Shrinathji Temple, Hindu temple in Nathdwara, Rajasthan, India

Shrinathji Temple is a Hindu temple in Nathdwara, Rajasthan, also called the Haveli of Shrinathji. Its gateway has a broad cream-and-gold carved panel with a curved, peaked upper edge and small round finials, above a band of red and pink Devanagari script. Thick red and pink bracket supports with dark blue and black patterns flank the opening, and pale stone steps lead up to it.

The temple was founded in 1672 after the statue was brought from Mathura to protect it from destruction by Aurangzeb. The priests traveled with the image in an ox cart and settled where the wheels became stuck in the mud.

The deity's shringar, the dressing and adorning of Shrinathji, is changed seven times a day, and formal prayers are offered with diya, incense, flowers and fruit to the sound of local instruments and devotional songs. The temple is also called the Haveli of Shrinathji, and its design follows the Nanda Maharaj temple in Vrindavan, which gives it the name Nanda Bhavan or Nandalaya.

Visitors are not allowed to take photos inside the sanctum, and photography from outside is permitted only from certain points. The main ceremony takes place early in the morning, and queues can become long during festival days.

During the Annakut festival, large amounts of cooked rice are arranged in the shape of a mountain and carried away with buckets by young men from nearby villages. The entire process takes several hours, and the crowd sings bhajans throughout.