Vrindavan Dham .............!!!!!

Vrindavan and Mathura,are 135km south of Delhi, are the most important places of pilgrimage for devotees of Krishna. Krishna was born in Mathura and spent His childhood in Vrindavana. There are over 5,000 temples in Vrindavana.

As you draw closer to Vrindavan, you can feel some kind of change in the environment (Fiza mein badlav aa jaata hai), especially close to the highway where we take a detour for Vrindavan (I read somewhere – “as you cross the Mexican border from Texas, you feel some load off your shoulders”).

The hawkers and fruit sellers, the rickshaw pullers, asking for a side were chanting “Jai Shri Radhe” or “Hare Krishna” taking us to a different world – a world where Lord Krishna spent his formative years.

As Guruji said " Aee Duniya walo Vridavan jana tumare Aukat nahi.............Aee Duniya walo Vridavan jana tumare Aukat nahi.............Lekin meri radha rani bula le to koi badi bat nahi."

So my friends its very nice place, I am giving you some highlights of the Vrindavana.

Vrindavana Highlights:

Yamuna River:

The Yamuna river flows through Vrindavan and Mathura. It is the most sacred river in India as it is so intimately connected with Krishna’s pastimes. Situated on the bank of the Yamuna is the Keshi Ghat, where Krishna killed the Keshi demon and saved his friends. One who bathes here gets the benediction of bathing in all of the holy places.

Krishna Balarama Mandir:

One of ISKCON’s major centres is the Krishna Balarama Mandir. This beautiful marble temple was constructed twenty years ago. There are Deities of Gaura-Nitai, Krishna Balarama and Radha-Syamasundara. In front of the temple is the Samadhi Mandir of Srila Prabhupada. This is where his body was laid to rest after he passed away in 1977. His house has been turned into a museum. There is also a guesthouse, restaurant, gurukula and goshalla.

Sri Sri Radha Govindaji Mandir:

Built in 1590 by Maharaja Man Singh for the original Govindaji deity discovered by Srila Rupa Goswami. Govindaji was removed from this temple and reinstalled in Jaipur when the Muslim Emperor Aurangzeb destroyed part of the temple in 1670. Several other Deities are also installed here. As this temple was partially destroyed ,worship is now carried in the new Govindaji Mandir ( located behind the original temple).

Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan Mandir:

Sanatana Goswami discovered the Deity of Madan Mohan. Ram das Kapoor, a merchant donated the funds for this mandir in 1580. When the Muslims attacked in 1670, the original Deities were moved to Karoli. Worship is done in the new Madan Mohan Mandir to the replacement Madan Mohan Deity.

The bhajan kutir and samadhi of Sanatana Goswami, together with the puspa-samadhis of Candrasekhara Acharya and Tapana Misra are also here.

Sri Sri Radha Raman Mandir:

The Deity of Sri Radha-Raman (one of the few original Deities still left in Vrindavana) was installed here by Srila Gopal Bhatta Dasa Goswami. The Deity manifested from one of the Goswami’s shaligram-shilas in 1542. Gopal Bhatta also brought Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s kaupina (cloth) and asana (seat ) back from Puri. These can be seen three to four times a year. Gopal Batta’s Samadhi is located here. The fires for cooking in the temple kitchen have been burning continuously since the Deity was installed over 435 years ago.

Sri Sri Radha Gokulananda Mandir:

Here are the the Radha-Vinod Deities of Lokanath Goswami, Radha-Gokulananda Deities of Viswanath Cakravarti, Caitanya Mahaprabhu Deity of Narottama Dasa Thakur, Vijaya Govinda Deities of Baladeva Vidyabhusana, and the Govardhan-shila given to Raghunath Dasa Goswami by Sri Caitanya.

Also, the samadhis of Srila Lokanath Goswami, Srila Narrottama Dasa Thakura, and Viswanath Cakravarti Thakura lie here.

Seva Kunja and Nidhu ban:

Seva Kunja and Nidhuban are gardens where Krishna performed many of His pastimes.
Seva Kunja surrounds the temple of Srimati Radharani . Here Krishna would massage Radharani’s feet and decorate her hair with flowers. Today this place is surrounded by temples. The Seva Kunja road leads to Srila Jiva Goswami’s Radha Damodar Temple, Srila Syamananda Goswami’s Radha Syamasundara temple, and Srila Krishna Dasa Kaviraj Goswami’s Radha-Vrindavana-Chandra Temple.

Banke Bihari Mandir:

Established in 1864 by Haridas Swami, this is one of the the most popular temples in Vrindavana, especially, during Jhulan Yatra, the swing festival.