Sacred Vigrahas: Iconography, Ritual Practices, Living Heritage and Conservation Challenges at the Sri Sri Madan Gopal Temple, Birahi, Nadia (West Bengal)

Shuvra Debnath Shuva; Rajiv Mandal

doi:10.63363/aijfr.2026.v07i02.4951

Sacred Vigrahas: Iconography, Ritual Practices, Living Heritage and Conservation Challenges at the Sri Sri Madan Gopal Temple, Birahi, Nadia (West Bengal)

Author(s)	Mr. Shuvra Debnath Shuva, Dr. Rajiv Mandal
Country	India
Abstract	The Sri Madan Gopal Temple at Birahi in Nadia district represents a significant yet understudied centre of Gaudiya Vaishnava heritage. Situated within the broader cultural landscape shaped by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and later patronised by Raja Krishnachandra Roy, the temple embodies a layered synthesis of devotional theology, regional artistic traditions, and living ritual practices. This study foregrounds four interrelated dimensions: iconography, through an analysis of the wooden Vigrahas of Radha–Madan Gopal and Revati–Balaram; ritual practices, focusing on daily seva and festival cycles; living heritage, examining the temple’s role in sustaining community identity and cultural continuity; and conservation challenges, highlighting structural decay, loss of debottar land, and threats to wooden artefacts. Drawing upon oral traditions, architectural observations and regional historiography, the article argues that the Birahi temple is not merely a religious structure but a dynamic cultural institution. It calls for systematic documentation and community-based conservation to ensure the sustainable transmission of this heritage.
Keywords	Gaudiya Vaishnavism; Iconography; Ritual Practices; Living Heritage; Conservation; Wooden Vigraha; Nadia; Birahi; Radha–Krishna; Balaram; Rural Temple Architecture.
Field	Arts
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 2, March-April 2026
Published On	2026-04-23
DOI	https://doi.org/10.63363/aijfr.2026.v07i02.4951

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Sacred Vigrahas: Iconography, Ritual Practices, Living Heritage and Conservation Challenges at the Sri Sri Madan Gopal Temple, Birahi, Nadia (West Bengal)

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