Evening Blossoms : The Temple Tradition of Sanjhi in Vrindavana;
Asimakrishna Dasa ed. IGNCA and Sterling Publishers (Pvt.) Ltd. New Delhi; 1996, pp - 113,
Price : Rs. 750
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The Temple Tradition of Sanjhi in
Vrindavana entitled Evening Blossoms is a link between several interrelated historical and
cultural concepts – the rituals of Vraja denoting Mathura and all the places
surrounding Govardhan, the verses of Sanjhi ascribed to Swami Haridasa, the rasalila
Tradition, the art Sanjhi as it is practised even today in the temples of Radha
Madanamohana, Radharamana and Radhavallabha at Vrindavana, the Ladilia temple at Barsana
which is Radha’s village and the Radha-Krishna theme as rendered by Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu.
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| The importance of this work lies in the fact that Asimakrishna Dasa,
explained the artistic philosophy of the Temple Tradition of Sanjhi in Vrindavana. It is
something more than the making of floor designs as a part of the daily rituals to herald
auspiciousness. For it is neither an "old time" religion nor is it a hybrid of
religious fervour but a continuing contemporaneity derived from the cultural mainstream of
Vaishnavite Hinduism. In the ultimate analysis, Asimakrishna Dasa – an American
scholar who has became a follower of the Vrindavana tradition – has convincingly
argued that the Temple Tradition of Sanjhi in Vrindavana – flows out of the Vraja
sensibility and provides a shimmering landscape which reflects a living tradition. Thus it
is at once a dream landscape and landscape of the mind.
A. Ranganathan
[Courtesy, A.I.R., Madras]
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