Varanasi :

Shri Vyankatesh Balaji and Radha-Krishna find novel and colourful attires made of pure butter in the land of Lord Shiva. The century old temples of Balaji and Radha-Krishna situated on the bank of Ganga at Balaji Ghat and Ganga Mahal Ghat respectively witnessed Makhan Shringar (butter embellishment) of deities on the occasion of Kartik Purnima on Wednesday.

Though the dilapidated condition of Balaji Ghat presents an unpleasant scene, devout people visited the temple that enshrines black stone idols of Shri Vyankatesh Balaji, Mudevi and Shridevi to see the Makhan Shrinar of the deity. “About 10kg butter has been used for the embellishment,” said the priest the priest Bhalchandra Gokarn. Traditionally ‘Makhan Shringar’ symbolises the end of the auspicious month of Kartik, when the idols are embellished with butter and then distributed among devotees as ‘prasad’.

Balaji Ghat, an iconic landmark built by Balaji Peshwa in 1735 on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi also finds a place in World Monuments Watch List 2012 for decaying heritage. Once the property of Peshwa, the Balaji Ghat came into the hands of Scindia after the war of 1857. Since then, its is looked after by the Scindia Devashtan Trust, Gwalior. The place is also associated with the legendary Shehnai maestro late Ustad Bismillah Khan, who used to do perform riyaz (practice) at the Naubatkhana of the temple that caved in a few years ago.

The Balaji Ghat complex was originally a seven-storey building of traditional architectural form with a temple of Shri Balaji, garden, well, assembly hall, living areas, and courtyards. They were all well connected with stone staircases forming a remarkable architecture ensemble. It was built in the combination of stone and wood. Use of wood and elements of decorations such as carved wooden columns, brackets, doorways and other decorative elements predominantly mark the style of Maratha and Peshwa architecture.

The 150-year-old Radha-Krishna temple, which is also the property of Scindia Devashtan Trust, too embellished the deities with butter. “We used around 5kg butter in embellishment,” said the priest Vasudev Gokarn. He said that on the occasion of Kartik Purnima the idols are embellished with colourful attires made of butter. The butter pieces are distributed among the devotees as Prasad on the next day.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Varanasi / Binay Singh, TNN / November 25th, 2015