In a consecration function held evening of Saturday, February 28^{th 2015}, the Hindu Temple of New Hampshire celebrated the “Moorthy Pratishtapana” (installation of deities) of “Sri Ram Parivar” (family of Rama), consisting of Sri Rama, Sita Devi, Sri Lakshmana, and Hanumanji.

Installation of the Deities

The consecration function consisted of a series of poojas that started with the “vighneswara pooja” (addressed to Lord Ganesha, the remover of obstacles) and ended with the “upachara pooja” (in which the installed deities are showered with respect and hospitality). The other poojas included “kalasha sthapana”  (invocation of the divine in a vessel filled with sanctified water), “punyahavachana” (ritual purification), “prana pratishta” (establishing the breath or spiritual vitalization of the deities), “raksha bandhana” (adornment with a protective string bracelet), “netra unmilinam” (eye-opening ceremony) and “mangalya pooja and dharana” (adornment of the goddess with the mangalya necklace). The poojas were followed by recitation of “Lakshmi Ashtottaram” and singing of Bhajans by a group of youth and children that included Annika, Aravind, Lakshana, Saadhvi, Siddhant, Sindhu, Smrithi, Srikrupa, Srushti, and Vedvyas.

The prana pratishta and netra unmilinam are regarded as critical rites that transform a vigraha (sculptural embodiment of a deity) from a mere piece of sculpture to an embodiment of the divine, as this Harvard University publication explains. The netra unmilinam rite in which the divine eyes of the vigraha are opened is particularly interesting, as described by Sri Veeramani, founder of the Temple. To ensure that the first sights that a deity sees are auspicious, the vigrahas are placed behind a curtain, and a mirror placed in front of the vigrahas. This ensures that the initial gaze of the deities falls on an image of themselves – what could be more auspicious than an image of the divine? After this the deities are presented with other sights that are considered auspicious, including that of a young girl (kanya), a young boy (brahmachari), and a married couple.

The “Sri Ram Parivar” Project

The “Sri Ram Parivar” project was initiated about a year and a half ago in September 2013, with a search for a reference model for the vigrahas. Sri Veeramani explains that the Hindu Temple of New Hampshire decided to use the vigrahas of the presiding deities in the Madhurantakam Temple in Tamil Nadu as the reference model. The Temple in Madhurantakam, located about 60 miles from Chennai, is an ancient Temple that is estimated to be 1600 years old. There is an interesting story associated with this Temple dating back to 1798, according to which Col. Lionel Blaze, the then British District Collector of the area, though initially skeptical, prayed to Sri Rama, deity of this Temple, to protect the town from massive flooding triggered by torrential rains. Legend has it that Col. Blaze witnessed Sri Rama appearing in person and answering his prayers by securing the walls surrounding the town reservoir. For this reason Sri Rama of this Temple is known as “Eri Kaaththa Ramar – ஏரி காத்த ராமர் ” , or “Rama who protected the reservoir” in Tamil.

Sri Radhakrishna Sthapati, the award-winning sculptor and master craftsman from Tamil Nadu, whose work adorns the Vellore Golden Temple and Skandashramam in Tamil Nadu, was entrusted with the task of sculpting the “Sri Ram Parivar” Vigrahas. Sri Radhakrishna Sthapati visited the Madhurantakam Temple in December 2013 to study the installation in that Temple, and started work on sculpting the vigrahas for HTNH in February 2014. The vigrahas were completed by September 2014, and had to wait for about 3 months for the Archaeological Survey of India to certify export compliance. Finally they were shipped to the United States with the active help of Temple volunteer and patron Sri Eswar Subramaniam.

The Vigrahas

The vigrahas are made of Panchaloha, a 5-metal alloy that is traditionally used to make idols for Hindu Temples. The vigrahas weigh about 140 kg (about 300 lbs) in all, and each vigraha has its own pedestal in addition to a base pedestal that holds three of the vigraha pedestals. The vigrahas of Sri Rama, Sita Devi and Sri Lakshmana appear in a standing posture, as in the Madhurantakam Temple. Both Sri Rama and Lakshmana carry a bow and an arrow. The arrow carried by Sri Rama has a crescent-shaped tip, while that carried by Sri Lakshmana has a sharp tip. The gait of both Sri Rama and Sri Lakshmana reflect the weight of the bows that they each carry. Sita Devi appears to the right of Sri Rama. A standing pose was selected for Sri Hanumanji, who appears front of Sita Devi. The beautifully carved vigrahas are a sight to behold.

Darshan

With the celebration of this function “Sri Ram Parivar” is now ritually established in the Hindu Temple of New Hampshire. The Temple invites devotees to visit the Temple and have a darshan of “Sri Ram Parivar” any day during Temple hours. The Temple also plans to celebrate the arrival of Sri Ram Parivar, by organizing a “Sita Kalyanam” event and a “Laksharchana” pooja during the upcoming “Sri Rama Navami” festival.

 à¤¶à¥à¤°à¥€à¤°à¤¾à¤®à¤šà¤¨à¥à¤¦à¥à¤° कृपालु भजु मन हरण भव भय दारुणम् |
Sriramachandra krupalu bhaju mana harana bhava bhaya daarunam |
Oh mind, Dwell on the compassionate Lord Rama, who can remove life’s difficulties

(Line from a beautiful song on Sri Rama composed by 16^th century poet Goswami Tulsidas)

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