Chief shrine of RadhaVallabh sect, old RadhaVallabh Temple at Vrindavan, though now abandoned but protected monument is in itself a hertiage building and its spectacular  architectural interest is the last example of the early Eclectic style. It was constructed by Sundardas Bhatnagar, a disciple of Shri Vanchandraji, son of Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu, founder of the RadhaVallabh sect. Wilson noted an inscription over the gateway of this temple, now no longer extant, that it was in 1585, when this temple was constructed. Abdul Rahim Khankhana, the Dewan at Akbar’s court, in whose employment Sundardas Bhatnagar of Deoband was, not only got Royal permission to use red sandstone for temple construction, which was till then used only for construction of imperial buildings, royal palaces and forts, but also monetary grant for this temple from Akbar. Descendants of Sunderdas Bhatnagar at Deoband still have these documents with them. It is said that Raja Mansingh first decided to contract this temple. But on hearing a legend that whosoever will construct this temple will die within a year, he backed out. Actually Sundardas died within a year, after he with his personal treasure as well as help from Abdul Rahim Khankhana and Akbar constructed it.

SHRI RADHA: THE MAIN DEITY

Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu relished tasting the spiritual nectar inherent in the intimate service of the Lotus like beautiful softest soft feet of Shri-Shri Radha and Shri Krishna in the ecstatic love as a Dearest Associate of the Divine Couple, being incarnation of the Holy Flute (Vanshi Avatar). One could taste the elixir of Bhakti-Rasa by unalloyed devotion dedication and loving intimate service to the Supreme Lord as the Divine Friend of the Divine Consort. The supreme Lord Krishna is only predomination and transcendental recipient of Prema, while Shri Radha is the Predominated Counter-Whole Divinity who alone can offer the supreme enjoyments to the absolute Lord.

So long as one’s heart is polluted by sense egoism, so long as one’s mind is darkened by a very the quagmire of sex-mindedness, so long as an individual misidentifies his true self with his gross body and his subtle body-mind, intelligence. Ego-there is absolutely no possibility of entering into the depth of the Spiritual Transparency of Shri RadhaVallabh. The conception of Shri-Shri Radha is completely misconceived by most people, and Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu had shown the path. Who can understand all at once his (Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu’s) method of devotion? With whom the blessed feet of Shri-Shri Radha were the highest object of worship; a most staunch-soul devotee who made himself the page in waiting on the Divine Couple in their bower of love who gloried in the enjoyment of the remnants of all that was offered at their Shrine; a servant who never pleaded obligation or dispensation; a votary of incomparable zeal. Account him blessed who follows in the path of Shri Vyasa’s great son, the Goswami Shri Harivansh, who can understand all at once his method of devotion?

Would you know the one point in a thousand of Shri HitJi ways? He adored Radha first and after her Krishna. A most strange fashion, that none could even faintly comprehend save by His favor. He obliterated all distinction between obligation and dispensation; his beloved was in his heart; he lived only as her servant, singing the praises of the divinity night and day. All the faithful know his many edifying and holy actions; why tell and repeat them, since they are famous already. Radha gave him the gracious command publicize my worship among my faithful people, a path for pathless, of high renown, tell them about delights of my sylvan abode. He drank in with his eyes the essence of bliss and gave it to every desirous, dedicated person who supported the cause of female Divinity. Night and day imbibing the honeyed draught of sweet song and cherishing it in his soul, with no thought but for Shyama and Shyam, The soul is enraptured at the sound more than at that of any other name. 

The region of Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district has its name etched in epics such as Mahabharata as Lord Krishna’s playground. These places have witnessed countless miracles from the Lord’s childhood that left the Daityas and Danavas in perpetual awe.

While Vrindavan’s forest cover decreased to a few square kilometres, the location retains a spiritual air and a profound religious pull that draws millions from nearly every country even today. Vrindavan is a town of temples since there are temples dedicated to Lord Krishna in every nook and cranny of the city. More than 50 temples that we can name are notable for some sort of miracle.

#FunFacts: The most well-known is the Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir, the world’s tallest temple; ISKCON temple, also known as Sri Krishna-Balarama Temple; Angrezon ka Mandir; and Madan Mohan Temple.

Madan Mohan temple is one of the most ancient temples in Vrindavan. During Aurangzeb’s reign, people deported the original Lord Krishna statue to Karauli, Rajasthan.

History and Legend of the Radha Madan Mohan Temple

According to popular legend, the Shri Radha Madan Mohan temple in Vrindavan is 5000 years old. People formerly believed that Krishna’s great-grandson, Vajranabh built the temple. When Advaita Acharya visited Vrindavan, he spotted the Madan Mohan deity at the root of an ancient banyan tree. He transferred the devotion of Madana Mohan to his student, Purusottama Chaube, who eventually passed the God to Sanatana Goswami.

#Trivia: The temple’s principal deity is Lord Madan Mohan, another name for Hindu god Krishna. It is present at the temple’s central altar with his consort Radha and Lalita gopi on either side.

According to historical records, a Multan businessman named Kapur Ram Das, under the supervision of Sri Sanatana Goswami, built this temple in the 15th or 16th century.

#FunFacts: King Jai Singh secretly transferred the original Madan Mohan statue to Jaipur overnight before Aurangzeb invaded the Vrindavan and Mathura temples. Later, King Gopal Singh relocated the deities to Karauli. Thus, the original deities are now housed at Karauli, Rajasthan’s Madan Mohan shrine.

Madan Mohan’s original deity resembles Krishna from the waist down. In the 18th century, people found a copy of Madan Mohan in Vrindavan’s Madan Mohan shrine. Nand Kumar Basu constructed the temple at the foot of the hill near the Yamuna river in the 19th century.

The image of Bihariji installed in the Shri Banke Bihari Mandir, is the one granted to Swami Haridas by the celestial couple Shyama-Shyam themselves. Submitting to the desire of devotees The Lord appeared in person with his divine consort and left back a black charming image before disappering.

Swami Haridas ji was born to Shri Ashudhir and his wife Smt Gangadevi on the day of Radha Ashtami i.e. eighth day of second (bright) fortnight of Bhadrapad month of the year 1535 Vikrami(1478 A.D.). He was born in a small village, now known as Haridaspur, near Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. The linage of the family can be traced back to Shri Gargacharya. Shri Gargachrya was the kulguru (family guru) of Yadavs and visited Brij secretly for conducting the Namkaran Samskar (naming ceremony) of young Krishna and Balram on request of Sri Vasudev. A branch of the family migrated to Multan (now in Pakistan), but some of them returned after a long time. Sri Ashudhir was one such migrant who after returning from Multan settled at the outskirts of Brij, near Aligarh.

Swami Haridas was the reincarnation of Lalita ‘sakhi’ (female friend), of the inner consortium of Lord Krishna. This easily explains the fact that even in his childhood, he was more into meditation and scriptures, while other children of his age were busy playing. He was married at the suitable age according to the time to Harimati. Even after his marriage, young Haridas stayed away from worldly pleasures and concentrated on meditation. Harimati ji was such a saintly soul herself that on realizing the inclination of her husband, she prayed intensely and was bodily transported to the heavenly abode of Lord by entering the flame of a small lamp in the presence of Haridas. No physical remains were left behind!

Soon after that Haridas left his village for Vrindavan, which was a dense forest at that time and choose a secluded spot, which is now known as Nidhivan, to practice his music and to enjoy eternal bliss of meditation. He constantly and continuously meditated on Nitya Ras and Nitya Bihar of Lord at Nitya Vrindavan. His way of Sadhna was to compose and sing songs in the praise of Lord. While on earth, living in a mortal state, he facilitated his regular unobstructed entry in the Nitya Bihar and always enjoyed the pleasure of closeness of Lord. He chose a secluded and densely forested area, Kunj, in Nidhivan as his gateway to the nirvana and was mostly sitting there, singing, meditating and surfing in the ocean of eternal bliss.

His disciples were curious about this place and one day with permission of Swamiji, they all entered the kunj. But instead of seeing anything they were almost blinded by bright, intense light, which seemed to fill the whole place. On knowing of their plight Swamiji himself went there, and then after his requests, lord appeared in person with his divine consort, pleasantly smiling and in a playful mood and casting a spell of charm on every living being present there. Those who witnessed this, were so spell bounded by the beauty of the Lord and his consort, that they couldn’t even blink their eyes, it seemed that all of them had turned into stone statues.

The legend as handed down to the generations of Goswamis, says that the beauty of the divine couple was such that no one wanted to loose the sight and proximity of divinity, but then what kind of divinity is it, which cannot make a mere mortal swoon and charmed enough to forget and give up the world and its luxuries? The beauty of the divine couple was so much that lesser mortals, like you and me, won’t be able to bear such a heavenly beauty. Sensing this Swami Haridasji requested both of them to take a single form, as the world won’t be able to bear their image. He requested them to take a single form like Ghan(cloud) and Damini(lightning) thus giving a perfect metaphor to the combined beauty of dark Lord and his fair consort, Radhaji.

Also he wanted his beloved lord to be in front of his eyes always. Granting him his both wishes, the couple turned itself into one single black charming idol, the same one that you see in the temple today. The charm and beauty of Shri Banke Bihariji is the only reason why the ‘darshan’ in the temple is never continuous but is broken by the curtain drawn on him regularly. It is also said that if one stares long enough into the eyes of Shri Banke Bihariji, the person would lose his self consciousness.

Thus came into existence the physical form of Lord Banke Bihari, popularly know as Bihariji. The responsibility of Sewa of Bihariji was handed over to Goswami Jagannath by Swamiji himself. Goswami Jagannath was one of the principal disciple and younger brother of Swamiji. By tradition, the Sewa is performed by descendents of Jagannath Goswami till day.

Initially the deity was installed in a temple close to the first appearance in Nidhivan. A new temple befitting the glory of Bihariji was constructed in 1862 AD. Goswamis themselves mobilized resources for the construction. The temple is an architectural beauty in itself and follows the contemporary Rajasthani style.

The sewa of the Bihariji is unique in its own way. It is performed in three parts every day ie Shringar, Rajbhog and Shayan. While shringar (which includes bath, dressing and adornment with jewellery like crown and necklaces) and Rajbhog(feast) is offered in the forenoon, Shayan Sewa (shayan means sleep) is offered in the evening. The temple doesn’t have a tradition of Mangala (early morning) sewa. Swami Haridas did not favour Mangla Sewa as he wanted his child like Lord to take complete rest and did not want to disturb him out of deep slumber so early in the morning.

So, the temple today stands with its full glory, inside which the Lord himself resides. It is thronged by thousands of visitors everyday.

Maa Vaishno Devi is believed to grant four boons to her devotees namely Dharma (Righteousness), Artha (Material Pursuits), Kaama (Contentment), and Moksha (Enlightenment).

The Maa Vaishno Devi Dham, located in the holy city of Vrindavan, was founded by Sh. J C Chaudhry. Spread across 12 acres of land, the Dham provides an opportunity to all the devotees of Maa Vaishno Devi to worship their goddess and serve the poor alongside. Every year lakhs of devotees visit the Dham from all parts of India and abroad.

Sh. J C Chaudhry is the Managing Trustee and the founder of Maa Vaishno Devi Dham at Vrindavan. With a staunch belief in Maa Vaishno Devi, whom he always considers as a source of support and inspiration, Sh. J C Chaudhry established the Dham to reciprocate to the Goddess for all her love, care, and blessings.

The Sri Sri Krishna Balaram Mandir, situated in the Raman Reti area of Vrindavan, holds a special significance for devotees of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. This grand temple represents the fulfilled dream of Srila Prabhupada, founder acharya of ISKCON, who wished to construct a temple of unparalleled beauty for the worship of the transcendental brothers Krishna and Balaram in the same village where they played more than five thousand years ago. Prabhupada directly oversaw all aspects of design and construction and personally called the Lord to come and accept the worship of His devotees from around the world. He said “Lord Balaram is the source of spiritual strength, and I have built this temple just to give strength to the devotees”. Today, the Sri Sri Krishna Balaram Mandir is a booming spiritual center. Every day of the week pilgrims flood in great numbers from nearby Delhi and all over the world. In fact, the large green government signs posted over the highway turn off to Vrindavan only give directions to two temples: Banke Bihari and ISKCON. Visitors to the temple first pass under the brilliant white marble archway of Srila Prabhupadas samadhi, an architectural wonder of winding peacock stairways and intricately carved walls and domes. They then enter through the gigantic wooden temple doors and find themselves transported to the spiritual world upon seeing the palace of Krishna Balaram with its sunken black and white checkered marble courtyard, beautified by a living tamal tree. The music of the kartals, mrdanga and sweet harmonium of the 24 hour kirtaneers enters the heart, and everyone, including young and old, spontaneously raise their arms and dance in ecstasy. Ascending the courtyard steps, visitors approach the effulgent gorgeous forms of the source of all beauty, the presiding Lords Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, Krishna Balaram and Radha Shyamasundar. Standing transfixed with open eyes and folded hands, pilgrims drink in the dazzling vision of the Lord, artistically decorated with no consideration of expense or effort, truly a festival for the eyes. This entire temple complex is a busy preaching powerhouse comprised of thirty departments including a guesthouse, welcome center, Samadhi museum, ten book stalls, bakery, restaurant, broadcast studio, residential Brahmacari ashram and a Deity department with one of the highest standards of worship in the world, engaging more than one hundred devotees directly in the seva everyday.

Made out of white marble and adorned with very intricate carvings, this temple is also famous for its architectural beauty. Statues of Shri Krishna and his admirers, portraying essential occasions surrounding the Lord’s life, cover the main temple. Various scenes from Krishna’s life, like raising the Govardhan Mountain, have been depicted on the periphery of the Prem Mandir. The lighting of the temple further glorifies its spectacular look, especially during the night. The colored water twists and twirls to the tunes of the kirtans of Radha Krishna being played nearby and are an audio-visual delight.

Imbued with elegance and grandeur, the Prem Mandir is a massive temple that was shaped by Jagadguru Shri Kripaluji Maharaj in the year 2001. Known as “Temple of God’s love”, this grand religious place is dedicated to Radha Krishna as well as Sita Ram. Located in Vrindavan, the holy city in the district of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, the temple is enveloped with piousness and serenity. This newly constructed temple is the most beautiful in the entire Brij area and is crowded with devotees during the time of the Aarti.

Made out of white marble and adorned with very intricate carvings, this temple is also famous for its architectural beauty. Statues of Shri Krishna and his admirers, portraying essential occasions surrounding the Lord’s life, cover the main temple. Various scenes from Krishna’s life, like raising the Govardhan Mountain, have been depicted on the periphery of the Prem Mandir. The lighting of the temple further glorifies its spectacular look, especially during the night. The colored water twists and twirls to the tunes of the kirtans of Radha Krishna being played nearby and are an audio-visual delight.