Question about murtis and statues

[Ashvati]

I have a small statue of Krishna and a small Statue of Lakshmi that I like to have in my pocket in a small bag on days where I wish for their favor, and recently I realized that the flute Krishna holds had broken. I read that statues that are broken, even if its just a finger, are unusable, so I guess I need to replace my Krishna. Is there a prescribed way to dispose of the old one?

[shubhamgarg1993]

yes as much as i know from relegious practices in our family!!

first way to dispose the "khandit"(broken) idol is to leave it in the flowing water..
it shall be flowing water not a pond or stagnant water .. can be a river etc..

second way is to place it under some "peepal tree" now most of time peepal trees can be found in temples ,i dont know if you can find in iscon or not but most other temples have peepal tree for sure..

for more info you can ask to some priest of local temple as he would be able to guide you best...
dont mistake of putting the idol in dustbin or with other garbage..

rest you can wait for trplies by others.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam Ashvati:

The prescribed way is to gently place it in water, like a river, or the ocean, and out in the water some distance. Something like they do in Bombay for Ganesha Chaturthi, except those are for clay idols, and that festival. Even a cracked murthi is often disposed of in this way.

Larger murtis are rarely carried around, as the location that are placed in will build up a vibration 'around' it, in a mystical sense. But yours I take it are small, and would be like the ones people have on the dashboards of their cars, or as pendants on a necklace.

Temple murthis never get moved, although priests can move the energy out of them, and then back in, in elaborate rituals.

Aum Namasivaya

[Ashvati]

Yeah, this one is about 2 and a half inhes tall. The one I have of the classic south indian dancing Shiva is about eight inches tall, made of bronze, and never gets taken out of my room unless I bring it to the bathroom to bath it.

I'd been meaning to ask about this, but when I found out Janmashtami was coming (I should really just ask someone to inform me when holidays are coming up) I realized it would be important for me to get a new one of Krishna fairly soon.

[ScottMalaysia]

I have a small statue of Krishna and a small Statue of Lakshmi that I like to have in my pocket in a small bag on days where I wish for their favor, and recently I realized that the flute Krishna holds had broken. I read that statues that are broken, even if its just a finger, are unusable, so I guess I need to replace my Krishna. Is there a prescribed way to dispose of the old one?

If you're carrying murtis round with you, you have to make sure that they are not taken into unclean places such as a bathroom. Every time you need to use the toilet, you would need to remove the murtis and leave them somewhere outside.

[Eastern Mind]

Yeah, this one is about 2 and a half inhes tall. The one I have of the classic south indian dancing Shiva is about eight inches tall, made of bronze, and never gets taken out of my room unless I bring it to the bathroom to bath it.

I'd been meaning to ask about this, but when I found out Janmashtami was coming (I should really just ask someone to inform me when holidays are coming up) I realized it would be important for me to get a new one of Krishna fairly soon.

Vannakkam Ashvati: Its probably esoterically better to leave the Nataraja in your room, but when you do want to do abhishekham (bath) place him on a tray, and then you can throw the water and milk etc outside after.

Aum Namsivaya

[Ashvati]

I'll have to find something I can use for that, but that shouldn't be too hard.

As for leaving murtis outside the bathroom, I'll have to try to remember to do that. I'm making the effort to remember to remove my rudraksha mala and whatever stature I have around my neck before using the bathroom at least, but I'm not at the point where I can remember to do it every time yet. Same way with praying before meals to offer my food to God before eating it myself, but I'm getting the hang of that, even if I do still occasionally forget.

[nflyer]

I ordered (1) Garwoo from eBay.
#1) Arrived... but it has defect in its stone. I told seller and PAID for a SECOND one with no discounts because I am kind... asked to verify no major defects on 2nd one.
#2) Arrives... no packing and smashed face. I told seller and he resends 3rd.
#3) Arrives... still no packing and smashed face.

This comes from Chinese reseller too... They aren't fond of Tibetan Palden Lhamo.

Anyways... should all these be considered damaged?

[nflyer]

attached are the pictures for my previous post

[Necromancer]

Namaste.

I am wondering why this thread has been bumped 3 years after the initial post, not relating to it at all.

@ nflyer - if you are in any way unhappy with any products you have bought for whatever reason, they should be immediately returned to the vendor.

If, after 3 attempts at this and you are still dissatisfied, I would be seeking a refund on my purchase and taking my business elsewhere.

Always ask for a close-up picture of the goods they will be sending you and inform the vendor that if the items received are not those shown in the picture, you will be seeking a refund and leaving negative feedback.

You should have done this already anyway.

Always be careful about buying mass produced religious icons from places like China, whereby they are made in 'sweat shops' with little attention placed on the detail. Most often, it is a hurried, shoddy job.

I am also rather 'irky' about Chinese businessmen selling Tibetan 'relics'.

See if you can get those directly from Tibet, or find another amulet which appeals to you, rather than those.

As for Krishna with the broken flute...I don't know why it is, but I would still keep it. Deities and amulets only have whatever power and holiness we give them.

I cringe whenever I go into an Indian Spice Store and see concrete Murthis made in moulds, with bits missing and such an awful paint job...looking like something Picasso painted when he was drunk...eyes disproportionate, mouth too large for the face...colours running everywhere...

Then, I am reminded of Lord Jugganath, who was worshiped even before being fully completed...that alleviates my discomfort somewhat.

I really dislike man-made murthis though and won't even carry around or worship a concrete lingham.

I have two linga...one is a natural tiger-eye stone that has been naturally weathered into an egg shape and the other is from the Narmada river.

I also have a small Buddha, but that was given to me by my mother and she got it from Thailand and it has been dated to about 300 years old!

So, it all depends.

Aum Namah Shivaya