Tamil Nadu   

`Pancha Tatva' idols for ISKCON temple

By G. Srinivasan

THANJAVUR, JAN. 30. Sthapathis of Swamimalai in Thanjavur district have sculpted five massive idols in panchaloha for installation in the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) temple at Mayapur, West Bengal.

The idols of the five devotee incarnations of Krishna, ``Pancha Tatva'', will be carried in trucks tomorrow and installed on February 22.

The idols, each weighing about three tonnes and 10-foot tall, of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with his hands raised, Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu and Gadadara Prabhu with one hand raised and Srivas Prabhu with folded hands, have been moulded to radiate different colours.

The idol of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is yellowish (the metal combination is such), Nithyananda is red, Gadadara is golden and Srivas and Advaita are whitish.

According to D. Radhakrishna Sthapathi, D. Srikanta Sthapathi and D. Swaminatha Sthapathi, it took a year for them to mould the idols. The concept was given by Bharath Maharaj, an ISKCON architect from Australia, and the idols were designed according to `silpasastra.'

``We have ornamented the idols in early Chola style of sculpture. The idols have ``Yagnobaveetham'' (sacred thread), earstuds, bangles and anklets with ``araivasthiram'' (half clad) in the style of Lord Rama. ``Araivasthiram'' has been designed differently for the five idols,'' the sthpathis said.

Bhagavat Amrita from ISKCON said that 500 years ago at Mayapur, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his four disciple-associates launched Sankirtan, chanting of Krishna's names, which spread throughout India.

Since 1966, Srila Prabhupada, a devotee of Chaintanya, has introduced Sankirtan worldwide to spiritually uplift people of all races.

The Pancha Tatva taught non-sectarian glorification of the God's names as the simple spiritual path for this modern age.

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