The Relocation of Shrinathji to Nathdwara
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Pushtimargiya denomination was founded by Vallabhacharya, the son of a Telugu Brahmin named Lakshman Bhatt. The legend goes that once, Lakshman Bhatt, accompanied by his wife, Almagara, went to Banaras for pilgrimage. On the way she gave birth to a son in 1479 whom they named Vallabha. In the Giriraj Khand of Garg Samhita, it is recorded that Lord Krishna declared that He would appear in Kaliyuga in a cave in Giri Raj. It is traditionally believed that Lord Krishna revealed Himself in a dream to Vallabha and told him that He was hiding Himself in the Govardhan Hill of Braj and directed Vallabha to trace Him. Thus, Vallabha went to that hill and it is said that Krishna manifested Himself to Vallabha who found the image corresponding to the vision which he had seen in the dream. He was commanded by Lord Krishna to reveal Him to the world, to erect a shrine for His abode and to propagate amongst His followers the cult of His worship in order to obtain salvation. Thus, Krishna revealed Himself in 1492 to Vallabha.
Shri Nathji is said to have had miraculous powers. Shri Nathji Ki Prakatya Varta goes to describe in detail as to how the people were impressed by His miracles and oracles, how He used to tease the milk-maids and how He used to call the cow of Sindhu Pandey on the hill to drink milk.” It covers thou sands of His other activities, as well. Soon thereafter, Vallabha erected the shrine on the holy hill of Govardhan (Giri Raj) near Mathura and installed the image there.
A devotee named Ram Das Chaudhary was entrusted with the task of rendering seva. Later on, a rich merchant named Pooranmal was commanded by the Deity to erect a huge temple over the Giri Raj and the construction of the building took as many as twenty years. The image was lodged there by Vallabha in 1520. Bengali Brahmins were engaged for seva after Ram Das’s death. This organization continued even after Vallabha’s death which took place on June 12, 1530.
Relocation:
After Aurangzeb ordered all the Vaishnava mūrtis at Mathura, Vrindavan and Gokula be destroyed, the icon of Srinath ji was removed from Govardhan by priests fearing the extreme Muslim orthodoxy of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1660 and was kept at Agra for some days where the Annakūta was celebrated. Under the prevailing conditions the then Tilkayat Damodar Lal found the temple exposed to risk and danger and therefore he thought of shifting the idol elsewhere, to a safe place. He placed the idol in a chariot and accompanied by his uncle Govind, Bal Krishna, Vallabha and Ganga Bai, came out secretly before dawn on October 10, 1669. The idol was taken to Chopasani (a village near Jodhpur) via Agra, Bundi, Kishangarh etc., and was kept at each place for some time. But no ruler, fearing the wrath of Aurangzeb, agreed to grant shelter to the mūrti. Then, Tilkayat Damodar Lal’s uncle Govind went to Maharana Raj Singh of Udaipur. He explained the situation and requested him to give shelter to the Deity. Raj Singh gladly accepted the request and asked them to bring the idol to Mewar. He agreed to give shelter because his wife Charumati, being a staunch Vaishnava, pressed her husband to protect the deity. Raj Singh’s assurance to place one hundred thousand Rajputs at the disposal of the Goswami for the security of the idol, prevailed upon him to return to Chaupasni and shift the idol from Chaupasni to Mewar on November 17, 1671. The Maharana himself received the party, and when it entered his state he offered due respects. It was installed on March 10, 1672 at Ghaser, thereafter known as Nathdwara. The icon of Vithal Nathji was also brought to Mewar by Tilakāyat Hariraj. At first he remained in the village Khamnor, but later also settled at Nathdwara. In due course a temple was erected and on Saturday, February 10, 1672, the idol was installed with a halo of sanctity and the insignificant village came to be known as Nathdwara.
In this painting, an image of Shrinath is seen twice: once at the top center, flanked by priests, and below, in miniature form (as Madan Mohanji), rocked in a swing by four priests.
Source: History of Mewar: from earliest times to 1751 A.D. by Somani, Ram Vallabh
Jindel, R. (1976). Culture Of Sacred Town: A Sociological Study Of Nathdwara. India: Popular Prakashan.
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