Skip to main content
Loving Devotion: Visions of Vishnu

Domestic Shrine

Thumbnailshrine-258x300.jpeg
Thumbnailshrine-258x300.jpeg

Domestic Shrine
Bengal, India, 18th-19th century
Bronze
Collection of the Newark Museum. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Richard J. Nalin, 1988 88.481

This impressive bronze shrine was once the focal point of worship in a household. Its intricate floral imagery indicates that it was intended for a devotee of Krishna. Images of Krishna and Radha would have been placed within, to which prayers would be offered, mantras recited and food, flowers and other auspicious offerings bestowed throughout the course of the day. Such puja continually turns the mind and, ideally, the soul, of the devotee towards the divine and away from the world, acknowledging God as the source of all blessings and prosperity.

While the worship of the image is fundamental to focus the eye and mind in bhakti, the ultimate goal is to venerate and experience a vision of the divine where the worshipper is no longer separate from God but one in substance and element with the Absolute or Infinite. Bhakti promises that through developing a strong, personal connection with the divine, true rasa, an individual can realize this most profound form of darshan.

Becoming One with God—BYU Museum of Art "Loving Devotion"

All photographs and videos have been provided by Entrepid Productions with support from Andrew Hair, Daniel King, and Garth Pratt.