Sri Radha Ramana Devaji Appearance Day - May 14, 2014
This event is celebrated every year by bathing the Deity with 100 liters of milk and other auspicious items. Gopal Bhatta Goswami's other salagram-silas are also worshiped on the altar. There is no Deity of Radharani with Radharaman, but gomati-chakra is worshipped on the altar to His left. According to an injunction of Sri Hari-bhakti-vilas, a gomati-chakra is to be worshipped along with a salagram-sila. Radharaman is one of the few original Deities of the Goswamis still in Vrindavan. Other Deities went to Jaipur, but Radharaman never left Vrindavan. The fires for cooking in the temple kitchen have been burning continuously for over 435 years, since the Deity was installed.Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami used to worship twelve Shaligram shilas. Wherever he would go he would bring them with him in a piece of cloth tied at the corner. One day a wealthy man came to Vrindavana and offered Gopala Bhatta a variety of clothing and ornaments for his Shaligrams. Being very impressed with the Gosvami he wanted his darshan and to render some service. However, Gopala Bhatta couldn't use these for his round-shaped Shaligrams, so he advised the donor to give the Deity decorations to someone else, but the Seth insisted. Gopala Bhatta kept the clothes and ornaments with his shilas. While Gopala Bhatta Gosvami was absorbed in remembering how the half-man, half-lion form of the Supreme Lord had manifested from the pillar in Hiranyakashipu's palace, he prayed in transcendental lamentation to the Lord: "Oh my Lord, you are very merciful and always fulfill the desires of your devotees. I wish to serve you in your form, having arms and legs and blissful smiling face, with lotus eyes.... If I had a Deity then I would be able to decorate Him so nicely with these clothes and ornaments." Lamenting in this manner, he went to sleep. Early the next morning when he came to offer puja for the Shaligrams he discovered that one of the Silas (Damodar) had transformed into the most beautiful Deity of Krishna, Who had manifested Himself out of love, to receive worship from Gopal Bhatta Goswami. This wonderful event of the appearance day of Radha-Raman happened on the day after Sri Narasimha Chaturdashi, and is celebrated on that day accordingly. Gopal Bhatta Goswami's samadhi is to the left from the street into the temple compound. Gopal Bhatta Goswami was the son of Vyenkata Bhatta, a brahmana priest of Srirangam Temple in Tamil Nadu. Gopal Bhatta was actually originating the Sat-Sandarbhas, later elaborately developed by Jiva Goswami, he also edited Hari-bhakti-vilas which Sanatan Goswami edited to call Dik Darshini Tika. His most prominent disciple was Srinivasa Acharya. Gopal Bhatta Goswami was one of the eight intimate maidservants of Srimati Radharani. |
Sri Radharamana's lotus face is like Sri Govindaji's, His chest is like Sri Gopinath's and His lotus feet are like Sri Madanmohanji's. The Deity of Sri Radharamana was manifested from Gopal Bhatta You need to be a member of ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT to add comments!
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