Udaipur : The diety of Lord Krishna at the famous Sri Sanwaliya Seth Prakatya Sthal Mandir on Bagund-Bhadsouda road in Chittorgarh district, is wearing mask these days. It is a symbolic gesture to send out message to the devotees that even God is taking precautions against Covid-19. The diety also known as Sanwaliya Seth i.e. the Dark Krishna is very renowned one in Hinduism and attracts a steady stream of devotees all the year round, but now their entry has been banned in the wake of the nation wide lockdown.
Devotees are not being allowed to offer prayers however, the priests are performing the daily sewa and chores of the deity as per schedule. ” Amid the fears of the virus spread, the entry of devotees is completely prohibited inside the temple however, we are performing the regular Mangala Arti, dressing up of the deity, Abhishek and Bhog (offerings). The mask too is changed everytime when the lord’s clothes are changed” says priest Chandudas Vaishnav.
The daily rituals of Thakurji has seen no changes despite no devotees coming up for darshans. This temple is managed by representatives of five villages including Bagund, Bhadsoda, Guda, SohanKheda and Madanpura. Total 65 members are selected for the executive committee of the temple on a regular basis who manage the temple affairs. Total, three Sanwaliya temples of the Dark Krishna are situated on the Udaipur-Chittorgarh Highway at the towns of Bhadsoda,
andaphiya and Chhapar, which are some 40 kms from Chittorgarh. The legend has it that in the year 1840, a milkman named Bholaram Gurjar had a dream of three divine idols buried underground in the Chhapar village of Bhadsoda-Bagund, on digging out the site, three beautiful idols of Lord Krishna were discovered as revealed in the dream. One of the statues was taken to Mandaphiya, one to Bhadsoda and the third remained at Chapar, at the very place where it was found.
All three locations became temples. These three temples are located close to each other, within the 5 km distance. The three temples became renowned and devotees visit them in large numbers since then. These temples are second only to Shri Nathadwara to the followers of the Vaishnav Sect. People believe that all their desires are fulfilled when they visit Shri Sanwaliya Seth’s Darbar (Court of Shri Sanwaliya Ji).