Mathura, Gokul, Vrindavan, Govardhan, Barsana, and Nandgaon !!!

       

                                                               Radhe Radhe!!! 

I planned a trip to Mathura and Vrindavan. 

By God's grace, we started to Mathura (birth place of Shri Krishna), covered Gokul (where He spent his childhood days), moved on Vrindavan (where He did all the Kriyas), went to Govardhan (He picked up the mountain to save the villagers), followed by Barsana (Radha ji belonged to Barsana), and finally visited Nandgaon (this is the place where He shifted after two years in Gokul till the age of 11 years).  


Shri Banke Bihari Mandir, Vrindavan


The main idol at Banke Bihari Mandir of Shri Krisna. 



Barsana - We stared our journey with Barsana. We reached there by 1 pm and by that time most of the temples in Vrindavan would be closed. Hence, we decided to utilize our time and visit Radha ji temple in Barsana. 



Main Temple Complex in Barsana

We stated till 2 pm and were able to be a part of the Aarti that took place. 




Vrindavan 

Some of the key places to visit are: 

  • Banke Bihari Mandir - The oldest and most popular temple is the Banke Bihari Temple. Most of the devotees come to Vrindavan to have darshan here. 
  • Radha Vallabh Mandir 
  • Tatiya Sthan - Tatiya Sthan is linked to the Swami Haridas Sampradaya. It is told that Swami Haridas ji was an ardent devotee of Banke Bihari ji, that is Lord Krishna. He claimed to have learnt the lesson of love and divine music form the birds, flowers and trees of Vrindavan. Every morning after bathing in Yamuna River, Swami ji used to go to Nidhivan for bhajan (prayer), post which he used to sit in a dense grove and meditate on his favoured, pure love personified Sri Kunjbihari and Sri Kunjbiharini (Krishna and Radha).
  • Nidhivan - It is a common belief among devotees that Nidhivan still witnesses the rasa-lila (dance) of Radha and Krishna during the night and thus, to protect the forest's sanctity, Nidhivan is closed with barricades during the night.


    The forest has numerous Tulasi trees which are short in height, but are found in pairs and have entangled trunks. Besides the Tulasi plants, the premises also houses a temple called Rang Mahal, where it is believed that Radha and Krishna spend their night after the exhausting dance.  
  • Katyayani Shakti Peeth - The Katyayani Peeth in Vrindavan, also known as Uma Shakti Peeth is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas. The idol of Sati is worshipped here in the form of Uma. It is believed that ringlets of Maa Sati’s hair fell in this place.
  • Gopishwar Mahadev Temple - It is believed that Lord Shiva came to have darshan of Krishna in the form of a Gopi and hence this is popularly referred to as "Gopishwar Mahadev". Shri Gopeshwar lingam was established by the great grandson of Lord Krishna, Vrajanabha. It is one of the few temples dedicated to Lord Shiva in Vrindavan, where Lord Krishna’s presence dominates the minds of the people as well as the space in the holy city.
  • Seva Kunj - The place is known as Seva Kunj because Lord Krishna used to do seva (selfless service) of Radha and helped her get ready for Raas Leela (a holy dance).
  • Prem Mandir - This is a recent temple which has been made and is popular for its architecture as well as the light show in the night. It looks amazing in the evenings. 
  • Iskon Temple - This is also popularly known as Balram Mandir. 







Sri Bansichori Radharani Temple in Nidhivan, the shrine is dedicated to the event when Radha stole Krishna's flute.


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