Jay Sri Râdhe

Archanam in brief
[Note: Please use sandalwood paste for all the drawings. We may say the Sanskrit prayers in the language of our
choice.]

We wake up before sunrise. After saying the prayers to Sri Gurudev, Vaishnavs, and completing our ablutions
and bath, we decorate ourselves with tilak. Then we clean the surrounding of the mandir. Next we pay
obeisance to Sri Gurudev in our mind, gain His permission, clap thrice, and open the door of the sanctum
sanctorum (where the Deities reside). While opening the door, we pray thus –

so’sâ vadabhra karunobhagavân vivriddha

premâsmitena nayanâmburuham vijrimbhavan,

utthâya vishwa vijayâya cha no vishâdam

madhvyâ girâpanayanât purusha purânah.

Meaning - "Sri Bhagavân is most compassionate. He has all the six majesties, and is always enhancing our prem.
He is the Primeval One and He is always smiling out of love. I pray to Him to please wake up and conquer the
world with His gaze, for His eyes are like beautiful lotus petals. I also pray that He may drive away my sorrow
with His sweet speech.”

Now we enter the mandir and clean it. Then we wash the puja-vessels, sit on an âsan and prepare chandan-
paste. We keep two small vessels that serve as wash-basins – one for the Deities and the other for the
Goswâmis, and the manjaris. We install the ‘pancha-pâtra’ (two of these), small shankha (pâni-shankha) and
bell. We install them like this –

We fill the pancha-pâtras with fresh clean water. In one of them we place a tulsi leaf, and little chandan-paste.
We use the water of this pancha-pâtra to give âchaman to the three Prabhus and Râdhâ-Krishna. We use the
water (without the tulsi leaf) of the other pancha-pâtra to give âchaman to the Goswâmis, and the manjaris,
and also use it for our own âchaman. We put chandan on the other pancha-pâtra, the bell, the shankha. In the
shankha, we place some water, chandan and tulsi. Then we lift the shankha and say the following prayer –

“twam purâ sâgarotpanno vishnunâ vidhrita kare,

mânitwah sarva deveshcha pânchajanya namo’stute.”

Meaning - "Dear Pânchajanya1, You have appeared since endless time in the sea and is held by the Supreme
Lord. All devatâs worship you. Therefore I pay you my obeisance.”

We ring the bell and say the following prayer –

“sarva vâdyamayee ghantâ deva-devasya-vallabhâ,

tasmât sarva prayatnena ghantâ-vâdantu kârayet.”

Meaning - "Dear bell, who keeps on ringing always, you are the beloved of the God of all gods, Sri Krishna.
Therefore all the devotees should ring you with all care and attention.”

1
The name of Sri Krishna’s conch shell.
Now we take permission from our Sri Gurudev and Sri Guru-manjari.

Prayer to Sri Gurudev –

“sri guru paramânanda, premânanda-phalaprad,

nabadweepa-paramânanda sevâyâm mâm niyojaya.”

Meaning – ‘Dear Spiritual Master, you are supreme bliss personified. You give the prem-fruit to all who are
surrendered unto you. Please engage me in the loving service of Sriman-Mahâprabhu in Nabadweep.’

Prayer to Sri Guru-manjari -

“twam gopikâ vrisharave-stanayântike’si

sevâdhikârini gudhe, nija pâda-padmam,

dâsyam pradâya kuru mâm brajakânane

srirâdhikânghri-sevana-rase sukhinim sukhâbje.”

Meaning - "Dear devi, you are a gopa-kishori who is qualified to serve the Divine Couple in a very confidential
manner. Therefore you are very close to Sri Vrishabhânu-Nandini. O Happy-one, please immerse me in the
nectarine sevâ of your lotus feet, and thus grace me with eternal happiness.”

While ringing the bell, we say the “waking-up” prayer and move the curtain of the altar. The waking-up prayer is
as follows –

“uttishthatishtha gourânga, sapârshada jagatpate,

twayâ chotthiya-mânena chotthitam bhuvanatrayam.”

Meaning - "Dear Gourânga, dear Jagat-pate1, You are enjoying blissful sleep. Now please wake up, for if You
wake up, the three worlds will wake up.”

We wake up Sri Krishna with the following prayer –

“go-gop-gokulânanda yashodânandanandana,

uttishtha râdhayâ sârdham prâtah âseet jagatpate.’

Meaning - "Dear Yashodâ-nanda-nandan, dear Jagat-pate, You shower happiness on the cattle, cattle-grazers
and all residents of Gokul. It is the break of dawn; therefore please wake up with Your Beloved Sri Râdhâ.”

Now we wash the feet of the three Prabhus and Sri Krishna.

etat pâdyam2 (we pour water in the basin3) – klim shrim gourângâya namah

etat pâdyam (we pour water in the basin) – klim nityânandâya namah

etat pâdyam (we pour water in the basin) – klim advaitâya namah

etat pâdyam (we pour water in the basin) – klim krishnâya namah

1
Master of the all creation
2
Here is the water to wash Your feet
3
Meant for the Deities
We offer Them water to rinse the mouth –

idam âchamaniyam1 (we pour water in the basin) – klim shrim gourângâya namah

idam âchamaniyam (we pour water in the basin) – klim nityânandâya namah

idam âchamaniyam (we pour water in the basin) – klim advaitâya namah

idam âchamaniyam (we pour water in the basin) – klim krishnâya namah

We offer Them towel to wipe Their face –

etat pronchhan-vastram2 (we lift the towel3 and wave it) – klim shrim gourângâya namah

etat pronchhan-vastram (we lift the towel and wave it) – klim nityânandâya namah

etat pronchhan-vastram (we lift the towel and wave it) – klim advaitâya namah

etat pronchhan-vastram (we lift the towel and wave it) – klim krishnâya namah

We offer Them toothbrush and paste –

etat danta-kâshtham4 (we show Them a tulsi-leaf5 and put it in the basin) – klim shrim gourângâya namah

etat danta-kâshtham (we show Them a tulsi-leaf and put it in the basin) – klim nityânandâya namah

etat danta-kâshtham (we show Them a tulsi-leaf and put it in the basin) – klim advaitâya namah

etat danta-kâshtham (we show Them a tulsi-leaf and put it in the basin) – klim krishnâya namah

Now we once again offer Them water to rinse Their mouth, and offer Them the towel to wipe Their face.

idam punar-âchamaniyam6 (we pour water in the basin) – klim shrim gourângâya namah

idam punar-âchamaniyam (we pour water in the basin) – klim nityânandâya namah

Idam punar-âchamaniyam (we pour water in the basin) – klim advaitâya namah

idam punar-âchamaniyam (we pour water in the basin) – klim krishnâya namah

etat pronchhan-vastram (we lift the towel and wave it) – klim shrim gourângâya namah

etat pronchhan-vastram (we lift the towel and wave it) – klim nityânandâya namah

etat pronchhan-vastram (we lift the towel and wave it) – klim advaitâya namah

etat pronchhan-vastram (we lift the towel and wave it) – klim krishnâya namah

We wash the feet of Sri Gadâdhar Pandit, the devotees such as Shrivâs and Sri Rupa Goswâmi7 in Nabadweep,
and Sri Râdhâ, Lalitâ etc. and the manjaris in Vrindâban. We also offer them water to rinse their mouths, a towel

1
Here is the water to rinse Your mouth.
2
Here is the towel to wipe Your face.
3
A small clean decorative cloth kept for this purpose.
4
Toothbrush and paste.
5
That denotes the toothpaste made of powdered dried mango leaf.
6
Here is the water to rinse Your mouth once again.
7
And the other Goswâmis as well.
to wipe their faces and then offer them tooth-paste and brush. After this we once again offer them water to
wash their mouths, and a towel to wipe their faces.

etat pâdyam (water1) sri gadâdhar srivâsâdi bhaktavrindebhyo namah

etat pâdyam (water2) sri rupa goswâmi vargebhyo namah

etat pâdyam (water) sri râdhikâyai namah, sri lalitâdi sakhibhyo namah

etat pâdyam (water) sri rupa-manjari-âdibhyo namah

idam âchamaniyam (water) – please say the above mantras.

etat pronchhan-vastram (we lift the towel and wave it) – please say the above mantras.

etat danta-kâshtham (we show Them a tulsi-leaf3 and put it in the basin) - please say the above mantras.
idam punar-âchamaniyam (we pour water in the basin) – klim shrim gourângâya namah

idam âchamaniyam (we pour water in the basin) – please say the above mantras.

etat pronchhan-vastram (we lift the towel and wave it) – please say the above mantras.

We offer water to all the Gurudevs and Guru-manjaris to wash their feet and mouths. We offer them towel to
wipe their faces. Then we offer them toothpaste and brush. Next we offer them water to wash their mouth
once again and a towel to wipe their faces.

etat pâdyam (water) sri guru-vargebhyo namah

etat pâdyam (water) sri gurumanjari- vargebhyo namah

idam âchamaniyam (water) – please say the above mantras.

etat pronchhan-vastram (we lift the towel and wave it) – please say the above mantras.

etat danta-kâshtham - please say the above mantras.

idam punar-âchamaniyam (we pour water in the basin) – please say the above mantras.

etat pronchhan-vastram (we lift the towel and wave it) – please say the above mantras.

Next we bathe our Deities. We should remember that both Sri Murtis and photos are ‘Deities’ and we should
treat both equally. The only difference is that we bathe Sri Murtis with water, while we only wipe the photos.

How do we bathe the Sri Murtis?

We draw a lotus with chandan on the bathing vessel and place a tulsi leaf on it. We add tulsi, chandan, rose
water to clean water meant for bathing the Deities. We use cool water in summer, while slightly warm water in
the winter and monsoon. After all, we love and care for our Deities just like our babies, do we not? We place Sri
Murtis, Girirâj Mahârâj, Nâm Brahma on the bathing vessel and bathe Them with the pâni-shankha, all the time
ringing the bell with the left hand. After bathing our Deities, we wipe and dress Them as nicely as possible, do
shringâr and tilak-sevâ for Them. Then we place each one of Them on a tulsi leaf. We place photos of
Panchatattva and the Divine Couple on tulsi leaves as well. However we do not place the six Goswâmis,
Guruvarga and Gurudev on tulsi leaves. After this, we worship as follows –

1
In the basin meant for the Deities.
2
Take water from the other pancha-pâtra in which you have NOT put tulsi leaf and pour this water in the basin meant for the devotees.
3
We use tulsi leaf for Gadâdhar and Râdhârâni, but not for Rupa Goswâmi and the manjaris.
We place a tulsi on the left foot and then the right foot of Goursundar1, saying “etat sachandana tulsi patram sri
gourângâya namah” (I offer this tulsi leaf dipped in chandan). We do the same for Nitâichând, Advaita Prabhu
and Sri Krishna saying “etat sachandana tulsi patram sri nityânandâya namah”,” etat sachandana tulsi patram
sri advaitâya namah” and “etat sachandana tulsi patram sri govindâya namah” respectively.

Then we offer Gour-prasâdi tulsi leaves to Gadâdhar, Shrivâs etc., Sri Rupa-Sanâtan and other Goswâmis, to the
Guruvarga in Nabadweep. We also offer prasâdi tulsi to Sri Râdhâ, the sakhis and the manjaris in Vrindâban.

How do we get ‘prasâdi tulsi’? Simple. We merely take a fresh tulsi and touch it to the one that we have already
offered to Gourânga. This tulsi is now ‘Gour-prasâdi’. Similarly we take a fresh tulsi, touch it to the one offered
previously to Sri Krishna, and it now become ‘Krishna-prasâdi’.

We take a Gour-prasâdi tulsi, say “etat gour-prasâdi tulsi patram sri gadâdhar srivâsâdi bhaktavrindebhyo
namah2”, and place it in the hand or head of Gadâdhar Pandit and Shrivâs Pandit. Next we say “etat gour-
prasâdi tulsi patram sri rup-sanâtan-âdi goswâmivargebhyo namah” and place Gour-prasâdi tulsi in the hand or
head of each Goswâmi. We do the same for Sri Gurudev, saying “etat gour-prasâdi tulsi patram sri
guruvargebhyo namah”.

Then we take Krishna-prasâdi tulsi, and saying “etat krishna-prasâdi tulsi patram sri râdhikâyai namah”, we
place it in Sri Râdhâ’s hand. Then we touch a tulsi leaf to the leaf in Sri Râdhâ’s hand. It becomes ‘Yugal-
prasâdi’, since the one in Her hand was already Krishna-prasâdi. After offering to Her, it has become Râdhâ-
prasâdi as well. So our leaf is now both Râdhâ and Krishna-prasâdi, in short, Yugal-prasâdi. We offer this leaf to
Sri Rupa manjari (who is to Sri Râdhâ’s left in the photo). While offering we say – “etat yugal-prasâdi tulsi
patram sri rupâdi manjaribhyo namah”. We also offer another Yugal-prasâdi leaf to all our Guru-manjaris,
saying -“etat yugal- prasâdi tulsi patram sri guru-manjarivargebhyo namah”.

At this juncture, depending on our convenience and availability we can offer flowers, flower-garlands etc. Next
we offer bhog to our Deities. After the bhog, we offer ârati. Last of all, we give ‘shayan’ (sleep) to our Deities.
While putting Them to sleep we say the following prayer –

(For Sriman-Mahâprabhu) –

“âyatâbhyâm vishâlâbhyâm sheetalâbhyâm kripânidhe,

karunâpurna netrâbhyâm nidrâm kuru jagatpate.”

Meaning - "Dear Goursundar, dear Ocean of compassion, dear Master of the world, please close Your big
beautiful serene and merciful eyes, and go to sleep.”

For Sri Krishna-

“govinda paramânanda yoganidrâm vitanyatâm,

râdhayâ pushpa-shayyâmâm dâsigana nishevita.”

Meaning - "Dear Govinda, dear Supreme Bliss, please sleep on this bed of flowers with Your Beloved Sri Râdhâ
and enjoy Your yoga-nidra3, while Your maid servants serve You.”

1
If we have Sri Murtis of Gour and Nitâi, we place the leaves directly on Their feet; however in the absence of Sri Murtis, we stick the
leaves with chandan on the photos. Many a times the photos are too small to accommodate two leaves on the feet; in this case we place
the leaves on Their feet in meditation, and externally we place them on a plate. Later on we may consume the leaves as ‘prasâd’ or
immerse them in a water-body.
2
Meaning - "I offer Gour-prasâdi tulsi leaf to Gadâdhar Pandit, Shrivâs Pandit and other devotees”.
3
Yogic slumber
 Order of Bhog-offering
Sri Nabadweep Sri Vrindâban
1st
bhog
klim gourângâya namah klim nityânandâya namah klim advaitâya namah klim sri krishnâya namah

2nd sri gadâdhar-srivâsâdi bhaktavrindebhyo namah sri râdhâ, anangamanjari lalitâdi

bhog ashta sakhibhyo namah
3rd sri rupa-sanâtan-âdi goswâmi vargebhyo namah sri rupa-manjari âdi
bhog sri guruvargebhyo namah manjarivargebhyo namah
sri gurumanjari-vargebhyo namah

Gourânga Nityânanda Advaita Sri Râdhâ

* Jay Sri Râdhe *