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Dhan Teras
 In
honour of goddess Lakshmi, Shrinathji - Lord/ husband of
Lakshmi, wears a regal Charvagha ( Moughal and Rajput
formal court dress with four pointed corners ) of green
and gold brocade. Several jewels of pearls, diamonds,
rubies and emeralds are topped with a plume of peacock
feathers set in the gleaming turban.
The stele is covered in contrasting red, while the pichavi
sets the mood of a royal garden pavilion. Parrots and
peacocks perch amid flowering creepers as elephants dance
near the base of the pichoi.
Lalan also exuberates royal splendour in his green and
gold brocade. Today, all his toys, caskets and utensils
are of pure gold.
His pichavi depicts three royal pavilions set amidst a
beautiful garden, complete with fountains and a fish pond!
Radha and Krshna sit in the central pavilion, greeting
their numerous guests and friends on this auspicious day.
In the foreground, Krshna, Balram and their friends play
with the cows specially decorated for the Divali festival.
In late afternoon, Navnit-Priyaji sits in a magnificent
glass pavilion set in his own courtyard. Colourful
flowers, mosaics of the coloured glass pavilion and silk
curtains compete for attention.
Colourful gem encrusted chess set along with numerous
other games and toys tempt the lord to play to his heart's
desire. Gold caskets around him contain such delicacies as
sweets, paan, and sweet scented garlands of fresh flowers.
Large enamel "surahi" contains sweet sherbets while the
delicate "jharis" contain cool waters of the river Yamuna.
In the evening, vegetables arrive by the cart loads in
advance preparation for the Divali and Annakut festival.
The Lord's kitchen gets very busy and temple servants work
around the clock to serve the most delicious food to the
Gods. |
