Happy Krishna Janmashtami & some Krishna temple history

Happy Krishna Janmashtami everyone.

Krishna has reiterated in the Bhagavath Gita us that we're not our body or mind or ego or intellect. We are the soul. Everything else is an artificial material attachment. That includes even attachment to religion. However, it is also important to uphold Dharma, which will help us on the path of enlightenment. But doing so as a duty, for doing the right thing at any point of time, without any attachment.

Several Vaishnavites believe in Saranagathi (everything is left to God to handle) and in Nama Sankirtana (chanting the holy name of God-Japam). However, is that sufficient? Let us look at some history of some popular Krishna temples.

• The Krishna Mathura (Dehra Kesu Rai/Kesava Deo) temple was destroyed, rebuilt & destroyed multiple times, by Mahmud Ghazni, Sikander Lodhi, Aurangzeb & Nadir Shah. Aurangzeb built a mosque at the site of the original temple, broke the temple vigraham to pieces & buried it under the Nawab Begum Sahib mosque.
• The Pandaripur Pandurangan temple was destroyed by Muhammad bin Tughlaq. The Pandurangan vigraham was saved prior to demolition.
• The Vrindavan Krishna temple was destroyed by Aurangzeb. It was rebuilt later.
• The Krishna Dwaraka temple was destroyed, rebuilt & destroyed multiple times, by Mohammad Shah, Mahmud Begada & British Colonel Donovan.
• The Krishna Puri temple was destroyed, rebuilt & destroyed multiple times, by Raktabahu, Illias Shah, Feroz Shah Tughlaq, Allauddin Hussain Shah, Kalapahara, Sulaiman Karrani, Hasim Khan, Jagirdar Kesodasmaru serving under Hasim Khan, Kalyan Mall, Mukarram Khan serving under Jahangir, Mirza Ahmed Beg,  Amir Mutaquad Khan alias Mirza Makki, Amir Fateh Khan, Aurangzeb & Muhammad Taqi Khan.
• In the Kovil Ozhuvu annals of Srirangam, Malik Kafur & Ughluk Khan destroyed the temple & massacred the civilians, who put up a valiant resistance against a trained army. There was no worship happening there for decades. The vigraham was rescued prior to demolition by devotees.
• The Shrinath Vigraha used to reside at Govardhana which was demolished by Aurangzeb. The vigraham was rescued by devotees before the demolition.
• The then famous Jagannath Rai temple and surrounding temples in Udaipur was demolished by Aurangzeb. The vigrahams were broken and buried under the steps of the Jama Masjid.
• The Krishna vigraham from Guruvayoor was moved by devotees to Ambalapuzha by attacks prior to a planned attack by Tipu Sultan. It was to return only after Tipu Sultan's reign ended. In a separate incident, the temple was looted and destroyed by the Dutch Christian colonists.
• Post independence, the Indian central government & state governments have been systematically using temple wealth for government & political party needs, since only Hindu temples are under the control of the government. This won't end without a struggle.

And a piece of a recent attack during Janmashtami.

• Swami Lakshmananda and his disciples was murdered by Christians associated with the Indian National Congress, Biju Janata Dal & World Vision India on Krishna Janmashtami for efforts preventing conversion to Christianity of the locals. This was to spark Hindu-Christian riots.

I'm certain that at least some devotees were practicing Namasankirtana & Saranagathi amongst all the victims here. Clearly, they are insufficient against barbaric & intolerant forces.