to tradition Shrinathji revealed his
wish to stay in Nathdwara by sinking
his wagon’s wheels deep into the earth,
so that it could not go further. A new
temple was erected and dedicated in
1672, and the image has remained there
ever since.
Whether or not one accepts the claim
of the divine mandate, much of the story
seems reasonable. Given the proximity
of Braj to Agra, the Moghul capital,
keepers of well-known images might
have been concerned about their safety,
and since the neighboring state of
Rajasthan was controlled by the
Moghuls’ Hindu vassals, this would have
been an obvious place to go. Even today
Nathdwara is in a remote and thinly set-
tled region of Rajasthan, which indicates
that in earlier times it would have been a
place of refuge. The Nathdwara temple
is particularly important to the Pushti
Marg, a religious community devoted
to the god Krishna, who play the major
role in administering it. For more
information see Rajendra Jindel, Culture
Of a Sacred Town, 1976. See also
Moghul dynasty.Shringeri
Town and sacred site (tirtha) in eastern
Karnataka, about 160 miles west of
Bangalore. Although Shringeri is a very
small town, it is religiously significant as
the home of the ShringeriMath, one
of the four Dashanami maths, the
monastic centers believed to have
been established by the philosopher
Shankaracharya. The asceticsof the
Shringeri math have a reputation for
very strict adherence to traditional prac-
tice, and the town has a long standing as
a center for religious learning.Shringeri
Shrirangam, an island in the Cauvery River, contains the Ranganathaswamy Temple,
dedicated to the god Vishnu.