Shrinathji is a deity form of
KrishnaKrishna is a deity worshipped across many traditions in Hinduism in a variety of perspectives...
situated in the
templeA temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
town of
NathdwaraNathdwara is a city in Rajasthan state of western India. It is located in the Aravalli hills, on the banks of the Banas River in Rajsamand District, just north of Udaipur. This holy town is famous for its temple of Krishna which houses the Shrinathji, a 12th century "infant" incarnation idol of...
near
UdaipurUdaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of, the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is the historic capital of the former kingdom of Mewar in Rajputana Agency...
in
RajasthanRājasthān is the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan...
, and is the presiding central deity of the Vaishnava sect known as Pushti Marg or
ShuddhadvaitaShuddadvaita , also known as the ' or ' , is a Hindu Vaishnava tradition, established by Vallabhacharya in the fifteenth century. The tradition is focused on the worship of Krishna and preaches a pure form philosophy different from Advaita...
, established by Sri Vallabhacharya. Shrinathji specifically refers to the story in the
Bhagavata PuranaThe Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna. The Sanskrit text comprises twelve skandas and 13,216 verses by one count...
wherein Krishna lifts
Govardhan hillGovardhan is a hill located near the town of Vrindavan in India, considered as sacred by a number of traditions within Hinduism.It is especially important to those traditions which worship Krishna or Vishnu as the Supreme God such as Vaishnavism and Gaudiya Vaishnavism, which are popular around...
to protect the inhabitants of
VrindavanVrindavan , or Vraj in Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh, India is a town on the site of an ancient forest which is the region where Lord Krishna spent his childhood days. It lies in the Braj region...
from a downpour of rain sent by
Indra' is the King of the gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology, and also he is the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall....
, king of the
devaDeva is the Sanskrit word for "god, deity". It can be variously interpreted as a God, angel, spirit, celestial being, deity or any supernatural being of high excellence, and is thus comparable to the Hebrew Elohim...
s. Krishna in his form of Sri Nathji is also worshipped throughout
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
by followers of
Bhakti Yoga and the
VaishnavaVaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or his associated avatars, principally as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God. This worship in different perspectives or historical traditions addresses God under the names of Narayana,...
traditions, especially within
GujaratGujarat is the westernmost state in India. It is home to the Gujarati speaking people of India. The state encompasses major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Lothal and Dholavira. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India throughout the history of India...
.
Shrinathji is a deity form of
KrishnaKrishna is a deity worshipped across many traditions in Hinduism in a variety of perspectives...
situated in the
templeA temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
town of
NathdwaraNathdwara is a city in Rajasthan state of western India. It is located in the Aravalli hills, on the banks of the Banas River in Rajsamand District, just north of Udaipur. This holy town is famous for its temple of Krishna which houses the Shrinathji, a 12th century "infant" incarnation idol of...
near
UdaipurUdaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of, the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is the historic capital of the former kingdom of Mewar in Rajputana Agency...
in
RajasthanRājasthān is the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan...
, and is the presiding central deity of the Vaishnava sect known as Pushti Marg or
ShuddhadvaitaShuddadvaita , also known as the ' or ' , is a Hindu Vaishnava tradition, established by Vallabhacharya in the fifteenth century. The tradition is focused on the worship of Krishna and preaches a pure form philosophy different from Advaita...
, established by Sri Vallabhacharya. Shrinathji specifically refers to the story in the
Bhagavata PuranaThe Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna. The Sanskrit text comprises twelve skandas and 13,216 verses by one count...
wherein Krishna lifts
Govardhan hillGovardhan is a hill located near the town of Vrindavan in India, considered as sacred by a number of traditions within Hinduism.It is especially important to those traditions which worship Krishna or Vishnu as the Supreme God such as Vaishnavism and Gaudiya Vaishnavism, which are popular around...
to protect the inhabitants of
VrindavanVrindavan , or Vraj in Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh, India is a town on the site of an ancient forest which is the region where Lord Krishna spent his childhood days. It lies in the Braj region...
from a downpour of rain sent by
Indra' is the King of the gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology, and also he is the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall....
, king of the
devaDeva is the Sanskrit word for "god, deity". It can be variously interpreted as a God, angel, spirit, celestial being, deity or any supernatural being of high excellence, and is thus comparable to the Hebrew Elohim...
s. Krishna in his form of Sri Nathji is also worshipped throughout
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
by followers of
Bhakti Yoga and the
VaishnavaVaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or his associated avatars, principally as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God. This worship in different perspectives or historical traditions addresses God under the names of Narayana,...
traditions, especially within
GujaratGujarat is the westernmost state in India. It is home to the Gujarati speaking people of India. The state encompasses major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Lothal and Dholavira. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India throughout the history of India...
. The town of Nathdwara itself is often referred to as 'Shrinathji', after the famous deity. Later in history during the 18th century, the Gaudiya sampradaya authors mentioned that a sage
Madhavendra PuriMadhavendra Puri also known as Madhavendra Puri Goswami is a Vaishnava saint who appeared in the 14th century.-Biography:...
rediscovered this Gopala deity near its first location at Govardhana in Vrindavana
The temple
The priests and servants within the temple are not paid any cash salaries, receiving simply
prasadPrasāda is both a mental condition of generosity, as well as a material substance that is first offered to a deity and then consumed . Literally, a gracious gift...
as a reward for their duties. Often this prasad is given or sold to guests who visit the temple for
darshan is a Sanskrit term meaning "sight" , vision, apparition, or glimpse. It is most commonly used for "visions of the divine," e.g., of a god or a very holy person or artifact...
.
Nathdwara enshrines Shrinathji - a
deityA deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
of Krishna which was originally enshrined at Govardhana in Vrindavan.
Shri Vallabhacharya's family who follows
PushtimargPushtimarg is a sect of the Hindu religion, founded by Shrimad Vallabhacharya Shri Vallabhacharya is one of the five main Acharyas of the Hindu Religion...
, the sampradaya (lineage) worship of Shrinathji in Nathdwara, believe that the deity's arm and face first emerged out of the Govardhan Hill, at which time the local inhabitants (Vrajavasis) and others, including the above mentioned Madhavendra Puri, carried out the worship of the deity's upraised arm and later, his face. In the Hindu Samvat year 1549, according to Pushtimarg literature, Shrinathji appeared to Shri Vallabhacharya, root guru and founding philosopher of the Pushtimarg (Path of Grace), and requested the Acharya to proceed to the Govardhan Hill to meet him and begin his (Shrinathji's) worship, beginning the Pushtimarg's current spiritual stewardship of Shrinathji.
Shrinathji was brought to Mewar, Rajasthan during the reign of the Moghul Emperor Aurangazeb, for the sake of protection from widespread destruction of Hindu temples. The chariot carrying the image is said to have become stuck in Mewar while traveling, and hence a temple was established with the permission of the then Rana of Mewar at Nathdwara. According to local worshipers, the Srinathji deity is believed to have originally self manifested from stone and emerged from the Govardhan Hill. Shrinathji was originally worshipped in a humble shrine and then moved to a larger temple on top of the Govardhan Hill. Vallabhacharya made arrangements for the worship of this deity, and this tradition was continued by his son, Vitthalnathji. It is believed that Taj Bibi, a wife of the Emperor Akbar, had visited this temple. It was during the 17th century that this image was shifted to Rajasthan.
There are several prominent temples around the world that play homage to Shrinathji. The "Nathdwara" of the western hemisphere is known as Vraj. It is located in Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania. Over 100,000 Hindus visit Vraj in a year.
External links