On October 8, 2006, a fire sacrifice and ceremony was held at the famous Kaliya-ghata, the holy place in Vrndavana where Lord Sri Krsna danced on the many hoods of the serpent Kaliya. This ceremony was held to signify the commencement of the restoration process of this sacred ghata and many others. The following news channels were present during the commencement ceremony:
The following transcription is a translation from the Hindi interview that took place at Gopinatha Bhavan:]
[Interviewer:] Can you please explain something about the program that was organized here at Kaliya-ghata today? Also, what are your plans for the future in this regard?
[Srila Narayana Maharaja:] We have been restoring the kundas, ghatas and forests of Vraja for the past several years. In order to do this, we have formed the Kunda Restoration Group. In this regard we arranged for the cleaning of Brahma-kunda in Govardhana. We installed water purification tanks in Radha-kunda, and the water there became clean as well. We also installed the water purification tank in Govinda-kunda in Jatipura, and its water also became clean. We have also done some work in Manasi-ganga.
In Bhandirvana, all the trees had died. We therefore planted many trees and made arrangement to preserve them. Visakha-kunda was going toward extinction. We renovated the ghata of that kunda and re-installed five feet of water. Nearby, where Krsna used to graze the cows amongst the Kadamba trees, we planted a great number of trees as well.
We are planning to make three kundas at Kaliya-ghata, and we will represent Sri Krsna playing His flute on the statue of the kaliya serpent in the middle kunda. By observing this spectacle, pilgrims will see that Sri Krsna punished Kaliya there.
[Interviewer:] What do you think about the local government and central government not doing anything about this?
[Srila Narayana Maharaja:] I understand that the central government is not actively assisting. Millions of people come to take darsana of Vraja, by which the government obtains so much money, but still they refuse to acknowledge the importance of these kundas and ghatas.
We thought we should restore all the pastime places, and the water of Yamuna should also become clean and pure. We are in the process of planting trees in Seva-kunja, because most of the plants there have died. That is where Sri Krsna performed His maha Rasa-lila, and we want to restore this holy place as well.
Many fortunate persons will assist us in these projects.
Report and interview submitted by: Uddhava dasa
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