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Abstract This research brings to light a paradoxical phenomenon of mummification and veneration of “whole-body relic” of the ascetic whose remains are enshrined in a vṛndāvana . The term vṛndāvana is normally attributed to the garden where Krsna and the gopis danced in eternal bliss. However, the relic of the ascetic head of a sectarian monastery is termed as vṛndāvana as well. There are numerous relic memorials in the sectarian Vedānta Vaisnava Dvaita monastery and its branches, where it is worshipped particularly in the state of Karnataka. This paper is an investigation into the rationale for the naming of the whole-body relic memorial as vṛndāvana . Such an attribution in term to a memorial and icon of an ascetic head and a transformation of its meaning is a conundrum. I argue that the rationale for such an adoption lies in the geographical, mythological, metaphysical, and philosophical connections between Krsna’s vṛndāvana and that of the ascetic. The sources that I have used in order to comprehend the traditional concepts and historical context include ancient Pūraṇas , archeological and artistic evidence, bhakti poetry, and discussions with living ascetics. This multidisciplinary exploration reveals the inventive genius of Dvaita monasteries and the sacred interchangeable concept-status and sacredness, dead and living between the ascetic and God.
Nalini Rao (Tue,) studied this question.