32 years ago, His Holiness Sri Sri Vidyamanya Teertharu completed his second paryaya tenure of worshipping Lord Udupi Krishna. During that period, he offered a diamond studded crown to Lord Krishna. As is the case with every such good deed, this invited quite a bit of criticism. The same followed even during the first paryaya of his disciple, His Holiness Sri Sri Vidyadheesha Teertharu, when he offered a diamond studded armour. This article serves an answer for both these instances. It was published 16 years ago in a special memoir, Satyasankalpa.
The world of creation of the diamond crown : Sri M. Krishnamurthy Acharya, the designer of the diamond crown is a native of the erstwhile South Canara district of Karnataka. His grandfather, Sri Keshavacharya and his uncle Dasacharya were both officers of the Bhandarakeri matha in Barkur. When Sri Krishnamurthy Acharya was studying in the primary school at Brahmavara, he used to have his afternoon meals at the Bhandarakeri matha itself.
Agreed instantly: In spite of such close ties with Bhandarakeri matha during his childhood, the good fortune of designing the diamond crown of Udupi Shri Krishna came to him through Sri Vidyamanya Teertharu by accident. He was involved in the diamond trade at Mumbai due to which he had no ties with the matha or the pontiff. When Sri Vidyamanya Teertharu made a resolve to offer a diamond crown to the Lord, he enquired about the same at various places such as Bengaluru and Chennai. The task of creation of the crown in a span of 3-4 months did not find favour with anyone there. Unsurprisingly, even the diamond traders at Mumbai said it was nearly impossible to complete the task in such a short duration. It was during this time, that His Holiness was told about Sri Krishnamurthy and his artisanal prowess. It was said that if the latter agreed, he would certainly be able to complete the task in the given duration.
His Holiness had a telephonic conversation with Sri Krishnamurthy. It was ekadashi and the latter approached His Holiness in person. His Holiness stated his intent of offering a diamond crown to Udupi Krishna which was to be readied within four months. Krishnamurthy Acharya agreed to this without the slightest bit of hesitation!!! But the very next moment, dilemma and worry engulfed him. Without giving a second thought, he had agreed to the herculean task in a relatively small duration. In this quagmire, he spent that entire night, sleepless. He requested the sketch be submitted for the commencement of the project. Sri Karinje Subrahmanya Upadhyaya, the then Diwan of Palimaru Matha, submitted the same diligently.
Divine dream: The following night, Sri Krishnamurthy had a dream in which His Holiness was performing ksheerabhisheka to Lord Sri Krishna at Udupi. Considering this as an affirmation for the project at hand by Lord Sri Krishna, he religiously started the creation of the diamond-crown. He employed 4-5 Bengali jewellers on this. During the final phases of the same, work was carried out until 3 am late night to ensure timely completion.
Superior quality gems: Sri Krishnamurthy was required to check the measurements of the head portion of Lord Sri Krishna’s idol. In this regard, he was one of the few blessed devotees who had the fortune of taking a dip in the Madhva sarovara and having an intimate view of Lord Sri Krishna. In his own words, he ensured that imported gems of the highest quality were used for the creation. These gems were mined in South Africa and then exported to London. These were later imported to Mumbai from the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) of London. Such was the quality of the diamonds adorning the divine crown. While diamonds of such high calibre are not available domestically, it is virtually impossible to import them by small merchants.
The crown comprises of roughly 3000 diamonds, 800 emeralds, 300 red rubies along with two large diamonds in the central portion. The upper of these two large diamonds was then valued at a staggering 9.5 lakh rupees and the lower at 7.5 lakh rupees. The total cost of the diamond crown then was 1.2 crore rupees. In addition to the diamond studded crown, a forehead-band and a pair of earrings were also part of the project. In spite of receiving the complete payment of this only after 2 years post completion, Sri Krishnamurthy was not discontent in the slightest and also conveyed that he and his family were immensely blessed with good fortune for having crafted the diamond crown. Additionally, he also confirmed that everyone who offered gems for the project had also been blessed similarly.
Heartfelt blessing: After offering the diamond crown, when he met His Holiness on a couple of occasions, the latter was always grateful for the task accomplished and conveyed earnestly that Lord Shri Krishna would bless him immensely, recounts an emotional Krishnamurthy.
During the period of the creation of the crown, His Holiness stayed at the Andheri branch of Adamaru Matha for three months. The diamond crown was stationed at that branch itself. Many devotees witnessed the divine creation and were elated. The crown once completed, was handed over officially to His Holiness at this branch itself. To check the authenticity of the gems used, Mr Krishnamurthy Acharya would use a mirror. While authentic diamonds appear with a bluish tinge when viewed in a mirror, the duplicates would appear semi-black.
An asset of 5-6 crores: This entire project itself is nothing short of a miracle says Sri Krishnamurthy with deep regards. When asked about the longevity of the creation, he said that the crown is very durable on account of the gold solder and loops used to fix the gems. Hence it is his guarantee that the gems would not fall out of the crown so easily.
The diamond crown which was valued at 1.2 crore rupees at the time of completion, has quintupled to 5-6 crore rupees in the present day. Hence would it not be prudent to say that His Holiness only acquired a wonderful property for Sri Krishna Matha? This is Sri Krishnamurthy Acharya’s reply to the critics who claim that the diamond crown was only a dead stock investment.
