes down the right side of this picture, the snout protudes
slightly in a feline manner and just above are the two eyes, the rays of
the chakra appear to be like feline whiskers adorning His face, and forming
tilak lines too. On His reverse side one can just see the crescent that
symbolically represents Laxmidevi down the left side as we look at Him.
....this is the reverse side of Sri Chaitanya Nrsimha
This is Gopinath - He was the
Sila that was given to Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad by Sri
Vaishnavas as mentioned in Hari Sauri prabhu's Transcendental Diary Vol
4. He was kindly given by Indradyumna swami
Gopinath's new eyes courtesy of Madhurya Kadambini mataji
When the Sri Vaishnavas gave Gopinath to Srila Prabhupad He was identified
as Varaha due to the snout like protrusion pictured here.
Radhika Raman Salagram sila sitting on His vesh in Rajasana and wearing His Salagram vihara kindly donated by Samarth of http://www.shaligram.org
See Him seated on His Rama vesh for Ramanavami 7th April 2006
This is the Radhika Raman Salagram showing His natural brahmin thread in the form of the crack
This is the inside of the Radhika Raman Sila, the double golden chakra in the shape of the triangle represents the Radha aspect
Radhika Raman Salagram's new eyes courtesy of Madhurya Kadambini mataji
Sri Sri Kanai Balai - Krishna
Balaram Govardhan silas
Here on Kanai His natural eye-brows and reddish mouth can be seen
This is Balai - Balaram Govardhan sila, His body is made of a whitish
crystaline rock from Govardhan Hill. Years of bathing and offering scented
oils and ghee on His body have made His form darker. On the reverse side
there are many symbolic paterns that some devotees "read" and see the various
pastimes and mood of the Govardhan Sila. There's one elderly mataji at
Kusham sarova at Govardhan who specialises in this reading. Have a look
and see what you can make out........
Kanai Balai have been joined by some interesting Silas, and now been allocated Their own section on the pith
Top sila is marked with a natural mark of the cobra, and before oils
were put on Him He was whitish, with some tinges of blue hues.
In the above picture you can see the basic shape of the cobra's hood.
It's quite strange sometimes there is more visible than other days - just
a stone huh????
The grey blue sila goes black when bathed, and is covered with red markings
that according to Srila Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakur's Vritti
Chintamani this is where the gopis have been embracing Him. This
is Him here before bathing.
After bathing He goes blackish but then the red of the gopis kumkum
embraces become visible
The large yellowish sila has the amazing marking of a woman's face on
the inside.
I highlighted the cameo indentation with tilak to show the shape of
the woman's face.
We are now calling this Govardhan sila Sri Sri Radhika Raman
See our humble attempt to serve at Radhastami
2005
This is all the Govardhan silas as of November 2005
Sri Ranganath Krishna prabhu
sent all these eyes and eye brows and moulded mouth for rhe Radhika Raman
Govardhan sila
The bluish concaved sila is shaped like a peacock
(coming soon)
The big reddish sila has white crystaline markings all over both sides
and a mark of tilak on the underside.
According to Srila Vishvanath Chakravarti Thakur's Vritti
Chintamani these whitish marks are where Lord Balaram has been
There's one small sila the shape of Govardhan hill.
The last of these silas is again white on one side and darkish on the
other.
Here's the lastest as of April 2006 now with 16 Govardhan silas.
The larger sila on the vesham is Pavana Nrsimha, kindly given by Indradyumna
swami
with His natural eye-brows raised and gaping mouth behind His silver
dress teeth.
Below Him is Laxmi-ameyatma-nrsimha with the eyes and tilak and to the
left of Him in the form of a small round ball is Amrit-prasad-nrsimha,
He was originally one of the Sila from Lord Ugra-Nrsimha's sila vihara
(hara) in Mayapur until it came appart. Jananirvas prabhu gifted the remaining
70+ silas to Sukadev prabhu ACBSP and he
kindly sent Amrit-prasad-nrsimha to me - He always smells amazing fragrant.
A close up of Pavana Nrsimha's mouth and raised eye-brows
Down the side as well look at Him is the mark of Laxmidevi
....the reverse side of Pavana Nrsimha
This Salagram was gifted by Indradyumna Swami in 2007, and is described
in Salagram Kosha as being Kurma-varaha-nrsimha being like two ladhus
pressed together with a cavernous opening with a circular chakra inside
This Salagram was also gifted by Indradyumna swami in 2007 and is a
Laxmi narayana Shaligram Shila,
inside the open mouth are wonderful chakras and some spatika crystal.
This Sila is Bhu-Nila-Srinivasan and is identified by the five chakras
inside the opening, and as one may notice there are two openings opposite
each other so one may look right through and out the other side. He is
VERY rare, and as mentioned the stalegtite-like chakras hang three from
the roof of the inside and two come together to almost meet from each wall.
They are incredibly delicate and the inside walls are smooth and clean.
Well all except a huge piece of Spatika crystal laying at the bottom as
depicted in the following shots. Being hollow and everything going on inside
it is a bit of a challenge to get clear pics, sorry. He was kindly given
by Mathura prabhu in 2004
Here we're putting an arati diya behind Him to shine up on the crystal
that is inside
Three chakra spires come down from the roof and two come in from the sides
Truly a rare and amazing Sila kindly given by Mathura
prabhu
This is Ananta-asana Parasuram, one can see the mark of a hand that
holds His Parasu - axe on our left side (His right side), He was given
by Bharat prabhu ACBSP when we were in Melbourne circa 1987-88
If you look carefully you can see the hand mark.
on the reverse side on can see His quiver laden with arrows
This is Varaha Nrsimhadev
The late Tamal Krishna Goswami once commented "Your Varahadev is amazing".
you can see the chakra on the end of His nose, the bobble represents
Bhumidevi whom He rescued from the bottom of the ocean
yasya dvirata vaktradya
parisadya parasatam
vighnan nighnanti satatam
vishvakshenam samashraye
"I take refuge of the plenary portion of the Personality of Godhead,
Lord Vishvaksena, the elephant faced one, the leader of the assembly.
It is He who constantly destroys all obstacles."
Srimad Bhagavatam 12:11:20 "Vishvakshena, the chief among His personal associates, is known to be the personification of the Pancharätra and other tantras."
This is Vishvakshena - the elephanted headed form of Lord Vishnu as
mentioned is Srimad Bhagavatam. One can clearly see His trunk and ears,
and below can see His elephantine shape. ..........and yes He does like
sweets and sticky buns, and we love His maha-prasadam.
His shape is truly elaphantine
kindly given by Bhaktisiddhanta swami
Vishvakshena's new eyes courtesy of Madhurya Kadambini mataji
This is Sarva Kaama Kurma - wish fulfilling Kurma. He too is very rare
and there's a sketch of this form in the Salagram kosh book, telling readers
what to look for. Well look no further here He is.
Sri Adhoksaja - He is set in a ring. He resembles a Sudarshan sila
but has a distinctive red mark that makes Him Adhoksaja.
Alpa-dwara-hari - He has a small opening with a chakra coming out of
it.
Dhanvantari with the indent with fine chakra in there. He was given
by Alalanath prabhu ACBSP
This is Dharu-brahman, I call Him that because the night before He
unexpectedly turned up at my door I dreamt about Him. Someone turned up
at the door with a box and I brought it in and opened it up, it was from
Bhaktisiddhanta swami (how unusual hahaha). In the dream as I opened the
box there was the exact same form shaped sila but He was made of gold and
wait for it, He was moving and saying He was hungry. It appeared as if
He had His hands on His hips as Vittal is often seen, and believe me He
was getting stroppy. I asked Him Who He was and He said "I'm the body of
Gopinath". and I woke up.
Giriraj - it is said that the best Govardhan silas are the shape of
the hill as this one is.
This is Hiranyagarbha - He has a silvery gold ball lodged in His opening,
on the reverse side there is one small opening with a tiny chakra visible,
as you can almost see below LOL
another given by Bhaktisiddhanta swami
and a footprint on the reverse side
The round Sila is Hiranyagarbha-purusha, the larger Sila is Jagad-ande
and the tiny Sila with the chakra is Sudarshan (given by Renuka Suta dasa
ACBSP)
Jagad-ande was given by Aisvarya prabhu
This is Kalkidev. In Salagram kosha it is mentioned that a Salagram
resembling a horse's head can be identified as Kalki.
He was kindly given by Bhaktisiddhanta
Swami
Sri Kalpa-vrisha. He has the most amazing tapastry of markings along
His chakra kindly given by Mother Neeta Sharma
of Rudraksha-ratna.com
Sri Kurma Rupa - read the story how He came HERE
The top of Kurma lifts off like mandara mountain
This is Nivita Buddha -
the hidden form of Buddha
Here He is pictured in front of a rare murty of Lord Buddha I picked
up in Darbar square Katmandu
notice how He looks the shape of the hats that Buddhists wear.
Buddhists wearing their hats
Sri Shaligram Tirtha Parvata murty - the shape of Annapurna - Shaligram Tirtha
Reminds me of sitting in Pokhara looking toward the Annapurna range with the Kali gandaki winding its way toward Multinath, if one were to put a rubber stamp print to show "this is the Shaligram Tirtha" then right across that mountain range it would look like this. To the left would be Daulagiri........
kindly given by Mathura prabhu
.....just follow the treking path ....this is the reverse side of Shaligram
Tirtha Parvata murty
Vamanadev - on His top side there's a small brown rod like mark which is the danda of the brahmacharin, and around His body is a mekhala belt like girdle
Lord Dharani-dhara (Varahadev)
Lord Varahadev's lil' piggy tail.......
(photo by Mithila d)
Lord Matsya - Dwarka Sila, given in 1986 by Maha-vishnu prabhu from
Yugoslavia in his room in the gurukul in Vrindavan after we did a yajna
together for his huge Nrsimhadev sila, a picture of Whom we dearly want
to grace this site with.
Sri Sri Laxmi-samkarshan-nrsimha. He was given to me in Vrindavan by Sriman D.V. Muralidhar and his daughter Sheela from Bangalore and UK respectively, after being in their family for many generations. Salagram kosh describes Him as the perfect Salagram; He's the size of a walnut that one can just close one's hand around, He is perfectly round with a small flat area on the bottom so that He sits nicely, He has a wonderful smooth body and soft shiny lustre, the apertur (opening - mouth) is about one third the body width so He is not too demanding, and inside there are fine chakras that go all the way back inside the sila. Despite shastra saying He is the perfect Salagram, we should not discriminate good or not so good silas.
khanditam sphutitam bhagnam parsvabhinnam vibheditam
salagrama samudbhutam sailam dosavaham na
hi
"Though a Salagrama sila may be broken, cracked
or chipped one should not consider the Salagrama to have any faults. Consideration
of perfect and less than perfect Salagrama is for persons worshipping with
fruitive motive. Brahma Purana
Here we have 54 Salagrams joined together in a Sila-vihara or necklace. The Silas were kindly given by Mukunda Khatiwada in Katmandu and transported by mother Devaki PVS to Mayapur, from there we took Them to Vrindavan and Heera Jewellers bound Them in silver with no glue or damaging so we could place the sila-vihara around the peet (pith) to adorn all the other silas. The silver work was kindly sponsored by Balabhadra prabhu and Laxmi-Nrsimha mataji in Auckland.
This is Swetha Krishna a very rare white Shaligram with hundreds of tiny black shaligrams all through His body. He was sent to me by Rajeev Krishna Dasa of the site http://www.shaligram.com
