New Vrindaban Brijabasi Spirit

by Hrishikesh 

More altars were built and more deities were sculpted and molded. Bhagavatananda Das sculpted two nine-foot tall bas-relief statues of Jaya and Vijaya, the four-armed gatekeepers of Vaikuntha who hold the four symbols of Vishnu: conchshell, disc, club, and lotus flower, which were installed adjacent to the front doors of the temple.

 On January 6, 1986 , a seven-foot-tall 400-pound deity of Lord Nrisimhadev, and his devotee, the boy Prahlad, modeled in clay by Soma Das and cast in resin by Kumar Das, were installed in the temple. (The jet-black color of Nrisimhadev was created by mixing powdered coal into the plastic resin.)

“Prahlad is standing with folded hands in front of His Lord, who is seated on a magnificent golden throne. In one hand Nrisimhadev has a conch and in another a chakra (discus). At the end of His powerful fingers are gleaming, golden fingernails. His black and gold mane, like an effulgence, frames His glowing red eyes and fierce snout, where two downward curving white fangs protrude. A jeweled helmet of gold adorns His head.” (96)

 End  Notes

 96. Gadadhar Das, “God’s Anger,” Brijabasi Spirit, vol. 2, no. 2 (c. Spring 1986), 15.