About Varindavan

Brajbhoomi - the land where Lord Shri Krishna was born and spent his youth, has today little towns and hamlets that are still alive with the Krishna legend and still redolent with the music of his flute. Mathura, a little town on the River Yamuna was transformed into a place of faith after Lord Krishna was born here. Vrindavan, a village - once noted for its fragrant groves, is where he spent an eventful youth. There are numerous other little spots in the area that still reverberate with the enchantment of Shri Krishna.

City of Vrindavan

Vrindavan, just 15 km from Mathura, is another major place of pilgrimage. It is noted for its numerous temples - both old and modern. The name Vrindavan evokes the playfulness and lovable characteristics of Shri Krishna. This is the wood where he frolicked with the gopis and tenderly wooed Radha.

City of Mathura

The City of Mathura, in Uttar Pradesh, the nucleus of Brajbhoomi, is located at a distance of 145 km south-east of Delhi and 58 km north-west of Agra. Covering an area of about 3,800 sq. km., today, Brajbhoomi can be divided into two distinct units - the eastern part in the trans-Yamuna tract with places like Gokul, Mahavan, Baldeo, Mat and Bajna and the western side of the Yamuna covering the Mathura region that encompasses Vrindavan, Govardhan, Kusum Sarovar, Barsana and Nandgaon.

Places to see

Dwarkadish Temple

DWARKADISH TEMPLE

The Dwarkadish Temple, built in 1814, is a popular temple in the center of town. This is the most visited temple in the center of town. This is the most visited temple in Mathura. This temple is managed by followers of Vallabhacarya. Once you enter this temple from the street, it is fairly interesting architechually and there is a lot of activity inside. It is located in the eastern part of Mathura, not far from the Yamuna River.  

Banke Bihari Temple

Banke-bihari

means Krishna, the Supreme Enjoyer. This is one of Vrindavana's most popular temples and famous all over India, it was built in 1864. The Deity of Banke-bihari was discovered in Nidhuvana by Swami Haridasa. A contemporary of the six Gosvamis, Swami Haridasa known for his devotional bhajanas, was the guru of the famous musician Tansen.

Radha Vallabh Temple

RADHA VALLABHA TEMPLE
Another very popular temple of Vrindavana whih was founded by Hit Harivamsa Gosvami, who started the Radha Vallabha sect emphasizing devotion to Radharani. In this temple, there is no deity of Radharani, but a crown has been placed next to Krishna to signify Her presence. The original temple of Radha Vallabha was destroyed by the Muslims in 1670 and a new temple was built at the side of the old one.

Radha Damodar Temple

RADHA DAMODARA TEMPLE
This is one of the most important temples in Vrindavana. The original Deity was hand carved by Rupa Gosvami and given as a gift to his beloved disciple, Jiva Gosvami, who later built a temple here. The Deity now being worshipped is the pratibhu-murti (replica) and is considered nondifferent from the original Deity. Formerly this spot was in the middle of Seva-kunja and it was the bhajana place of Rupa Gosvami. One can have darsana of the sacred govardhana-sila by asking the pujari and giving a small donation.

Radha Ramana Teple

RADHARAMANA TEMPLE
This is the famous temple of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. Radharamana means "one who gives pleasure to Radha", and is one of the many names of Lord Krishna. The seva puja of Radharamana was established in 1542, after the Deity self-manifested from a saligram-sila. Also kept iin this temple is the wooden sitting place (hoki) and shawl (chaddar) or Lord Chaitanya, that He gave as a gift to Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. There is no deity of Radharani in this temple, but a crown is kept next to Krishna signifying Her presence.

Jugal Kishore Temple

JUGAL KISORE TEMPLE
This is one of the oldest temple of Vrindavana and was completed in 1627. After Emperor Akbar's visit to Vridavana in the year 1570, he gave permission for four temples to be built by the Gaudya Vaisnavas, which were Madana-mohana, Govindaji, Gopinatha and Jugal Kisore. It is sometimes called the Kesi ghata temple, as it is located next to this ghata.

Seva Kunj

SEVA KUNJA
This is the sacred place of the rasa dance and also where Lord Krishna offered service to Radharani by decorating Her hair with flowers, as well as massaging and painting Her lotus feet. Radha and Krishna would sometimes spend the night here, dancing with the gopis and enjoying various transcendental pastimes. There is also a small temple dedicated to Radha and Krishna's pastimes called Rang Mahal. Near the entrance to this garden is a kunda created by Lord Krishna. He pushed His foot into the ground just to please Lalitha devi when she was feeling thirsty and wanted to drink water.