15 Km. north of Mathura on the same
bank of Yamuna, lies the celebrated town of Vrindavan,
almost as closely associated with Krishna as Mathura
itself. Indeed one hardly speak of Vrindavan alone to;
the devout Hindu. Mathura-Vrindavan can not a unified
image of untold beauty and religious sanctify.
What is comparatively a matter of detail is that Vrindavan
is believed to have been the stage on which Krishna
performed his famous romantic and sportive roles. Unlike
busy Mathura.
Vrindavan seems perpetually to be dreaming and imaginatively,
re-living its romantic past. There are hundred of shrines
in the town, as also numerous ghats and several sacred
tanks, of which one called Brahama kund and another
named Govinda kund are the most highly venerated. The
most famous as well as the finest temple in Vrindavan
is that of Govinda Deva, dating from 1590. It is a huge,
Cruciform, Vaulted building of red sandstone with a
nave 30Mt.(100Ft.) in height and breadth the wall is
3 Mt.(10Ft.) thick on an average and is built in two
stage. The upper being a regular triforium.
WHAT TO SEE
GOVINDA DEV TEMPLE : Built by Raja
Man singh of Jaipur in 1590, The temple is a testimony
of the architectural splendour of medieval India.
The temple walls average 10 ft. thickness. The upper
state is regular triforium. Originally seven stories
high, it's upper four stories were destroyed during
the reign of Aurangzeb. The Krishna idol was then removed
to Jaipur .
SHAHJI TEMPLE : It was constructed
in the year 1860. It is a prominent temple of northern
India. It is famous for it's explendid art architecture
, sculpture and twelve single piece spiral colemns made
up of marble approx 15'high. The world famous BASANTI
KAMRA is situated in the eastern wing of this
temple. This room has spectacular ancient chandelies
and rare paintings are available .
RANG JI TEMPLE : Vrindavan 's longest
temple, it was constructed in 1851 by Seth Govind Das
ji & Seth Laxmi Chand Ji. All were desciples of
Acharyavarya Rangdeshie Swami where as the main gate
is in Rajput style , The temple follows South Indian
architectural pattern . The outer wall measure 773 Ft.
and encompass a water tank , a garden and the
actual temple . The "Dhweja Stambha " , 50 ft. tall
, is believed to be gold plated .
MADAN MOHAN TEMPLE : Situated near
Kali ghat , it is believed to have been built by Kapur
Ram Das of Multan. The original Image of
Madan Mohan was removed to Karauli during the
regin of Aurangzeb .
KRISHNA BALRAM MANDIR (ISKCON VRINDAVAN ) :
This is a International spiritual organisation
having 400 centers around the world . This was founded
by srila A.C. Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada . thousands
of pilgrims and International tourists visited Vrindavan
centre which is having beautiful temple of Lord Krishna
.
RADHA BALLABH TEMPLE : Built in 1626
this temple is of special architectural interest
as remnant of ancient hindu architecture . The Shrine
was demolished in the 17th century and
the huge structure only the plinth remains.
GOPI NATH TEMPLE : closely resembling
the Madan Mohan mandir in style and dimension,
it was built by Rai Shilji, a Sekhavat Rajput of Jaipur
.
GLASS TEMPLE : Its marvelous art of
glass work dazzles the pilgrim's eyes.
NIDHI VAN : Radhika's Kridasthali,
the playground of Krishna's consort, it is a place of
Hindu veneration. The image of Bihariji was discovered
by Swami Haridas Ji.
SEVA KUNJ : Krishna's Vihar Bhoomi,
it was sanctified for centuries ago by Radha Ballabhiya
Samaradayachery Shri Goswami Hit Hari Vanshji.
BANKE BIHARI : One of the oldest temple,
it was rebuilt in 1921 discpieles of Haridas Swami
who got the idol of Bankey Bihari from Nidhi Van.
GOVERDHAN
26 Km from Mathura along the road to Deeg. It is named
after the name of the Goverdhan Hillock" which is said
to have raised on the finger and was was put in the
condition to save the people from the incessant rain
which fell constantly for seven days to destroy the
people of Brij. The hillock is 7 Miles in length. The
temple of Har Deva Ji in Goverdhan town is 400 Yrs old.
The Mansi Ganga which is an artificial lake, was constructed
my Man Singh of Jaipur. The dense shady trees the hill
ranges and tranquil flow of Mansi Ganga all unite together
and make a charming view which the visitor can never
forget.
KUSM SAROVAR : About two miles from the town, is the
boarder of Radha Kund which have significant architectural
group erected by T. Sing in honor of his father, Suraj
Mal, the cenotaph of Suraj Mal which stand on Kusum
Sarovar, present in a fine view. |
