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In the Vishnu
Sahasranamam, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, "Paritranayasaadhunam
vinasaya cha dushkrutham |Dharmasamsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge
||"
"For protecting the good and
destroying the wicked and to establish the ethical way of life, I
assume birth in every Yuga".
Lord Krishna who was the ninth and most
recent incarnation of Lord Vishnu symbolises the victory of good over
evil, the endearing yet inaccessible qualities of Godhead and the
power of Bhakti to gain the grace of the Lord. He appeals to every
mood, whether it is joy or sorrow, hope or despondency. He is a God
whose appeal is universal. The children adore him for his pranks, the
elderly hold him in awe for his philosophy. After Dwapara Yuga, when
Krishna ruled, came Kali Yuga, said to be the last of the yugas. We
hardly need to refer to ancient texts to see and feel the effects of
Kali Yuga, when Dharma seems to be on the wane, when the innocent
suffer and the wicked flourish.
What else can a man do but pray in such
circumstances? Pray to the God or Goddess of his choice. And, in some
rare instances, set up institutions and places of worship where the
people congregate in hope and devotion. Ancient India is full of such
noble souls who give their might to build a temple or church. Such
movements, fortunately for us, are still going strong, and a wonderful
illustration is the Nandalala temple at Mylapore in South Chennai.
 The inspiration to build a Krishna
temple was that of the founder president of the Nandalala trust
Ms.R.Saraswathy. She believes that the problems of the present day
world can be solved only through love and compassion and the best way
to achieve that is through bhakti and worship of Lord Krishna. There
are, perhaps, more Krishna temples in North India than in the South.
The famous Krishna shrines at Udupi in Karnataka and Guruvayoor in
Kerala are glorious exceptions. In Chennai the ancient Parthasarathy
temple at Triplicane and the recently built Venugopalaswami temple at
Gopalapuram are the devotees’ favourites. The former, in particular,
is typical of the South Indian style of architecture.
The Nandalala temple that was
consecrated in 1998 by the Kanchi Sankaracharyas follows the North
Indian "Shikar" style of architecture that was designed by
C. S. Sompura of Ahmedabad who is a descendant of the family which
built the Krishna temples at Somnathpur and Dwarka. The sanctum
sanctorum that is at an elevation is designed as per south Indian
traditions by the world-renowned Ganapathy sthapathy of Chennai. The
fusion of north and south India is a standing testimony to the unity
in diversity that India is so proud of. The shikar is 47 feet high and
is built of sandstone while the garba griha is carved from granite
brought from Mailam near Nagercoil.
 The beautifully decorated idol of
Nandalala is made of a single block of black touchstone, which is
considered very rare for this stone. One can have darshan of the Lord
in black hue standing in the typical Krishna position with crossed
legs and a flute on his lips. The Lord here is in Vaikunta Swaroopam,
the eyes turning skywards. The outstanding painting work on the face
makes the idol lifelike. Behind the lord is a white cow made of marble
with tinkling bells and a benign mien. The sculpture of the idol was
done by craftsmen of Rajasthan and the finishing works were done at
Calcutta. The daily pujas are performed to the main deity by a
Vaishnavite Bhattachariar. There are no abhishekams as the deity is a
‘vanna kalabam’.
The utsavamurthy, Krishna Senapathy, to
whom abhisekhams are done, is accompanied by his divine consort Sree
Jayakamalanayani. The idols were cast by Devasenapathy Sthapathy of
Swamimalai in panchaloha. The temple authorities plan to air-condition
the sanctum sanctorum to keep the flowers and garlands offered to the
lord fresh. Immediately to the left of the main deity is the
Bhuvanaraja Ganapathy shrine, said to be benign, to the utmost,
solving problems and granting wishes. The pujas, to Ganapathy, are
performed by a Sivachariar.
 The temple has a basement where
discourses and classes on divine and religious matters are conducted.
On the walls of the basement one can find seven glass paintings of
Ganapathy meant for each day of the week. The basement can be accessed
by steps, as well as a ramp, to help the old and the physically
handicapped. The founder President of the trust is very happy about
the unique role played by the children in the construction of the
temple. The children were instrumental in collecting over Rs.1 lakh
for the temple by selling bricks at Rs2.50 a brick. A massive bell
metal weighing 260 kg made by craftsmen of Naalankattalai and capable
of pealing out a ring which lingers for over one-and-a-half-minutes is
to be installed in the Mani Mantapam.
Though completion works are still in
progress a steady stream of devotees visits the temple. The load
bearing temple pillars are currently under preparation at
Mahabalipuram. The eight pillars with 32 facets will depict
Krishnaleela in sculpture. In a year’s time the work should be
completed. What matters of course, especially in this month of
Margazhi when Andal sang her divine poems on Lord Krishna, is the
presence of the Almighty for when one sees Him all else becomes
inconsequential.
Ambujam Anantharaman
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