Mesmerizing tour of the most sacred places in Vaishnavism: Vrindavan & Mathura to explore birthplace of Lord Krishna visiting temples &ancient sites holding great significance to Hinduism

VRINDAVAN  :

Vrindavan is a holy & historical city in distt. Mathura of UP ,North India at a distance of 12 km from Mathura located in Brajbhoomi on the Agra-Delhi  NH-44.Its connected to Delhi by the Golden Quadrilateral network. Its one of the most sacred places in the Vaishnavism where the Hindu deity Sri Krishna is said to have spent his childhood .Its home to temples dedicated to Lord Krishna &  Radha. Vrindavan derives its name from Vrinda meaning Tulsi (basil) & Van (Grove) refering to the small groves at Nidhivan and Sevakunj. At Banke Bihari temple & Radha Raman temple , a gold plate beside Shri Krishna signifies Radha! Vrindavan has an ancient past associated with Hindu culture & history established in  16/17^th Century as it is an important Hindu pilgrimage site since ancient times.After a long period ,the essence of Vrindavan was rediscovered by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu! In the past 250 yrs the forests have been subjected to urbanization first by the local Maharajas & then by the apartment builders/developers.As a result local wildlife including peacocks, cows, monkeys & variety of birds have reduced considerably. Vrindavan is a land of Radharani & the city has more than 4000 temples to showcase to the glorious history of Sri Krishna Radha Rani.

Language spoken:Hindi =98.3% & 0.81% =Urdu. In the Braj region, Brajbhasha (devnagri) is spoken by the locals!                           Dance: 1) Raasleela is an integral part of Indian folklore.As per popular belief Krishna danced to Raas with Gopis on the banks of Yamuna.                                                              2) Charkula is a traditional folk dance of the Braj where women balance columns of Deepaks on their head accompanied by Rasiya songs by the men folks.                         Delicacies:Rabadi ,Pedas &malai Lassi are the main items consumed by the pilgrims Common salutation or greetings by tourists & local residents is” Radhe Radhe “associated with RadhaRani. Millions of tourist visit Vrindavan/Mathura yearly to participate in number of festivals.

MATHURA : Mathura is a sacred city & the birthplace of Lord Krishna located in Krishna janmabhoomi complex at a distance of  58 km from Agra, 166KM from  Delhi & 12 km from Vrindavan.It lies at the centre of the cultural region of Braj.The Keshav dev temple was built in ancient times on the site of Krishna’s birthplace(an underground prison).In ancient times Mathura was an economic hub located on the junction of important caravan routes. It was the capital of kingdom of Surasena ruled by Kansa,the maternal  uncle of Krishna.Its an important pilgrimage centre of Hindus and one of the seven most sacred cities in India.

Main pilgrimage sites in Mathura :

1)Sri Krishna Janmbhoomi temple, 2)Dwarikadhish temple has a carved entrance & a black marble idol of Lord Krishna , 3)Birla mandir, 4)Radha Vallabh mandir, 5)Chamunda devi temple, 6)Mathura museum ,7)Gokul, 8)Barsana- famous for lathamaar holi & Radha Rani temple ,9)Jai Gurudev temple ,10) Kusum Sarover,11) Radha kund & Shyam kund, 12)Goverdhan Hill or Giriraj parvat is located in the middle of the Parikrama of 21 kms which is performed by the pilgrims in two parts –i)Badi Parikrama is of 12 kms is done upto the Goverdhan hill & ii)Chhoti parikarma of 9 km is done from Goverdhan hill to Radhakund, Kusum sarovar & back to Govardhan Parvat.Though Pilgrims can perform one parikrama at a time but it is desirable to complete both parikramas in one day.

Important pilgrim centres of Vrindavan :

1)BANKE BIHARI MANDIR :It was  built in 1864 after the images of Banke Bihari were found in Nidhivan by Swami Haridas.Its located near Radhavallabh temple.Its one of the most revered shrines of India and is among the 7 temples of Thakur of Vrindavan which also include Sri Radhavallabhji and four others ! Banke Bihari was originally worshipped in Nidhivan under the name of Kunj Bihari.

                                                                                                                                                                     2)KRISHNA BALRAM TEMPLE :It was built in pure white marble by ISKCON with the principal deities  as Krishna & Balram with Radha-Shyamsunder & Gauranga-Nityanand alongside.Adjoining the temple is the Samadhi of AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON.There are 108 lotus flower pictures on the floor and one has to chant –‘Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare’ ,Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare !Very serene atmosphere!    

3)RANGJI TEMPLE :Its dedicated to Lord Shri Goda Ranagamannar –a south Indian Goddess & Lord Ragannatha-an incarnation of God Vishnu, the temple follows a south Indian architectural pattern from inside but north Indian style from the outside  

4)PREM MANDIR or SHYAMA SHYAM MANDIR :It was established by Kripalu Maharaj , built in year 2012 in White Marble alongwith lushgreen gardens !Its maintained by Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat.Figures of Krishna cover the main temple! 

5)RADHA DAMODAR TEMPLE :It’s a Gaudiya Vaisnavism temple dedicated to Radha Krishna constructed in  1542 CE    

6)RADHA VALLABH TEMPLE was constructed in 1585AD in Red sandstone  7)GOPESHWER TEMPLE

8)LALABABU TEMPLE (KOLKATTA) 

9)ANCIENT MEERA TEMPLE

10)MOTE GANESHJI TEMPLE

11)KATYANI TEMPLE

12)KESIGHAT ,YAMUNA

13)KRISHNA SUDAMA DHAM

14)PAGAL BABA KA MANDIR

15) SRI VRINDAVAN CHANDRODAYA TEMPLE- It is under construction in Vrindavan & will be completed in 2023!Its planned by ISKCON ,Bangalore !Once completed it will be the tallest religious temple in the world at 213 mts height!

Note please :My readers may kindly point out any misinformation in the writeup on this site which will be duly corrected!I am very grateful to the Wikipaedia & The Hindu for some information & photo Credit of the pilgrim sites!I & my wife were blessed with darshan of Lord Krishna & other deities during our recent visit to Mathura/Vrindavan during 25/9/21 to 28/9/21. Happy Reading dear friends!