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The 134-day-long Phool Bangla Utsav began on Sunday at Vrindavan`s Shri Bankey Bihari temple, a festival centred around lowering temperatures inside the temple by making flower decorations, keeping in mind rising heat and the upcoming summer months.
As the red stone structure and the use of earthen lamps make the temple hot and unbearable in the summers, the flower decoration is done to bring relief to Lord Krishna from the scorching heat, Gyanendra Kishore Goswami Sewayat at the temple said.
Tons of decorative and fragrant flowers, such as bela, mogra, rose, chameli, carnation, marigold, lily, lotus, and orchids, are sourced locally as well from Kanpur, Kannauj, and Ajmer. Rose and mogra are Thakur Bankey Bihari`s favourites,” he said.
He added that a large number of devotees marked their presence both in morning and evening darshans on the first day of the festival on Sunday.
The festival will run a little longer this year due to the `adhik maas` (additional month in the Hindu calendar), he added.
Another temple official, Shashank Goswami Sewayat, said that darshans of Lord Krishna will be available from Jagmohan temple during the festival.
Before 2016, Phool Bangla darshans were only available in the evening, but after a Supreme Court order in July 2016, the festival was observed in the morning as well, he said.
Flowers from the decoration are then sent to Ashray Sadan, a home for the widows, where they are processed to make incense sticks, he said.
“Madhurya Bhav (sweet mood) takes centre stage in Bhakti in Brij Bhumi. We take care of Lord Krishna as Lalla (child). Bhakti is contemplation of the happiness of Thakur Ji,” Dinesh Chandra Goswami of Sri Radha Raman temple said.
A clay pot, which keeps the prasad cool, is used for an entire month to offer water, seasonal fruits, and Sharbat to the Lord. For maintaining the temperature, a new pot is used every day.
Withdrawing the use of saffron and dry fruits from the prasad, instead mango, banana, litchi thandai, lassi, and chaanch are offered to the Lord, he added.
“We are expecting a large number of devotees to visit temples during the festival. Proper security and safety arrangements for devotees are in place during the Utsav period,” Mathura SSP Shlok Kumar said.
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