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Legends of Shri Virabhadra Prabhu There are several legends associated with Virachandra; some of which have been provided below: Establishment of Idol of Krishna: Once Virachandra went to Gaur and there he met a Muslim Emperor who invited him in his palace. The emperor ordered his cook to prepare some grand dishes of meat; he did not know that Vaishnavas do not consume meat. When the cook finally presented the dishes in front of Virachandra, then he could not say no to it. But after sometime, the dishes were turned into beautiful flowers, to which everyone including the emperor were surprised. Later, the emperor took another three consecutive attempts to present the dishes in front of Virachandra, every time it was turned into flowers. Later, Virachandra requested the emperor to prevent the attacks of the iconoclasts there and for a black stone, out of which he would make an idol of Lord Krishna. Thus, Khardaha temples were the first in Bengal, where royal commands were made to exempt the iconoclasts to protect the temples. Establishment of Idols in Shyamasundar Temple: According to the 13th chapter of the Bhakti-ratnakara, Virabhadra Prabhu took permission from his mother Vasudha to go to Vrindavan. Upon arriving there, he performed Vraja Dham parikrama with the blessings of Bhugarbha Gosvami and Sri Jiva Gosvami. In Shyamasundra temple there is a manuscript of ‘Srimad Bhagavatam’, which is hand copied by Virachandra Prabhu. He personally brought a piece of stone from which the deities Shyamasundar, Radhavallabha, and Nandadulal became manifested. These deities are still worshiped in the temple. The ghat where this stone arrived is known as Shyamasundar Ghat. Virabhadra Prabhu established the custom of celebrating the birth of Nityananda Prabhu at the temple. During his time, the offerings during the festival were prepared using 60 kgs of rice and equal amounts of other materials.
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