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Vrandavan Temple
Vrindavan -
The City of Temples
Vrindavan, around 15 km from Mathura, is a major place of pilgrimage, on the
banks of Yamuna . Attracting about 5 lakhs pilgrims every year, it is noted
for its numerous temples- both old and modern. Vrindavan is synonymous with
the innocent mirth and child like playfulness of Shri Krishna. Vrindavan,
the dusty little town known for the temples, big and small, famous and
remote strewn all over the place.
Vrindavana is 135 km south of Delhi and 55 km north of Agra, just off the
Delhi-Agra Road. It is 12 km or a 25-minute auto-rickshaw ride from Mathura.
It has a small-town type atmosphere with narrow streets and not much motor
traffic. There are said to be over 5000 temples in Vrindavana.
Location
Vrindavan is situated in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh around 151
km south of Delhi. It extends latitude 27°33¢ in the North to longitude
77°44¢ in the East. The place is just 10 km off Mathura, the place where
Lord Krishna is said to have spent his childhood. Vrindavan is situated on
the New Delhi-Chennai and New Delhi-Mumbai main railway line. A meter-gauge
line connects Vrindavan to Mathura. There are quite a good number of
passenger trains plying between these two places
History
The name 'Vrindavan' is derived from 'Vrinda', another name for the sacred
tulsi (basil) plant. A legend has it that the entire place was a tulsi grove
at one time. According to another tradition, it was named after Vrinda Devi,
one of Krishna's playmates. The earliest known shrine in Vrindavan is said
to have been built by the local gosains in a large garden called Nidhiban,
later named Seva Kunj. According to tradition, Emperor Akbar was taken
blindfolded inside the grove where he had some kind of a spiritual
experience. As a result, he acknowledged the spot as being holy ground.
The four temples that were built in honour of his visit are Govind Deva,
Madan Mohan, Gopinath, and Jugal Kishore. The first is an impressive edifice
built in red sandstone. Architecturally this temple is one of the finest in
North India.
However, apart from its history, what keeps Vrindavan alive in the popular
imagination of the people is its rich legend and mythology. Vrindavan is
considered the place where Lord Krishna spent his early childhood. It was
here that Krishna indulged in adolescent pranks with the gopis (milkmaids)
in the forests and stealing their clothes while they bathed in the river.
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