Temples in Vrindavana
Krishna Balarama Mandir
This beautiful temple has Deities of Gaura-Nital (left altar), Krishna Balarama (middle altar), and Radha-Shyamasundara (Radha-Krishna on right altar). In front of the temple is the Samadhi Mandir of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). This is where his body was laid to rest after he left this world and returned to the spiritual world. Normally the bodies of dead people are burned and the ashes are put in a holy river. But in the case of a paramahamsa, a highly elevated devotee of Lord Krishna, the body, is not burned, but buried in samadhi. This is because the body of a pure devotee is spiritual.
By the guest house entrance are the actual rooms that Srila Prabhupada lived in while in Vrindavana. The bed that you see here is where Srila Prabhupada Ieft his body in November 1977. In these rooms there are many of his personal items that he used while in Vrindavana and traveling around the world.
The guest house and restaurant are the best facilities in Vrindavana. Regrettably the guest house is usually full, so it is essential to book in advance. Even if the guest house is full, ISKCON life patrons are still given free places to stay in some other guest facilities, close to the temple.
Also there is a traditional gurukula, or school of the guru, which can sometimes be visited with prior permission. Students here are trained in an ashram situation. They get both spiritual on material education.
About a km from the temple is a gosshala, where over a hundred cows are portected. It is located in a very peacful place and has a nice garden. This can be visited.
The temple address is Krishna Balarama Mandir, Bhaktivedanta Swami Marg, Raman Reti, Vrindavana, Mathura District, UP.
Govindaji Temple
This temple was built in 1590 and took several thousand men five full years to build. The original Govindaji Deity was found about 450 years ago by Rupa Goswami. Govindaji was removed from this temple when the Muslim emperor Aurangzeb tried to destroy it. The original Deity is now in Jaipur, in a temple right outside the King of Jaipur's palace.
This temple was originally seven stories high, with an altar of marble, silver, and gold. A sculptured lotus flower weighing several tons decorates the main hall. On meeting Rupa Goswami, Man Singh from Jaipur, a general in Emperor Akbar's army, built this magnificent temple. Aurangzeb and his army later destroyed part of the temple. When a few stories remained, all of a sudden the ground began to shake violently and Aurangzeb's men were terrified and ran for their lives, never to return
The Deities on the altar in this temple are Govindaji in the middle, to His left is Lord Caitanya, and to His right is Lord Nityananda. Below are small Radha and Krishna Deities. Below Them are Lord Jagannath and a Govardhana-shila.
Since this temple was partially destroyed by Muslims, it is considered that worship can not be done in this temple. Therefore behind the temple another temple was established where worship is performed to the Deities that were installed after Govindaji was removed and brought to Jaipur.
Purusottama, the son of King Prataparudra, sent the deity of Radharani from Jagannath Puri to be installed next to Govindadeva. This was the first deity of Radharani to be installed in Vrindavana.
There are two small temples on two sides of the Jagmohan, the main audience hall (temple room). Inside the small temple on the southern side, down 12 steps is a cave in which the Deity of Govinda was found and where Rupa Goswami used to meditate. A deity of eight-armed Yogamaya sitting on a lion is also there. There is also a stone slab with the footprint of Krishna on it. Vrinda Devi, who is now in Kamavana, used to be in the northern temple.
Madana Mohana Temple
The original Deity of Madana Mohana was discovered at the base of an old vat tree by Advaita Acarva, when he visited Vrindavana. He entrusted the woVrship of Madana Mohana to His disciple, Purusottama Chaube, who then gave the Deity to Sanatana Goswami. Sanatana Goswami spend 43 years in Vrindavana. Worshiped along with Madana Mohana are Radharani and Lalita, who were sent to Vrindavana by Purusottama Jena, the son of Maharaja Prataparudra.
This 60 foot high temple was opened in 1580 on a 50 foot hill called Aditya Tila, next to the Yamuna. Ram Das Kapoor paid to build the temple. One day a ship he owned, loaded with merchandise, went aground in the Yamuna. He was advised by Sanatana Goswami to pray to Madana Mohana for help. The ship came free and the owner of the ship made a big profit, which he used to built this temple.
The original Madana Mohana Deity was moved from Vrindavana to Jaipur when t Moghul Emperor Aurangzeb attacked Vrindavana in 1670. That Deity is now in Karoli, which is southeast of Jaipur in Rajasthan. There is a new Madana Mohana Temple, built by Sri Nanda Kumar Bose of Bengal, at the bottom of the hill, where the Madana Mohana Deities are now being worshiped. It is said that worship was moved to this new temple because the old temple was contaminated by the Muslims.
On the side of the temple is the bhajana kutir (meditation place) of Sanatana Goswami.
In back of the temple is the samadhi of Sanatana Goswami. On the side of the samadhi are the puspa-samadhis of Candrasekhara Acarya and Tapana Misra, two of Sri Caitanya's associates. There is also a sweet water well here that Sanatana Goswami used. Behind Sanatana Goswami's samadhi is a grantha samadhi, which contains some of the original manuscripts of the Goswamis.
Radha-Ballabha Temple
This popular temple was founded by Hit Harivamsa Goswami, a disciple of Gopala Bhatta Goswami.
Radha-Damodara Temple
This temple was founded by Jiva Goswami. The main Deities here are Sri Sri Radha-Damodara. Other Deities worshiped here are the Radha-Vrindavana Candra Deities of Krishna Dasa Kaviraja Goswami, the Radha-Madhava Deities of Jayadeva Goswami, and the Radha-Chalacikana Deities of Bhugarbha Goswami. The original Deities were all moved to Jaipur. When the original Deities are moved, the replacement Deity is called a pratibhu-murti and is considered as good as the original Deity.
The samadhis of Jiva Goswami, Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami, Rupa Goswami and the puspa-samadhi of Bhaktisiddhanta Goswami are here. The bhajan kutirs (meditation place) of Rupa Goswami and Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada are also here.
There is a Govardhana Shila in this temple that was worshiped by Sanatana Goswami. It has Lord Krishna's footprint on it, and it was given to Sanatana Goswami by Krishna Himself. For a small donation the pujari will show you this shila. You can see the imprints of Krishna's footprint, walking stick, flute, and the hoof-print of a calf imbedded in the shila. This temple was built by Maharaja Man Singh of Amber (Jaipur). .
Srila Prabbupada lived here for six years from 1959 to 1965. He translated. and wrote commentaries on the first three volumes of the Bhagavatam here. Everyday there is distribution of the maha-prasada that was offered to him.When you enter the courtyard of the temple, Srila Prabhupada's rooms are to your right. e small kitchen has a window through which you can see Srila Rupa Goswami's samadhi.
Jiva Goswami's samadhi is to the left of the Deities through a doorway. It is then directly to your right against temple wall. Bhaktisiddhanta's puspa samadhi is the white marble samadhi fifteen feet in front as you cross the doorway. It is the first one in the second row. Rupa Goswami's samadhi is on the right side of the temple across from his. bhajana kutir.
Radha-Gokulananda Temple
In this temple you can see the Radha-Vinod Deities of Lokanath Goswami, Radha-Gokulananda Deities of Viswanath Cakravarti, Caitany Mahaprabhu Deity of Narottama Dasa Thakur, Vijaya Govinda Deities of Baladeva Vidyabhusana, and the Govardnana-shila given by Lord Caitanya to Raghunath Dasa Goswami. The samadhis of Lokanath Goswarni, Narottama Dasa, and Viswanath Cakravarti are in front of the temple. Viswanath Cakravarti arranged to have this temple built.
Radha-Gopinath Temple
The Deity of Gopinath was discovered at Vamsivat by Paramananda Bhattacarya, who entrusted the Deity's worship to Madhu Pandita. On the altar are deities of Srimati Radharani and Her sister, Ananga Manjari. Madhu Pandita's samadhi is next to the temple.
Gopinathji was originally installed in Vrindavana by Vajranabha, the great-grandson of Krishna. When the Muslims raided Vrindavana, the original Gopinath Deity was taken to Jaipur. The Gopinath Deity in Jaipur and Lord Krishna are said to exactly resemble each other from Their shoulders down to the waist.
Radha-Raman Temple
Gopal Bhatta Goswami established this temple. The Deity of Sri Radha-Raman was manifested from one of Gopal Bhatta Goswami's shalagram-shilas on the full moon day of Vaisakha (April/May) in 1542. This event is celebrated every year (May) by bathing the Deity with 100 litres of milk and auspicious items. The remnants of this abhiseka (bathing) are like nectar. Gopal Bhatta Goswami's other shalagram- shilas are worshiped on the altar here. The appearance place of the Sri Radha-Raman Deity is next to the temple. Radha-Ramanji is one of the few original Deities of the Goswamis still in Vrindavana. The standard of worship in this temple is very high..
Sri Caitanya Manaprabhu's kaupina (cloth) and asana (seat), which Gopal Bhatta Goswami brought from Jagannath Puri, are also in this templ They are brought out to be seen by the public three or four times a year. The asana is black wood about 12" by 10". Gopala Goswami's samadhi is to the left ter you enter the first gate from the street into the temple compound.
The fires for cooking in the temple kitchen have been burning continuously for over 435 years, since the Deity was installed. This is so no foreign elements, such as matches, are used for ignition purposes.
Radha- Syamasundara Temple
These are the Deities of Syamananda Prabhu. It is one of the seven major temples in Vrindavana. Syamananda's samadhi is across the street and down from the entrance of the temple.
Sona Gauranga Temple
These Deities were worshiped by Jagannath Dasa Babaji. They are located in a person's house next to Prema Talkies cinema in the lane opposite the RadhaGopinath Temple.
Banke Bihari Temple
This temple was established by Haridas Swami, a contemporary of the six Goswamis. He discovered the Banke Bihari Deity at Nidhivana, where Banke Bihari was originally worshiped. Banke Bihari was moved here when this temple was constructed in 1864. This is the most popular temple in Vrindavana, especially in the month of Sravana, during Jhulan Yatra.
The curtain before the Deities is not left open like at other temples. Every few minutes the curtain is pulled shut and then opened again. The Deities do not get up until 9 am. The temple has mangala-arati only one day a year. Only one day a year can the lotus feet of the Deity be seen, on Akhyaya Tritiya. The priests of the temple belong to the Nimbarka-sampradaya.
Gopiswara Mahadeva Temple
The Siva-linga in this temple was installed by Vajranabha, the great grandson of Krishna. Every morning from 4 am to noon, thousands of people pour Yamuna water over the linga. It is said that the big pipal tree here is a kalpavriksya tree and will fulfil all desires. This temple is in the Vamsivata area.
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