GURU PARAMPARA AND VAISNAVA CULTURE IN MANIPUR

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, the founder Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), besides being well known as Jagat-guru, has occupied the most prominent position in the field of transcendental knowledge. This has been well accepted as an undisputable fact even in the galaxy of the world famous material scientists including Nobel Laureates as well as spiritually enlightened transcendentalists of the twentieth century. This Jagat-guru of such a great personality placed the Manipuri vaisnavas at a very high spiritual level and expressed his will that in these days of Kali when evil thoughts reign the hearts of the people causing mutual distrust and destruction against each other, the old vaisnava spirit should be revitalized to make Manipur the first vaisnava state in the world. This was mentioned by Srila Prabhupada in the purport of Srimad Bhagavatam. 9.22.32.

"It is to be understood that Parvati is the daughter of the king of the very, very old mountainous country known as the Manipur state. Five thousand years ago, therefore, when the Pandavas ruled, Manipur existed, as did its king. Therefore this kingdom is a very old, aristocratic vaisnava kingdom. If this kingdom is organized as a vaisnava state, this revitalization will be a great success because for five thousand years this state has maintained its identity. If the vaisnava spirit is revived there, it will be a wonderful place, renowned throughout the entire world. Manipur Vaisnavas are very famous in vaisnava society. In Vrindavan and Navadvip there are many temples constructed by the kings of Manipur. Some of our devotees belong to the Manipur state. The Krishna consciousness movement, therefore, can be well spread in the state of Manipur by the co-operative efforts of the Krishna conscious devotees".

According to the Cheitharol Kumbaba (Royal Chronicle of Manipur), king Pakhangba ascended the throne of Manipur in 3135 Kalyabda (the year indicating the era of Kaliyuga). On completion of 45 years of his reign, another era known as Sakabda was started. The two eras mentioned herein are found related with the evidences of the influence of Vedic civilization, that is to say, during these two eras the Aryans had already settled in this land (Manipur), which could be confirmed from the life and culture of the people living there. According to the calculation made on the basis of the two eras, the Kaliyuga has completed 5099 years.
King Pakhangba married Laisana who came to Manipur along with the Poireitons from Srihatta (present Sylhet in Bangladesh). There is a well known Manipuri Purana known as "Poireiton Khunthokpa". This purana was not destroyed in the burning of the puranas during the reign of king Pamheiba. This has been recorded in the book "Satjala" by R. K. Sanahal Singh.
In the Sakabda 186, i.e. 264 A.D., king Taothingmang ascended the throne of Manipur. During his reign, all the rivers of Manipur were unearthed with the help of his elder brother Yoimomba to drain out the stagnant water in the valley area of Manipur. In this connection, it can be pointed out that the word Manipur as the name of this land was found used in the Cheitharol Kumbaba. This has clarified the controversy as to the name of this land as Manipur. This shows that the name Manipur was already there during the time of king Taothingmang in the Sakabda 186.
We also find evidence to prove that the people of Manipur worshipped Sri Hari, Durga, Siva from very ancient time. A copper plate of the period, Sakabda 721 (799 A.D.) was discovered in Kareng village. The English translation of the words inscribed on the plate is reproduced as below:

"Sri Hari ! In the Sakabda 721, the then king Khongtekcha Yairenpa with blessings of the Lord got a Purana. Know it for certain that this is about king Khongtekcha. "

This copper plate has been preserved as an old record of the government by Sri Wahengbam Yumjao Singh, the then government officer.
This is a well known fact that during the reign of Meidingu (king) Kiyamba, the people of Manipur worshipped Lord Vishnu. In the Sakabda 1391, Pong Ningthou (king) Chaupakhekhomba gave a Vishnu Chakra to his friend king Kiyamba as a gift along with 80 caskets of gold as a token of love and his friendship. In an article written by R.K. Sanahal, it is mentioned that during this time Lord Vishnu was worshipped in the land of Pong and the religion of the land was "Phuralung" which means literally worship of God which is installed in aphura (temple). King Kiyamba installed the Vishnu Chakra in a temple at his palace at Vishnupur. It is said that present Vishnupur which is about 29 km. south west of Imphal, the capital city of Manipur was named after the Vishnu Chakra.
In the Sakabda 1619, king Charairongba ascended the throne of Manipur. During his reign one Brahmana called Banamali Raya, who belonged to Nimbarka Vaisnava Sampradaya, came to his palace. He initiated king Charairongba and gave him the name, Nilambara.
After king Charairongba, his son Pamheiba alias Garibniwaja ascended the throne of Manipur in the Sakabda 1630 on the 23rd day of Thawan month (August). He became an initiated disciple of Sri Gopaldas of Nimbarka vaisnava in the year 1639 Saka era. In 1644 Saka era, on the 5th lunar day of Kalen (May), he completed the construction of a temple of Sri Krishna. This king was a very great devotee and instructed all his subjects to be devotees of Lord Sri Krishna.
During the reign of Pamheiba, a well read scholar and spiritual leader named Shantidas, who belonged to Ramandi Dharma, came to Manipur. This Guru influenced king Pamheiba to be a devotee of Lord Rama. His influence was short lived. He was not very much connected with the long established faith of vaisnavism, the people of Manipur had been practising for many centuries.
The vaisnavism in Manipur reached its zenith during the time of king Chingthangkhomba popularly known as Rajarsi Bhagyachandra in the 18th century. He was the grandson of king Garibniwaja. He ascended the throne of Manipur in 1759 A.D. In 1762 the Burmese, acting in concert with his envious maternal uncle invaded Manipur, and king Bhagyachandra along with his queen and a few attendants fled to the neighbouring state of Ahom, now known as Assam. Having heard king Bhagyachandra's virtues, Rajeswara, the then king of Ahom was very pleased to receive him and arranged for Bhagyachandra to stay in thè vicinity of the royal palace.
Meanwhile, king Bhagyachandra's crafty uncle wrote a letter to the king of Ahom that the person taking refuge at his court was an imposter, not the great Bhagyachandra. The uncle
requested the king of Ahom to kill him (Bhagyachandra) for his treachery. The message seems to have influenced king Rajeswara. Though not entirely persuaded, he began treating Bhagyachandra with suspicion. The real Bhagyachandra was said to have supernatural power. So finally, on the advice of the senior ministers, king Rajeswara reluctantly devised a test: In a public arena, Bhagyachandra, unarmed, was to catch and tame a wild elephant.
Confronted with this humanly impossible task, king Bhagyachandra, completely surrendering to Lord Sri Govinda, prayed for His guidance. Lord Govinda appeared in his dream and advised him to enter the arena with a garland and a japa beads in his hands. Lord Sri Govinda assured him victory and he would be the sole king of Manipur. On regaining the kingdom he was instructed to install a Govinda deity, to be carved from a certain jack fruit tree growing on the slope of a bill, known as Kaina. On the following day, king Bhagyachandra entered the arena with a garland and a japa mala beads in his hands chanting the names of Lord Sri Govinda as directed in his dream. The elephant charged from a distance, but as it neared Bhagyachandra, it slowed down and knelt before him. The king then mounted the elephant and rode triumphantly through the cheering crowds. Thus, with the unlimited Divine blessings of Lord Sri Govindaji, king Bhagyachandra could get through the test of king Rajeswara.
Thoroughly convinced, king Rajeswara profusely apologised and offered his full assistance to king Bhagyachandra to win back his kingdom. Bhagyachandra returned to Manipur with the forces of king Rajeswara and regained the throne. After consolidating his position fully
as the king of Manipur, he arranged to install the deity of Sri Govindaji by bringing the jack fruit tree that was grown on the slope of Kaina hill. He described to the sculptors led by Sri Sapam Lokhon Singh how the vigraha of Lord Sri Govindaji should look, according to the vision he had seen, and advised them also to consult the descriptions given in Srimad Bhagavatam. With joyous festivities, the deity of Sri Govindaji was installed in 1776 on the fullmoon day of Karttika (Mera). King Bhagyachandra himself, his court, bis entire state - all were dedicated to Sri Govindaji.
Rajarsi Bhagyachandra was an ardent follower of Srila Narottama Das Thakura Mahasaya, an exponent of Gaudiya Vaisnavism. Sri Ganga Narayana Chakravarti one of the great disciples of Srila Narottama Das Thakura along with his disciples and followers namely Krishna Charan Chakravarti, Pujari Kunjabihari Thakur, Purohit Nidhirama Acharya and Rama Gopal Vairagya came to Manipur for spreading the essence of Vaisnavism and Bhagavata Culture. King Bhagyachandra was initiated by Sri Ganga Narayana Chakravarti. Since then the kings of Manipur had been initiated by the Royal priests and they influenced the kings greatly to dedicate their lives to the propagation of Bhagavata Culture. The kings were all devoted to Lord Sri Govindaji. It is really heartening to see that even today the deity of Sri Govindaji has been worshipped as the presiding deity in the temples of every village of Manipur valley. The people of Manipur had been initiated by the priestly brahmanas according to the guru parampara of Gaudiya vaisnava tradition following Srila Narottama Das Thakura. This practice is still continuing in all the vaisnava families of Manipur.
Towards the end of his life king Bhagyachandra wanted to spend his last days in Khetari, Murshidabad where Srila Narottama Das Thakura was born. Because of his attachment to Srila Narottama Das Thakura, his way of life and teachings, etc., king Bhagyachandra was sometimes called the incarnation of Srila Narottama Das Thakura.
After enthroning his eldest son, Labanyachandra, Bhagyachandra left Manipur in 1798 for Murshidabad. On his way to Khetari, Murshidabad he visited all the pilgrimage sites at Nabadwipa where Lord Gauranga played His pastimes. From there he proceeded to Murshidabad. He passed away on the Sukla tritiya of the month of Karttika 1799 A.D.
After Rajarsi Bhagyachandra, from 1798 A.D. to 1955 A.D., the following kings of Manipur viz., Labanyachandra, Modhuchandra, Chourajit, Marjit, Gambhirsingh, Narasingh, Debendra Singh, Chandrakirti, Surchandra, Kulachandra, Churachand and Budhachandra were great devotees of Lord Sri Govindaji and Srimati Rasheswari and they patronised the vaisnava culture in Manipur.
From the analytical view of the above points, regarding the vaisnava culture in Manipur, it is quite apparent that Manipur has been a land of vaisnavas since a very ancient time till the middle of the 20th century. From the fifties onward, there has been a tendency in the minds of the younger generations of Manipur of taking the strict vaisnava culture lightly. As a matter of fact, during the late seventies there was a great disturbance caused by a group of revivalists in the practice of vaisnava culture in Manipur. People were fearful and their minds were in great anxiety. Even deities of many temples in the state were stolen and thrown away. It seems that the vaisnava culture in Manipur was immensely endangered and the symptoms of the age of Kali became manifest. This might be partly due to the influence of the western civilization and education. Srila Prabhupada repeatedly mentioned the importance of the revitalisation of the vaisnava spirit in Manipur to his beloved disciple Srila Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami Sripada Maharaja from Manipur in the words:

"Now, make Manipur a very enlightened vaisnava state. I have got a very good respect for Manipur because Arjuna's son Babhruvahana was there. So you make Manipur an ideal state. I want to go only for this reason, that you take it very seriously. Make it a centre of scientific vaisnava culture. "
Srila Prabhupada, Conversation-Extra

At this critical juncture, Sripada Maharaja, with the kind help of many dedicated vaisnavas of Manipur established the ISKCON Manipur centre at Imphal on December 25, 1977 just after the departure of Srila Prabhupada. The coming of ISKCON to Manipur was profusely appreciated by all the vaisnavas of Manipur. They see a new hope and they are greatly relieved. All of them feel that this is due to the arrangement of Sri Govindaji. By the blessings of Srila Prabhupada, ISKCON Manipur is contributing significantly in preserving and strengthening the Gaudiya Vaisnava culture in Manipur today.
Manipur can be rightly called the Vrindavana of the East. By the mercy of Lord Sri Govindaji, this land is made favourable for the practice of Bhagavata culture. As a matter of fact, Sri Govindaji has been the presiding Deity of the state of Manipur since the time of Rajarsi Bhagyachandra i.e. from 1759 A.D. Devotion to Lord Sri Govindaji is the life and soul of every member of the vaisnava family of Manipur for centuries. Therefore, the information on the worship of Sri Govindaji (Nitya seva puja) may be of great interest to the vaisnavas of the world.

TOPOGRAPHY: ITS UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS

It will be worthwhile to depict some of the unique characteristics of Manipur including its topography, which may be of great help to study the Manipuri vaisnava culture. A slight attempt to investigate into the hidden background of the exceptional and unique characteristics of Manipur in respect of its natural beauty of the landscape, climatic conditions, including naturally air-conditioned weather, fauna and flora of rich vegetation including various seasonal flowers and fruits, rare species of wild life and typical spiritual outlook of the Manipuri vaisnavas (being taken together) would make one feel that Manipur is a land of Superb Divine gift of Nature. Manipur, assuming a geographical oval shape of a lotus of budding stage has a longer length extending from South to North and a shorter breadth extending from East to West.
Manipur valley is just like the whorl of the lotus flower with ranges of hills around the whorl in the form of petals. This encircling of the valley by the rows of hills is likened to a mother embracing her beloved baby on the lap. One astonishing beauty of Manipur Valley is that an observer, from any place of the valley, finds himself being encircled by hills. A tourist may not rely on this comment until he experiences it personally. When he pays actual physical visits at different spots he can see the reality of it.
Manipur is not only charming but also abounds in very rare species of wildlife, fauna and flora of rich vegetation A special land lily called Siroy lily grows on the Siroy Hill of Ukhrul district of Manipur at an altitude of about 6000 ft. This is the only variety of its kind available on this earth. By nature, lilies are water plants. It is very unusual to find a lily plant growing on the bill possessing all the characteristics of a lily flower. It is a wonderful gift of nature. In addition to Siroy lily, there is also a peculiar type of lotus popularly known as Uthambal (a lotus blooming on the branches of a tree) having its penetrating sweet smell, quite different from Magnolia.
A rare kind of deer called Sangai makes its habitat in the floating soil over water of Loktak lake, Manipur. The feet of the deer bear a number of projections just that of maize corn plant, having projections at the foot of the plant to support its stand. Those projections enable the deer to move steadily up and down on the floating soil. There is a kind of floating soil covering a large portion of "Loktak" moving steadily up and down as if it dances along with the waves of the water of the lake, where this typical deer dances joyfully here and there on the floating soil. This is situated near Keibul Lamjao of Thanga area of Manipur, which has been recognized as the only floating park in the world.

SEASONS:

Manipur is a land adorned by six seasons corning in succession throughout the year. The seasons came in such a very orderly manner that one season appears waiting to replace the other one after another. Many varieties of flowers, orchids, lotuses, lilies and many others decorate the different seasons as if the whole of Manipur is changing its dress. The duration of each season is of two months:-

Olangtha:
Summer Season (April and May)
Napungtha:
Leafy Season (August and September)
Ningthamtha:
Winter Season (December and January)
Nongjutha:
Rainy Season (June and July)
Louroktha:
Autumn Season (October & November)
Yeningtha:
Spring Season (February and March

Thus Manipur enjoys the infinite bliss of nature signifying a distinctive feature of climate. The charming flowers and excellent seasonal fruits of varied qualities are offered to Sri Govindaji, the presiding deity of Manipur. Many visiting tourists make passing comments taking Manipur as "a litle paradise on earth" being neither too hot nor too cold and naturally air conditioned.

TRADITIONAL SEVA PUJA OF SRI GOVINDAJI:

La, the plantain leaf is an essential item in the seva puja. The preparation must be colourful and arrangement be both attractive and artistic. Many devotional and decorative items are made from the fresh plantain leaves. When there is an offering of fruits and flowers with love and devotion to Lord Sri Govindaji, it is customary to offer it on a Tangga made of fresh plantain leaf, which serves the purpose of a plate, cut in a circular form. A large sheet of plantain leaf is cut in an elliptical form and over it, placed an additional circular sheet of plantain leaf known as Lakhang. The rice bhoga to he offered to Lord Sri Govinda is placed over it. The rice bhoga is, first put in a Luknam shel (bowl-shaped metal cup) and is compressed to make into the form of the Luknam shel and thereafter it is transferred to the middle portion of the lakhang. The other items associated with the rice bhoga are placed in the donas (banana leaf cups). The donas filled with varieties of preparations are placed around the rice bhoga. The spiritual significance of cutting the leaf in a circular or elliptical shape is that there is no beginning and end to the offering of devotional service to Lord Sri Govinda. The use of plantain leaf for offering Bhoga to Sri Govindaji gives a feeling of indescribable serenity and cleanliness in the hearts of the vaisnavas and they pray that the Lord will mercifully accept their humble offerings.

CHANGE OF VESA (DRESS) OF LORD SRI GOVINDAJI:

It is customary for Sri Govindaji Vigraha to bave a change of Vesa (dress) in three different colours in a month.

1. White vesa on the full moon day
2. Red vesa on the two ekadasi days
3. Black vesa on the new moon day

Sri Govindaji is dressed in the usual Natavara vesa for the remaining days of the month. In the two months of Spring (Feb. and March) Sri Govindaji is dressed in yellow colour excepting full moon days, Ekadasi and new moon days.
Three colours of the Vesa mentioned above have their specific significance. The white Vesa stands for erasing the image of material contamination from the minds of the devotees. If the devotees happen to have the darshana of Sri Govindaji in white dress, it is believed that it will enable them to transcend the mire of delusion. The darshana of Sri Govindaji in red vesa gives an untiring energy for serving Lord Sri Govindaji. The darshana of Sri Govindaji in black vesa reminds devotees of the difficult journey of life in the boundless ocean of samsara without knowing the goal of life.
Further, the three colours of vesa are meant indirectly for representing the three modes of nature namely goodness, passion and ignorance which are said to have been created out of Sri Krishna's eternal potency, Mahamaya. Although created by the Lord Himself, He is not controlied by the three gunas. Just to give a light on the meaning of the three gunas to the devotees, it is believed, Sri Govindaji has been dressed in the particular colours on the specified days.

POLO— KSHATRIYA GAME OF MANIPUR:

The Manipuri Polo may be cited as one of the glaring examples for showing the degree of intensity for Krishna Consciousness by the Ksatriyas of Manipur. The origin of well-known world famous Polo is from Manipur. The game is played between the two teams. While coming out of the playing field after the game is over the two teams will rejoice by shouting "Victory is Sri Govindaji" completely disregarding the fact that they are winners or the losers. This shows that the result of the game either success or failure is always offered to Lord Sri Govindaji without a little sense of owning it by both teams. Their play is simply to please Sri Govindaji. The same is the case with martial arts. In the games of wrestling before the actual start of the match, the two contesting wrestlers will come out with a devotional feeling in the heart praying to Sri Govindaji with folded hands and bow down their heads to offer obeisances to the respective gurus.

MONTHWISE SEVA PUJA OF SRI GOVINDAJI TEMPLE:

There are special festivals being observed in each month, apart from offering daily Puja seva to Lord Sri Govindaji.

SHAJIBU (April):

On the day of Cheiraoba, the new year day of Manipuri people, in April a grand feast (Mahotsava) is offerred to Sri Govindaji. This day is very important for the vaisnavas because on this day the Brahma-Sabha (committee of Brahmanas) nominates a vaisnava who voluntarily accepts the threefold miseries of the material existence on behalf of the people of Manipur where Sri Govinda is worshipped as the presiding deity and his service lasts for one year. Such a person is known as "Cheithaba" (announcer of the coming year by raising a stick). This Cheithaba is considered to be very devoted to Sri Govindaji.
On the full moon night of Shajibu (April), the Vasanta Rasa is offered to the lotus feet of Sri Govindaji. After performing sandhya arati seva puja, Sri Sri Radha Govindaji Vigrahas will be brought to the Rasamandala hall from the temple altar wearing all the beautifully prepared dresses of the Rasalila. The Rasalila will be preceded by an invocation performed by a group of male singers (Nupa Pala) in the form of sankirtana. As soon as the sankirtana is over, the Vasanta Rasa dance begins with the Gopis after the style and form offered to Lord Sri Krishna in the Vrajadhama.

KALEN (May):

On the very auspicious Akshaya tritiya, the third day of the bright fortnight of the month of Kalen (May), Sri Govindaji abhisekam is performed in the name of Chandana yatra. On the fullmoon day of Kalen, the Jalakeli, the water sporting pastimes of Sri Sri Radha Govindaji, is performed as was introduced in Manipur by king Narasingh Maharaja. For the observance of this festival, Sri Govindaji will be decorated with Chura and bangles made out of flowers. Sri Sri Radha Govindaji Vigrahas will be placed in the centrally located Simhasana (platform) in the centre of the Mandapa. The platform is fixed on a wheel which can rotate clockwise or anticlockwise. Sri Sri Radha Govindaji Vigrahas will appear as if They play in the shower of water standing face to face with all the dresses of Sri Sri Radha Govindaji being completely wet. After this, the Brahmanas will change the dresses of Sri Sri Radha Govindaji. Thereafter, arati will be offered to Their Lordships before being taken inside the temple. After that, Sri Sri Radha Govinda Vigrahas will be taken back inside the temple by using specially designed palanquins to be lifted by the vaisnavas.

INGA (June):

On the day of full moon of the month of Inga (June), the Vigrahas of Sri Sri Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra are taken out in the Prangal (verandah) of the Mandir. The brahmanas and pujaris of the temple will perform seva puja and snana of the Vigrahas. The day is called snana yatra day. Countless number of vaisnavas will attend the snana yatra festival and have darshana of Sri Sri Radha Govindaji.

INGEL (July):

On the second day of the bright fortnight of Ingel (July) Sri Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra will move out in a Ratha specially designed for the Ratha yatra festival. Before the Vigrahas are taken out of the temple, They will be properly decorated with beautiful garments. After that, the pujari will offer arati to the Vigrahas. Then the three Vigrahas will be shifted from the temple to the Ratha by using three well designed palanquins, to be carried by the selected pujaris and devotees involving the Gvala arati. Many sankirtana palas of Sri Govindaji will come in procession for offering devotional service while shifting the deities from the temple to the Ratha, kept ready for being pulled by the vaisnavas on the main road of the Govindaji palace complex. Seven groups (dals) of sankirtana palas will perform sankirtana during the Ratha yatra procession.
While taking the Vigrahas of Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra from the palanquins to the rotating Simhasana fixed on the wheel on the Ratha, the ceremony is accompanied by a musical band party followed by the sankirtana palas. Immediately after installation of the Vigrahas on the platform fixed on the Ratha, arati is being offered. The bhaktas and vaisnavas will start pulling the Ratha with band party in the front, followed by sankirtana palas, singing devotional songs and Harinama mahamantra. All the participants who come for darshana of the Ratha Yatra will chant loudly, in the same voice "Jaya Jagannatha, jaya Balabhadra and Jaya Subhadra" as they pull the Ratha by holding the ropes tied to the Ratha. All the fruits, flowers, etc., brought by the bhaktas and vaisnavas are put together in front of the Ratha displaying properly. Then arati puja is offered. After reaching the main gate of the palace complex, the Ratha will be pulled back along with the usual devotional services being offered. The platform on which the Vigrahas are placed will have a complete turn to face towards the returning direction. The band party followed by sankirtana palas will be in procession in front of the Lord. The Vigrahas will be taken back to the premises of the temple by using the palanquins used earlier. Thereafter an arati puja is offered and the Vigrahas are taken inside the temple on the simhasana and then arati puja is offered again.
A simple participation of the Ratha Yatra at the Govindaji's temple complex cannot give complete satisfaction to the vaisnavas. On going back to their homes they take part again in the Ratha Yatra festival performed in every locality or Leikai where the Vigrahas of Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra are worshipped in the temples. Therefore, in Manipur the Ratha Yatra festival is observed in all the villages of the valley area of Manipur numbering more than 5000.
In the evening after the Sandhya arati, the devotional singers of the temple will sing the song composed by poet Jayadeva in a sweet rhythmic sound describing the ten avataras of Lord Sri Krishna. This singing with dancing joyfully is called by the Manipuri vaisnavas "Jayadeva Chongba". The singing accompanied by dancing is unique that not only the elderly vaisnavas but also the young boys and girls alike take part in the singing and dancing of Jayadeva Chongba. On the ninth day, there will be observance of Punar yatra festival involving pulling of the Ratha as was done on the first day of the Ratha Yatra. Then on the day of dwadasi of Ingel, Hari Sayana is observed, after which Lord Jagannatha is believed to have taken a complete rest for a considerable period of time till the day of Hari Utthana.

THAWAN (August):

Beginning from the third day of the bright fortnight of the month of Thawan till the fullmoon day, the Jhulan Yatra is observed. During this period, many devotional services are offered to the Lord by having the sankirtana Nupapalas of two groups in succession without fail. A group of twentyfive male singers will perform sankirtana being offered to the Lord. Immediately after the Gvala arati, the Vigrahas of Sri Sri Radha Govinda will appear on the swing, specially prepared and decorated for the festival. After having Sri Sri Radha Govinda well decorated with beautiful dresses and ornaments, the brahmanas and pujaris offer arati puja. Such a devotional service will be continued till the end of the Jhulan festival. Countless number of bhaktas and vaisnavas will come to have the darshana of Sri Sri Radha Govindaji to their fullest satisfaction. All the fruits and flowers brought for offering to Sri Govindaji while corning for darshana will be displayed nicely on the plates kept on the floor properly cleansed in front of the swing. The idea behind the observance of full thirteen days Jhulan festival in the premises of Sri Govindaji temple is that Manipuri vaisnavas while celebrating it, remeber the pastimes of Sri Sri Radha Krishna on a swing hearing the scorching heat of the sun along with gopis and sakhis as the swing moves to and fro in the direction of the steadily moving breeze over of the Kunjas and Vanas (gardens) of creepers in Radhakunda and Vrindavana dhama.
On the eight day following the fullmoon the Janmastami festival is observed in memory of the advent of Lord Krishna on the earth as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki to protect the bhaktas, vaisnavas from the hands of the miscreants. On this occasion, several groups of female
On the first day of this month, the Manipuri vaisnavas worship the Govardhana hill by installing a model of Govardhana, made out of cowdung. The observance is meant for recalling of the performance of Govardhana puja by Lord Sri Krishna along with the elderly members, the gopas and gopis of Vrindavana Dhama instead of worshipping Indradeva, the king of heaven. On this day, the vaisnavas and vaisnavis of Manipur will bring their earliest yearly produce for offering to Lord Sri Govindaji. All the visiting vaisnavas and vaisnavis coming for darshana are served with Govindaji prasadam.
Starting from the fourth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Hiyangei (November) there will be some special changes of Vesa (dress) of Sri Sri Radha Govinda Vigrahas over and above the normal changes of Vesa as outlined earlier. The changes in the vesa day wise during the fortnight are briefly summarized as below :
Day Nature of dress Day Nature of dress
Caturthi - mala vesa Ekadasi - Raj vesa
Panchami - Napetali vesa Dwadasi:
Sasthi - Yogi vesa (Sri Govinda) - Dwari vesa
Saptami - Nauka Dharan vesa (Sri Radha) - Rairaj vesa
Astami - Natavara vesa Trayodashi - Malini vesa
Navami - Shyama vesa Caturdashi - Payjama vesa
Dasami - Subala vesa Purnima - Natavara vesa

At night, on the day of Hiyangei Purnima (full moon night of November) Rasa lila is offered to Sri Sri Radha Govindaji in the Rasamandal. This rasalila is taken by the Manipuri vaisnavas as the most sacred since it has been offered to the Lord in commemoration of the Rasa Lila elucidated in the Srimad Bhagavatam's 10th Canto Chapter 29 Verse 1. On the day of Gopastami (Gosthastami) the pastime of herding the cattle by the gopas of Vrindavana, along with Sri Rama Krishna are reproduced every year in the temple complex of Sri Govindaji in the form of Sansenba Lila. The selected small children of vaisnavas of Manipur play the role of the gopas in the Lila. The Vigrahas of Sri Krishna and Sri Balarama are taken out from the Mandir to the playfield of the Sansenba Lila to witness it.
On the Sukla dwadasi day of Hiyangei (the 12th day of Hiyangei), the festival of Hari Utthana is observed annually in the Sri Govindaji temple. This festival is meant for reminding vaisnavas of the fact that Lord Sri Govindaji has got up from His long rest that was started from the day of the Sukla dwadasi of Ingel (July). Among the Manipuri vaisnavas there has been a long standing belief that Lord Sri Govinda has awaken from His deep slumber on the Sukla dwadasi of Hiyangei. Lord Sri Govinda will come out to give His unlimited blessings to the devotees. This is done by organising small Ratha festival of Hari Utthana. The background of this festival is that the vaisnavas of Manipur were very much impatient to have the darshana of Gopaldeva since (it was felt) they could not have it during the past four months. They could not bear this long separation and they stole the Vigraha of Gopaldeva from the nearby local Mandir one day prior to the day of Hari Utthana. The following day Gopaldeva was brought back to the Mandir in a small Ratha to the Mandir from where the Vigraha was stolen the previous night. This pulling of the small Ratha wherein Gopaldeva is graced on the small simhasana is called Hari Utthana Kang Chingba. The vaisnavas will offer fruits and flowers to the Gopaldeva in the Ratha with sankirtana chanting "Bola Jaya Radhe, Radhe Govinda" “Chant, Glory to Radharani, Glory of Radhe Govinda”.
On this day in the Govindaji temple, many groups of male singers perform sankirtana in front of the Vigrahas of Sri Sri Radha Govinda taken out from the mandir to the Mandapa. The Nupapala sankirtana is followed by the female singers, known as Rasheswari pala. Thereafter, the arati puja is offered before the Vigrahas are taken back to the Mandir.

POINU (December):

In the month of Poinu (December) there are no special festivals of Sri Govindaji except that of regular astakala seva puja.

WAKCHING (January):

In the month of Wakching (January) Tila Sankranti is observed indicating the approach of Uttarayana (the day when the sun crosses the Tropic of Capricorn and starts entering a space of a tila (sesame) towards the equator). On this day tila is offered to Lord Govindaji and it is taken as prasadam in every vaisnava family. There is a belief among the vaisnavas that if anyone who has not taken this tila prasadam on this day he is sure to take the form of an animal like dog instead of receiving human body in the next birth.

PHAIREL (February):

On the 5th day of Phairel a festival known as Phairel Panchami is observed to mark the beginning of spring season. From this day onwards, Sri Govindaji will be dressed in yellow colour including the crown (Kokthol) till the end of Lamda (March). On this day the spring fruits and flowers namely the mango blossom, the mustard plant flowers which are perfectly yellow in colour and the pea plant flowers are offered along with sankirtana.

LAMDA (March):

The Holi festival which is taken to be the most popular religious festival is observed annually from the Sukla Ekadasi day of Lamda (March) for full five days. During this period innumerable number of Holi palas including that of women will come to Sri Govindaji's temple for Holiseva, specially on the second day of the festival that is called Peshakari, the spraying of colours among the devotees in a very ecstatic and joyful manner. This Holi festival is known in Manipuri language as Yaoshang.
In the beginning, the Holiseva to Sri Govindaji was performed by the Holiseva dals from the four panas (divisions) of Manipur namely Khurai, Wangkhei, Khwai, Yaiskul.
Due to the presence of the waisnavas groups of Holiseva dals from various parts of Manipur for offering Holiseva, the palas to Lord Sri Govindaji Holiseva could not be restritcted to the above mentioned four panas and as such the restriction was lifted and by now any Holiseva dal could offer Holiseva to Sri Govindaji. Further, in order to accommodate the offering of all devotees, the Holiseva was started from the Sukla astami day instead of from the Ekadasi day. This was made effective from the year 1982 by a joint decision of the devotees.
On the day of Halankar (on the fifth day after the purnima) all the Holi dals from Manipur gather in the premises of Sri Govindaji and from there starts a long procession of the Holi dals led by band party from Sri Govindaji temple towards Sri Vijaya Govindaji to perform the final Holiseva of the festival.

TRADITIONALLY ACCEPTED NORMS OF VAISNAVA CULTURE.
A brief description of thè daily life of Manipuri vaisnava:

At Brahma muhurta (early dawn) on getting up from sleep, the vaisnava before getting down from the bed, will touch the mother earth first with the right hand and again touch the forehead with the same hand three times and get down with the right foot first chanting 'Hare Krishna.' The philosophy behind this is that everybody is to treat the earth as his/her real mother in the sense that mother earth gives ample food grains and vegetable for the sustenance of all living beings on her lap, just like the mother feeds her baby with her breast milk.
Even a child of tender age is being guided to form a habit by following into what their parents do. Then the vaisnava while coming out of the house will offer obeisances to the Tulasi plant growing in the courtyard. The children of the vaisnava family are given the understanding that the Tulasi plant is very dear to Lord Sri Krishna and thus one should beg for blessings from Tulasi plant.
The first duty of a housewife in the early morning after fìnishing Pratar Kriya (morning duties for cleansing the body) is to keep the Tulasi area clean by sweeping and smearing of it with water along with cowdung. Thereafter the Tulasi plant will be worshipped by offering incense, light, and flower and pouring water and applying the mud from the foot of the Tulasi plant on the forehead. The elderly members of the family while coming out of their houses to perform their day-to-day earning activities will move out remembering Lord Sri Krishna. This is a continued process in the daily routine activities of all Manipuri vaisnavas.
Offering of anything to Lord Sri Krishna is made by a vaisnava in a state of sanctity after taking bath, by having tilaka on the forehead and wearing clothes properly washed and dried. The prepared food is always taken as Mahaprasadam after being offered to Lord Krishna. If it is not offered to the Lord, the vaisnava will not take it. The underlying meaning of this practice is that Lord Sri Krishna is supremely merciful and His pleasure is most important to the individual devotee.
The vaisnava, after taking bath either in a pond or river, should wear a clean and washed cloth. Then he will pour sacred water collected from the pond or river over the Tulasi plant and will collect a few drops of water drifting from the leaves of the Tulasi plant with the right hand. Then he sips a few drops of water thus collected and after sipping the water he will use the ring finger of the right hand to press on the wet soil at the foot of the Tulasi plant and then applies on the forehead to make a mark of Chandana in between the two eyebrows. The vaisnava will put a Tulasi leaf in the water pot and using the very water, a paste of Chandana is being made along with a piece of earth taken from the foot of the Tulasi plant on the palm of the left hand. With the paste of Chandana, a mark of Tilaka is put on the forehead first and then, to the twelve specified parts of the body. He will offer flowers and fruits or even water to Lord Sri Govinda by chanting some of the prayer slokas in front of the small murtis or pictures usually kept inside the Chandana box. After the puja is over, he will offer the cooked items to Lord Sri Govinda and prasadam will be given to the members of the family.
In the evening after the Sandhya prayer, the members of the vaisnava family will offer obeisances to the Tulasi plant and then enter the house. Even after returning home late at night from a far place, the vaisnava will never forget offering of obeisance to the Tulasi plant before entering the house. He will never violate the principle of honouring the Tulasi plant.
When the vaisnava hears any emotional burst of someone's anger or unsocial behaviour, he will spontaneously utter words such as- Visnu ! Visnu ! Krishna ! Krishna! He will not make any comments. He will just submit to the Lord for His kind judgement. On the other hand when he sees another vaisnava in diffìculty, he will utter, "He Radhika" to console him praying to Srimati Radhika to shower Her mercy upon the vaisnava.
The tilaka mark on the forehead is so important to a Manipuri vaisnava that no one moves out of the house without a Chandana (tilaka) mark on the forehead after taking bath. It is also customary that every vaisnava should first take bath and move out of the house to attend to one's day-to-day business. If there is no tilaka mark on the forehead, no adults including small children will not like to attend any religious ceremonies like marriage, shraddha and other pujas, etc. This shows that Krishna conscious people consider a very high spiritual value attached to the tilaka mark on the forehead.

VAISNAVA BIRTH CEREMONY:

The moment a child is born, the first sound the child is to receive is the transcendental sound of Hare Krishna Maha Mantra given by the father of the child or the male head of the family, or by a brahmana through the ears of the child. The purpose of this is to pray to Lord Sri Krishna to make the child Krishna conscious right from the moment of birth.
On the sixth day of the birth of a child a Puja is offered to Sri Krishna with fruits, flowers and other items seeking blessings from Lord Sri Krishna for the well being of the child. This is known as Swasthi Puja. The elderly persons who are well wishers of the parents of the child are invited to offer blessings to the child.
When the child is six months old a ceremony called Chaumba is performed on a very auspicious day. A puja will be offered to Lord Sri Krishna under the guidance of an experienced brahmana. After the puja, the baby will be given solid food for the first time in the form of Krishna prasadam. Thus from childhood, he/she is introduced to vaisnava culture.
It is customary on the part of the vaisnava family to observe annual disappearance day utsava of their forefathers accompanied by devotional sankirtana and many other formal offerings to Lord Sri Krishna inviting brahmanas, friends and relatives. Performance of such devotional activities are very important.
Among the Manipuri vaisnavas there is a common belief that the hair of the child that has been growing right from the mother's womb is preserved till the completion of four or five years. After that an auspicious day is selected for shaving the hairs. On the day, a religious prayer is offered to Lord Sri Krishna begging His unlimited blessings upon the child for a happy, long and healthy life.
There has been a long standing traditional belief among the vaisnavas that there are marks of impression in each ear of the child called Nahutpham (a place meant for making a hole in it). The holes are made on the marks of impression of the ears. An auspicious day is selected for nahutpa (piercing of ears) utsava accompanied by sankirtana and fire sacrifìce.
The Manipuri vaisnavas strictly follow the vaisnava Dharma as enshrined in the Vedas. When a child is around eleven or twelve years old he is given initiation in a ceremony under a spiritual master which is called Nagun Thangba, wearing of sacred thread. The initiation gives an idea of the second birth of the child since he has become the child of the guru, having received the spiritual knowledge. It has been a belief among the vaisnavas that life without initiation under a bonafide guru is just like someone trying to cross the vast ocean of Samsara without a destination to reach. If the boy or girl could not have initiation at the age of 12/13 years, it is compulsory that he/she should get initiation, before entering a married life, from a qualified Guru following the Guru Parampara System.

VAISNAVA DEATH CEREMONY:

When a patient is seriously ill and no hope for survival is seen, a brahmano, is called to recite Bhagavatam along with the Harinama Sankirtana so that the patient may get the opportunity of listening to the pastimes of Lord Sri Krishna and the chanting of Harinama Mahamantra. At the time of death, having taken out of the bed, the dying patient is placed on the South east corner of the court yard, called "Khangembam", in a small thatched house erected temporarily called Shang that will be burnt along with the dead body. After having been given the idea of the journey towards his destination by the vaidya (physician), the atma of the patient will take leave of the gross body. By this time the devotional singers will continue singing Harinama.
After completion of the preparation of theè fumeral pyre meant for performing Yajna of chita, the dead body is placed inside a coffin made of wood plank being covered with a white cloth along with a Namabali immediately above the head of the dead body.
Thereafter, four persons of his/her close relatives preferably the sons or brothers will carry the coffin to the funeral ground. The Harinama sankirtana party will lead the funeral march. On reaching the funeral ground the dead body is given bath, then dwadasa tilaka is applied. Thereafter, the four carriers circumbulate the pyre once or thrice carrying the dead body. After this the body is kept on the pyre in such a manner that the other end of the coffin is to reach the other end of the chita at three intervals. The body is covered with the big logs of firewood after removing the covering clothes.
After offering puja to the firegod, the next kin of the deceased will carry a pot of water on his shoulder and holding a piece of burning wood in his right hand will go round the funeral pyre five or seven times followed by his relatives and near and dear ones. While going around the pyre the carrier of the pot will pour out some water from the pot backwards at the four corners of the funeral pyre for every round. After this the next kin of the deceased will put the burning wood below the coffin and others will follow it. He will first fan the funeral pyre with "Yangkok. "
After returning from the cremation ground all the persons involving in the cremation process will take bath and they will be received with fire outside the gate before entering the house. A water pot with tulasi leaf will be kept in the courtyard. After given reception with fire, they will use a few drops of Tulasi water for sipping and sprinkling over the head and the body. The returning journey from the cremation ground to the house is called "Mangarakpa" in Manipuri.
Before the body gets reduced completely to ashes a small piece of bone will be taken from the forehead which will be kept somewhere in a safe place inside the hole of a small bamboo piece or small bottle. For those persons who have taken the renounced order of life, on the sixth day after the cremation, the small piece of bone kept will be collected after being purified with Vedic mantra. The piece of bone thus collected is known as "Chintamani". This process is called Asthi Sanchaya, which involves the cleaning of a part of the cremation ground. The person who is to take the Chintamani will take bath and sit beside the brahmana who will recite vedic mantra to purify the Chintamani by using Panchagavya (cow-dung, cow-urine, cow-milk, yogurt and clarified butter) and then finally dipped in thè Gangajala (Ganges water), Ratnodaka (Diamond /gold dipped water), Gandhodaka (water mixed with chandana), Puspodaka (flower dipped water) and Kevalajala (plain water) contained in the donas (cups made of banana leaf). After the purification process, Chintamani is wrapped in a cloth preferably silk tightly. The ends of the cloth are tied up and then placed around the neck of a person who is supposed to carry the Chintamani. During the purification process, there will be kirtana to fill up the surrounding with spiritual vibration. While coming along with the Chintamani someone will use an umbrella to keep the person carrying the Chintamani covered from the sun.
During the period of the observance of Ashthi sanchaya all the participants will come wearing clean clothes, white for the male and light orange (Pungou phanek) for the female and participate in making prayer to Lord Krishna for the departed soul. The person carrying the Chintamani, on reaching the residence will move round the Srimad Bhagavatam placed in the courtyard specially cleaned and decorated under a roof in a clockwise and prostrate before the Srimad Bhagavatam and singers. Then he offers obeisances to the assembled vaisnavas and vaisnavis. This process comes to an end after offering arati to Srimad Bhagavatam.
Shraddha ceremony is observed on the fourteenth day of the disappearance of the person. On this occasion the Hari sankirtana seva is performed along with the dakshina seva to all the assembled devotees and invitees.
After the shraddha ceremony, on completion of one full month from the disappearance day, an utsava is offered to please Lord Govindaji. This is done for every month. After the completion of one year, a big Mahotsava is performed along with Hari sankirtana. This is known as "Phiroi". Brahmanas, vaisnavas, relatives and friends are invited on this occasion.
The above mentioned discussion on the line of the traditionally accepted features of the vaisanava culture in Manipur refers to the analysis of the vaisnavism in a nutshell, which was strictly followed by the vaisnavas of Manipur before the coming of the western influence in the daily life of the Manipuris. With the coming of the western system of education, the agelong vaisnava tradition of Manipur has been seriously affected specially to the younger generation of today's Manipur. However, there are devout vaisnavas who are strictly following the vaisnava principles.