Shri Dwarkadish temple, Mathura, P.C. shrimathuraji.com
Vrindavan, 2018.03.26 (VT): Yesterday, was Ram Navami, and Braj’s temples were filled with devotees from near and far who all came to celebrate the auspicious occasion of Lord Ram’s appearance on earth.
One of the most popular places to spend the festival was Mathura’s Dwarkadish temple, where Shri Dwarkadish adorned Lord Rama’s attire for the occasion. Devotees turned out in their thousands to witness the abhishek ceremony and enjoy the festivities.
This year, Ram Navami fell on Sunday, giving devotees from out of town a good opportunity to celebrate the festival in the Dham. Devotees arrived in Dwarkadish temple early in the morning to see the abhishek ceremony at 6.30am. After the abhishek, Shri Dwarkadish was adorned with Shri Rama’s shringar, including a bow and arrow.
In Vrindavan, there is a long tradition of Lord Krishna taking on the appearance of Lord Ram. The famous devotee of Lord Ram and writer of Shri Charitramanas, Sant Tulsidas, had darshan of Lord Ram in Vrindavan, when the deity of Lord Krishna kindly changed form to appear as Lord Ram for the transcendental pleasure of Sant Tulsidas. The temple where this event took place is in Gyan Gudri, Vrindavan and is known as Tulsidas Temple.
In ISKCON Vrindavan, Ram Navami is not only celebrated as the divine appearance day of Lord Ram but also as the auspicious day on which Srila Prabhupad established the worship of their lordships, Shri Shri Gaur Nitai, Shri Shri Krishna Balaram and Shri Shri Radha Shyamsundar and Lalita Vishakha. These beautiful deities help devotees to engage in devotional practice and develop seva bhav (spirit of service), helping them to make spiritual progress and immerse themselves in contemplation of Shri Krishna’s eternal pastimes and eventually go ‘back home’ to the transcendental realm of Golok Vrindavan.
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