Vrindavan

Vrindavan वृंदावन Vrundavan, Brindaban, Braj
city
Nickname(s): Braj-Bhoomi
Vrindavan Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 27°35′N 77°42′E / 27.58°N 77.7°ECoordinates: 27°35′N 77°42′E / 27.58°N 77.7°E
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
District	Mathura
Elevation	170 m (560 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
• Total	63,005
Languages
• Official	Brij
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	281121

Vrindavan ( pronunciation ) is a town in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the site where according to Hinduism, Lord Krishna spent his childhood days. The town is about 11 km away from Mathura, Krishna's birthplace on the Agra-Delhi highway (NH 2).^[2] The town hosts many temples dedicated to the worship of Radha and Krishna and is considered sacred by Vaishnavism.^[3]

Etymology

Kesi Ghat on the Yamuna river

The ancient Sanskrit name of the city, Vṛndāvana, comes from its groves of vṛndā Tulasi (tulsi, Holy Basil) Ocimum tenuiflorum with vana meaning a grove or a forest.^[4] Two small groves still exist at Nidhivan and Seva Kunj.

History

Vrindavan has an ancient past, associated with Hindu history, and is an important Hindu pilgrimage site. One of its oldest surviving temples is the Govinda Dev temple, built in 1590, with the town founded earlier in the same century.^[5][6] The essence of Vrindavan was lost over time until the 16th century, when it was rediscovered by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In the year 1515, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited Vrindavana, with the purpose of locating the lost holy places associated with Lord Sri Krishna's transcendent pastimes. Chaitanya wandered through the different sacred forests of Vrindavana in a spiritual trance of divine love. It was believed that by His divine spiritual power, He was able to locate all the important places of Krishna's pastimes in and around Vrindavana.^[7] Mira Bai left the kingdom of Mewar and went on pilgrimages. In her last 14 years, Meera lived in a temple called Pracheen Meerabai in Vrindavan. Meera Bai is the most famous female Hindu spiritual poetess, whose compositions are still popular throughout North India.

In the last 250 years, the extensive forests of Vrindavan have been subjected to urbanization, first by local Rajas and in recent decades by apartment developers. The forest cover has been whittled away to only a few remaining spots, and the local wildlife, including peacocks, cows, monkeys and a variety of bird species has been virtually eliminated. A few peacocks are left in the city but monkeys and cows can be seen almost everywhere.

Geography

Vrindavan is located at 27°35′N 77°42′E / 27.58°N 77.7°E.^[8] It has an average elevation of 170 metres (557 feet).

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[9] Vrindavan had a population of 56,618. Males constitute 56% of the population and females 44%. Vrindavan has an average literacy rate of 65%, lower than the national average of 74.04%.^[10] In Vrindavan, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age. The number of females is 24,200 including 13% who are under 6 years of age.

Religious heritage

RadhaKrishna Deity Inside Prem Mandir

Madan Mohan Temple

Shiva carrying the corpse of Sati Devi

Kusuma Sarovar bathing ghat, in the Goverdhan area

Akbar and Tansen visit Swami Haridas

Vrindavan is considered to be a holy place for Vaisnavism tradition of Hinduism. It is a center of Krishna worship and the area includes places like Govardhana and Gokul that are associated with Krishna. Millions of devotees of Radha Krishna visit these places of pilgrimage every year and participate in a number of festivals.^[11] According to Bhagavata Purana, Krishna was raised in the cow herding village of Gokul by his foster parents Nanda Maharaj and Yasoda. The Bhagavata Purana describes Krishna's early childhood pastimes in the Vrindavan forest where he, his brother Balarama and his cowherd friends engaged in childhood pranks.

Temples

• Madan Mohan Temple, located near the Kali Ghat was built by Kapur Ram Das of Multan. One of the oldest temples in Vrindavan, it is closely associated with the saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu . The original idol of Lord Madan Gopal was shifted from the shrine to Karauli in Rajasthan for safe keeping during Aurangzeb's rule. Today, a replica of the original (deity) is worshiped at the temple.
• Meera Bai Temple, located at southern side of Shahji temple near Nidhivan and is dedicated to Meera. Some hagiography state she miraculously disappeared by merging into an idol of Krishna at Dwarika in 1547.^[12] While miracles are contested by scholars for the lack of historical evidence, it is widely acknowledged that Meera dedicated her life to Hindu deity Krishna, composing songs of devotion and was one of the most important poet-sant of the Bhakti movement period.^[13][14]

Meera bai's old temple in vrindavan

• Garud Govind Temple is located on the turn of NH-2 to Vrindavan in Chhatikara village.
• Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir is a temple under-construction at Mathura by ISKCON.^[15] At cost of ₹300 crore (US$45 million) it will be the tallest temple in world on completion.
• Banke Bihari Temple, built in 1862^[16] after the image of Banke-Bihari was discovered in Nidhi Vana by Swami Haridas.
• Prem Mandir is a spiritual complex situated on a 54-acre site on the outskirts of Vrindavan dedicated to divine love. The temple structure was established by spiritual guru Kripalu Maharaj.^[17] The main structure built in marble and figures of Krishna cover the main temple.^[18]
• Radha Vallabh Temple, set up by Hith Harivansh Mahaprabhu has a crown of Radharani placed next to the Krishna in the sanctum.^[19]
• Jaipur Temple, built by Sawai Madho Singh II, the Maharaja of Jaipur in 1917 dedicated to Radha–Madhava.
• Sri Radha Raman Mandir, constructed at the request of Gopala Bhatta Goswami and houses a saligram deity of Krishna as Radha Ramana, alongside Radha.^[20]
• Shahji Temple, designed and built in 1876 by Shah Kundan Lal of Lucknow. Noted for its magnificent architecture and beautiful marble sculptures, the temple has twelve spiral columns each 15 feet high and a hall with Belgian glass chandeliers and paintings.
• Rangaji Temple, built in 1851 is dedicated to Lord Ranganatha or Rangaji depicted as Lord Vishnu in his sheshashayi pose, resting on the coils of the sacred Sesha Naga. The temple built in the Dravidian style has a gopuram of six storeys and a gold-plated Dhwaja stambha, 50 feet high. The 'Brahmotsdav' celebration in March–April is marked by the pulling of the Temple car car by the devotees from the temple to the adjoining gardens.
• Govind Dev Temple was a seven storeyed structure built by Raja Man Singh with red sandstone donated by Akbar in 1590. It was destroyed by Mughal ruler Aurangzeb.
• Sri Krishna-Balarama Temple was built by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Raman-Reti. The principal deities of this temple are Krishna and Balaram, with Radha–Shyamasundar and Gaura-Nitai alongside. Adjoining the temple is the samadhi of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON, built in pure white marble.
• Radha Damodar Mandir, located at Seva Kunj was established in 1542 by Six Gosvamis of Vrindavan. The main deities are Radha–Damodar.
• Maa Katyayani Mandir is situated in Radha Bagh, near Rangnath mandir. This is one of suddh Shakti Peetha of Shakti.
• Bhuteshwar Mahadev Temple, a shrine believed to be a Shakti Peetha where ringlets of hair of Sati Devi is believed to have fallen.^{[21][22][23][24]}
• Chintaharan Hanuman Mandir, temple of Lord Hanuman is situated near Atalvan
• Radha Ras Bihari Ashta Sakhi Temple, dedicated to the divine couple Radha-Krishna and their Ashta Sakhis (eight companions).
• Radha Govinda Temple was built by Sri Krishna Balaram Swamiji and was completed in 2004 is based on a historic temple built about 500 years ago by Srila Rupa Goswami, a direct Sanyasi disciple of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.^[25]
• Vrindavan-Chandra Mandir is housed in an modern geodesic structure with a traditional gopuram based on khajuraho style of architecture.

Other sacred sites

Other places of interest include Seva Kunj, Kesi Ghat, Sriji Temple, Jugal Kishore Temple, Lal Babu Temple, Raj Ghat, Kusuma Sarovar, Imli Tal, Kaliya Ghat, Raman Reti, Varaha Ghat, Chira Ghat, samadhi of Swami Haridas and samadhi of Devraha Baba. In honor of Swami Haridas, a meet is organized, in which renowned musicians take part every year. The renovation of ancient Seva Kunj is being carried out by The Braj Foundation.

Controversies

Vrindavan is also known as the city of widows^[26] due to the large number of widows who move into the town and surrounding area after losing their husbands. There are an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 widows^[27][28] who spend time singing bhajan hymns for in bhajanashrams. An organization called Guild of Service was formed to assist these deprived women and children.^[26][28] According to a survey report prepared by the government, several homes run by the government and different NGOs for widows.^[29]

See also

• Radha-vallabha
• Brindaban Society
• Govardhan hill
• Svayam bhagavan

References

1. Census of India
2. Keene, Henry George (1899). "Bindrabun". A Handbook for Visitors to Agra and Its Neighbourhood. Thacker, Spink & Co. pp. 98–106.
3. Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam, ed. India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 176.
4. "Brindaban". The Imperial Gazetteer of India. 1909.
5.  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Brindaban". Encyclopædia Britannica 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
6. "Vrindavan PinCode". citypincode.in. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
7. "Discovery of Vrindavan by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu".
8. "Falling Rain Genomics, Inc – Vrindavan".
9. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
10. Jayant Pandurang Nayaka, Syed Nurullah (1974). A students' history of education in India (1800–1973) (6 ed.). Macmillan.
11. Klaus Klostermaier (2007). A Survey of Hinduism. State University of New York Press; 3 edition. p. 204. ISBN 0-7914-7081-4. The center of Krishna-worship has been for a long time Brajbhumi, the district of Mathura that embraces also Vrindavana, Govardhana, and Gokula, associated with Krishna from the time immemorial. Many millions of Krishna bhaktas visit these places every year and participate in the numerous festivals that re-enact divine scenes from Krishna's life on Earth, of which were spent in those very places Vrinda means Tulsi (A sacred specie of flora) and van as forest, therefore Vrindavan is a holy forest of Tulsi. Vijaypal Baghel, known as GreenMan is promoting, planting and farming Tulsi in mass around the Vrindavan.
12. Usha Nilsson (1997), Mira bai, Sahitya Akademi, ISBN 978-8126004119, pages 1-15
13. Usha Nilsson (1997), Mira bai, Sahitya Akademi, ISBN 978-8126004119, pages 16-17
14. John S Hawley (2005), Three Bhakti Voices: Mirabai, Surdas and Kabir in Their Times and Ours, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195670851, pages 128-130
15. "ISKCON to build world's tallest temple at Mathura from today".
16. "Banke-Bihari Temple website".
17. "Prem Mandir".
18. "Kripaluji Maharaj's Prem Mandir will be inaugurated on 17 February". Aaj Ki Khabar.
19. "Radhavallabh Temple website".
20. "The history of Sri Radha Raman Temple".
21. "Uma Shakti Peeth Vrindavan – 2nd Among 51 Shakti Peethas". Retrieved 4 August 2013.
22. (Translator), F. Max Muller (1 June 2004). The Upanishads, Vol I. Kessinger Publishing, LLC. ISBN 1-4191-8641-8.
23. (Translator), F. Max Muller (26 July 2004). The Upanishads Part II: The Sacred Books of the East Part Fifteen. Kessinger Publishing, LLC. ISBN 1-4179-3016-0.
24. "Kottiyoor Devaswam Temple Administration Portal". http://kottiyoordevaswom.com/. Kottiyoor Devaswam. Retrieved 20 July 2013. External link in |work= (help)
25. "Red Stone Temple".
26. "India's widows live out sentence of shame, poverty". Archived from the original on 29 November 2006. Retrieved 25 March 2007.
27. "Catalyst Magazine: Moksha: the widows of Vrindavan". Retrieved 25 March 2007.
28. "Shunned from society, widows flock to city to die". CNN. 5 July 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2007.
29. "Sulabh dons mantle".

External links

Vrindavan travel guide from Wikivoyage