Jaya Tirtha Charan dasan & Vedavati devi dasi's peetha - NZ
last updated 1st February 2016



Stories about some of the Silas and how They cameWho'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1995-2000 pith2002 pith2003 pith2005 pith (outdated - up until Octobber 2005)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

Govardhan Puja 2015



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

see more pics HERE

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

More pics from GP 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

More pics from Karttik 2008

Radhastami 2008

more here

Lord Balaram's Appearance Day & Jhulan Yatra - observed on 26th August 2007

pics HERE

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 cameWho'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



 

Who's Who in 2006????

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

He wrote to me "My Father went to Gandaki around 12 years back. That time devotees used to pick up the Shilas which they could find on the river bed. So he too collected 108 Shilas and in them he could find 3 White Shilas. Out of these 3 Shilas I have sent you one."

Sri Sri Krishna Balaram murthies - These are actually my Brijabasi son's Deities

Sri Sriyuts Jagannath Baladev & Srimati Subhadra devi

A garland of Silas around Radhika Raman ji's neck

See more about Radhika Raman ji HERE
 

1st February2006
 

Sri Sri Radhika Raman - April 2006

Read and see more about Them HERE


The above picture circa April 2004

Pictures taken November 2002

View picture with additions ...... added Shilas and new altar February 2002

Read the story of JTCd's Shaligrams on the 3rd page below

Pictures taken November 2002


Top deck - left to right:  Gopinath, Laxmi-Hayagreeva, Nivita-Buddha, Chaitanya Nrsimha (the Pradhan), Matsya.

3rd Tier up (or one down) - left to right: Matsya Dwaraka Sila, in front of Him Yogananda Nrsimha (belongs to Agnidev dasa - Carterton), next to Him Punjab Vishnu - Maha Vishnu, next to Him Bhakshitavan Krishna, back a little Radha-Damodar, Pavana Nrsimha, on pith with Sesa over head Lord Vamandev, in front of Him Kurma Rupa, and in front of Him Dhanvantari. Next to Him set in a ring Adhoksaja, and next to Him on a Yoni-pith Hari-hara, behind Him Anantaasana Parasuram, and on the pith on the back wall Anantadev. Next to Him holding a club Lord Varaha-nrsimha swami, and to His left Gopal Sundaram, and in front of HimPadmanabha, and last on this pith, at the front right looking at it, Sri-dhari.

2nd Tier up or 3rd Tier down - left to right: Kodanda Rama murthy,  Vaastapahari murthy, Balai-Kanai (Balaram and Krishna Govardhan Silas), Dustararama, Madhava, Giri-Govardhan (top), Gopal Krishna (head), and Vanamalai (region of belly), Hiranyagarbha, Jagad-ande, sudarshan (all three in silver tray - patra)

Bottom Front Tier - left to right: Nrsimha-ananta, Bhrighupati-rupa Parasuram, Jagannath, Vittal-giri (Govardhan Sila), Sarva-Kaama-kurma, Vishvakshena, Kalki-chaturvimshati.

There's another one since then Prahlambari Balaram, picture to come.

Setting up and bathing........
pictures taken 10th October 2004


...bringing Their Lordships down off the pith for bathing.


...this is what the set up looks like, everything contained closely at hand.


...the asana is made of wood, made by my son Gaura Gopal and offered in service with love, it was washed with cow stool and mud to purify it, on top of that is kusha grass, on top of that two white wool blankets, and the whole thing is covered with a white cotton uttara.


...Their Lordships in the snan vedi ready for bathing.


....all eyes and other alankaras close at hand, removed for bathing.


54 Shalagrams, 5 Govardhan (one is the Auckland temple's - now gone there with Prana prabhu & Chandrakoti mataji) and one Dwarka sila


 


..........today was ekadasi so buckwheat pancakes, lemond, butter, bananas, milk, and an array of mixed nuts, different kinds of dried fruits, simply wonderfuls, rock candy, and the Tambula spices just over the back.


....just after bathing Janmastami morning 2005


 

The altar closed and new door clasp paid to be made by Balabhadra prabhu and Laxmi Nrsimha mataji.

made by Heera Jewellers in Vrindavan






















































A few close-ups of the above Shaligrams:
photos by Mithila dasa PVS from the UK who was just passing through seeing relatives,
and from Hanuman prabhu PVS TP of Christchurch who was also passing through.


(photo by Mithila d)

...on the top behind the reddish Govardhan sila is Punjab-vishnu (Mahavishnu)

Then we have three Silas all on one vesha Giri-govardhan on top being lifted, Gopal Krishna with wide open mouth full of ladhus, and just behind the flute is Vanamalai Krishna, the garland, which you can just see the loop-like swirls of the garland shapes.


(photo by Mithila d)

left is Laxmi-Hayagreeva, middle is Nivita-Buddha, right is the Pradana (main Sila who incidently came to us 20 years ago April 1983) His name is Sri Chaitanya Nrsimha, and He is most kind for gracing us for so long, and we pray He continues to do so for many generations to comes.


(photo by Mithila d)

At the back is Pavana Nrsimha, then from left to right in front of Him; half of Radha-damodar, with Tulasi on top Gopal Sundaram, the shiny one with the hole in the middle is Bhakshitavan Krishna - Krishna who swallowed earth - the incident where Mother Yashoda looked into Krishna's mouth to see the entire universe situated there, and as you can see (well a little bit) there's another round sphere inside representing that lila. To His left side, our right looking at Them is Padmanbha, and next to Him with Tulasi on top is Dhanvantari - notice the depressed chakra at the front that fills with bathing amrit and represents the kumbha full of the elixire of immortality that Lord Dhanvantari carries. Behind Him and somewhat obscured is Kurmarupa, and behind Him with gold brahmin thread is Lord Vamandev.


(photo by Mithila d)

Lord Matsya - Dwarka Sila, given in 1986 by Maha-vishnu prabhu from Yugoslavia.


(photo by Mithila d)

Left is Lord Jagannath, middle is Prahlambari-balaram, there are several markings of the Hala (plough) and gada (club) on His form, but the most prominent thing has to be the cave with the huge chakra with sparkly gems scattered here and there - He's the size of one's fist. On the right is Vittal Giri, a Govardhan sila given by Indradyumna swami.


(photo by Mithila d)

left is Sarva Kaama Kurma (wish fulfilling Kurma), the centre leifts out to reveal His swirling chakra. Middle is elephantheaded Vishvakshena, and right side is Lord Kalki (Kalki-chaturvimsati), note the horse's head and even open mouth.


(photo by Hanuman d)

Prahlambari, Vishvakshena and Kalki


(photo by Mithila d)

Left; do you really think He needs an introduction??? Yes it's Lord Varaha-nrsimha, with chakra on the end of His snout, and the boble there represents Bhumi devi Whom He rescued from the bottom of the ocean. Right side; Nrsimha-anaanta, notice the feline lion's mane around His face, and on the backside there's Anantasehsa all coiled up for His relaxation.


(photo by Hanuman d)

He's a shot taken Sept 2003 by Hanuman prabhu showing Dhanvantari, Adhoksaja, Urukrama, Hamsavatara, Anantasayanam, Vishnu-antayamin all along the deck. Behind Them on far left is Kurma-rupa to His left (our right) is Hari-jara, Anantaasana-parasuram with sword (His axe is behind Hari-hara). Obvious as day is Varaha-nrsimha and Nrsimha-ananta. Top left is Anantadev all coiled up on His pith, and in front of Him is Sri-dhari.


(photo by Hanuman d)

Kalpa-vrikshya - this picture doesn't do Him justice. There's an increadible tapestry of engraving work all down the one side. He's from Damodar kund.


(photo by Hanuman d)

Sarva-kaama-kurma - there's another picture of Him above, but this one shows His feature of the detachable centre


(photo by Hanuman d)

Lord Matsya


(photo by Hanuman d)

Vishnu-antayamin - you can clearly see the hoods of Anantasesha, but look closely below the hoods you can see Krishna standing there playing His flute as the Antayamin seated within........


(photo by Hanuman d)

September 2003
(notice the huge form of Shaligram Tirtha Parvat murthy there right at the front on the left, there's more pictures to come from other devotees, so stay tuned...)


(photo by Mithila d)

Haribol from me !!! Thanks for visiting !!!
 
 
 
 

If anyone is so inclined Donations can be sent through PayPal HERE
 
 

Special thanks to all those devotees who sent in donations to help with the India yatra of March through April 2005 to Mayapur and Vrindavan.

Thank you also to those devotees who have sent donations inspired to do so by the Lord since that time.

Thanks to Kailash mataji for sponsoring the installation of Sri Sri Radhika Raman, and thanks to Sudevi mataji for sending Sri Sri Radhika Raman

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