Deity Stories “Shri Shri Radha-Vrindaban Chandra Arrive”
by Hrishikesh
Exquisitely beautiful deities hand-carved from white marble were imported from India, installed at New Vrindaban on Janmastami, August 13, 1971, and named Shri Shri Radha-Vrindaban Chandra: the most beautiful Radharani and Krishna (the moon of Vrindaban).
Kuladri Das explained, “Shrila Prabhupada personally picked out Radha-Vrindaban Chandra for New Vrindaban. They were carved by the same murti-wala (probably in Jaipur) who created the Rukmini-Dvarkadish and Radha-Londonishvara deities for
“The installation was a major event in the life of the community; the temple room was packed with devotees (I don’t know where they all came from). The deities had only one set of clothes; a purple and silver outfit made by Hayagriva’s wife, Shyama Dasi. There was a large curtain for the deities’ privacy; it had a long drawstring which the pujari would pull and the curtain would slide along a track on the ceiling.” (105)
End Notes
105. Kuladri Das, from a conversation with the author at New Vrindaban on October 8, 2003.
