Page 16 - OPIHI (English)

2 nAthdwArA

have their devotion to Kåñëa. It’s an the streets, men wearing silk kurtäs
inseparable part of Gujarati life. So and chains of tulasé and gold, and
Gujaratis are sometimes said to be women in fine särés. The people
the most pious people in the world. have fine features.

In Nathdwara we find Gujaratis Gujaratis are also famous for
not only from Gujarat but also from wonderful food, and this is reflected
Mumbai (where Gujaratis form a in Nathdwara. This is a holy place,
major business community) and but definitely not a place of austerity.
even overseas—Africa, England, Food that has first been offered to
America, and Canada.You see them Kåñëa is called prasädam, and this
everywhere in the temples and on article could be titled “Nathdwara—
Prasädam City.” Nathdwara
is famous for the Deity of
Çrénäthajé and maybe just
as famous for the prasädam
of Çrénäthajé. I’ll get back to
that later.

“All glories to lord
kåñëA”

Nathdwara is a town that
lives around its Deity. It’s
a small town. You’d find
it hard to say what the
actual population is. When
you ask people they give
you different ideas, but I
would guess around twenty
thousand, though there
must be an equal or greater
number of visitors. Many of
the people who live here are
priests, temple workers, and
merchants who sell flowers,
fruit, and vegetables to offer
Çrénäthajé: Lord Kåñëa, lifter of Govardhana Hill. to the Deity. Then there are