Unchagaon

Unchagaon

       This village situated 1 mile west of Shri Barsana Gram is the appearance place of Shri Radhika’s most intimate Sakhi, Lalita Sakhi. It is Lalita’s duty to pacify Shrimati Radharani when She is feeling separation from Krishna. There is a Lalita Krishna temple atop the hill in Unchagaon. In this temple there is a set of Radha Krishna deities and next to Them is a little deity of Shri Lalita Devi. The Samadhi of Narayan Bhatt Goswami, a great devotee of Lord Chaitanya, is also there in Unchagaon. He excavated many pastime places and installed many lost deities of Vrindavan. Close to this Samadhi is a temple of Balaramji. Narayan Bhatt Goswami would personally worship this deity of Balaramji. Also there is a Sakhi-Giri Parvata or Sakhi Giri hill in Unchagaon where the intimate sakhis such as Lalita, Vishakha, Champaklata  and Chitra would perform playful pastimes. On the Sakhi Giri Parvata is a stone slide called the Phisalini Shila. It is said that at this place Krishna and the Gopis would throw colors on each other during Holi.

Yavat

Yavat

       Yavat is the village of Abhimanyu, his mother Jatila and sister Kutila. Abhimanyu played the part of the “so-called husband” of Shrimati Radharani in Lord Krishna’s pastimes. Abhimanyu is the expansion of Krishna’s shadow. This place is very much glorified by Shrila Rupa and Sanatan Goswami because this place facilitates the “Parakiya Rasa” or the mellow of paramour love in the loving pastimes of Shri Shri Radha and Krishna. There is a Radha Krishna temple in this village called the Radha Kanta Temple. This village is 3 Km northeast of Nandagaon.

       The Acharyas explain that how it was Krishna only who married Shrimati Radharani in the form of Abhimanyu.

       When Lord Brahma had stolen the calves and the Gopas and put them in mystic slumber for one full year, that time Lord Krishna not wanting to create any type of anxiety for the Brajavasis personally expanded Himself as each and every calf and each and every Gopa, so identically that no one even considered the possibility that there was any difference. The only difference the cows and the mothers and the fathers of the Gopas experienced was that they could not understand why they felt such intensified love for their children. They loved their children for the first time as much as they loved Krishna Himself. Sukadev Goswami explains that this is because Krishna is the beloved Supersoul in every ones heart, He is the ultimate object of everyone’s love. So in Vrindavan everyone love their children, but they love Krishna most. All the Gopas, Gopis and all the cows would long in their hearts that “Mother Yashoda is so fortunate to have Krishna as her child. If only I could love Krishna as my child.” In Vrindavan everyone’s desires are fulfilled. So Krishna fulfilled desires of all the mothers and personally became their Children and accepted the milk from their breast.

       During that year Krishna also wanted to satisfy the younger Gopis who prayed to Krishna to become their husband. So Krishna told Nanda Maharaj that this particular year is very, very auspicious for marriage. We should get all the Gopas married to the Gopis. Nanda Maharaj consulted with Paurnamasi, “Shiksa Guru” of Braja Bhumi. She said, “Yes this is correct we should have big, big marriages.” So young Gopas married young Gopis. The Gopis attained the fulfillment of their heart’s desires by marrying “Krishna”. They didn’t know that the One they were being married to was their beloved Krishna only. But they loved Him as they loved Krishna, because although Krishna was in all these different forms of the different Gopas, He manifested His all-attractive beauty in each of them. The marriage of Shrimati Radharani with “Abhimanyu” was also arranged in the same year. But Krishna had expanded Himself as Abhimanyu also, who was sleeping in a mystic slumber in Brahma Loka. So Shrimati Radharani was married to Krishna in the form of Abhimanyu. Almost for one year “Krishna” in the form Abhimanyu lived with Shrimati Radharani as Her husband in this very place called Yavat.

       At the end of the year when Brahma surrendered to Krishna realizing His Supreme glory, he brought back all the calves and all the cowherd boys including Abhimanyu. At that time the cowherd boys and the calves understood that their perfection was simply to somehow or other increase the loving exchanges of Radha and Krishna. So Abhimanyu who is Krishna’s expansion existed only for the purpose of increasing the excitement of the Rasa in the meetings and the separations of Shri Shri Radha and Krishna. As did Jatila and Kutila.

Raval

Raval

       Shrimati Radharani appeared in this world in a village called Mukharvali, now known as Raval.

      This is the place of the appearance of the most worshipable object of devotion for the Gaudiya Vaishnavas (followers of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu); Vrishabhanu Nandini, Shrimati Radharani. There is a small temple here called Ladli Lal Temple with Radha Krishna deties. The deity of Krishna is said to have been established by Vajranabh, great-grandson of Krishna, some 5000 years ago. Raval is some 4 Km south of Gokula, the appearance place of Shri Krishna.

       It is explained that Vrishabhanu and Kirtida, were living in Barsana but they had no children. While at the same time Nanda Maharaj and Yashoda were living in Nanda Gaon and they also had no children. Vrishabhanu Maharaj and Nanda Maharaj were dear most friends. So they decided to shift their two communities of cowherds close to the bank of Yamuna, because the Yamuna is filled with all auspiciousness. So, Nanda and Yashoda shifted to Gokula and got Lord Shri Krsna as their child. Vrishabhanu Maharaj alongwith his community of cowherds shifted to Raval which at that time was very close to river Yamuna. Once Vrishabhanu Maharaj went to Yamuna to take his bath and there he saw in the midst of the Yamuna a beautiful lotus flower and on the lotus flower was the most perfect object of all beauty in the form of a small infant baby. Her complexion was golden and it was more brilliant than millions and millions of Suns. Vrishabhanu was wondering how to reach this beautiful lotus flower. At that time Lord Brahma appeared, and Lord Brahma explained to Vrishabhanu that in your previous life you were Suchandra and your Kirtida was Kalavati and you performed great tapasya, eating only dry leaves and hardly some water for thousands upon thousands of years. You desired the supreme source of Laxmi to appear as your own baby child and I therefore appeared before you and offered you this benediction. So to fulfill your prayer the Supreme Laxmi, Shrimati Radharani has now appeared to be your child.

       Vrishabhanu took Shrimati Radhika to his home and offered her to Kirtida, his wife. Vrishabhanu Maharaj had wonderful, wonderful celebrations and was giving hundreds and thousands of cows decorated in jewels, gold and silver in charity, and everyone around Vraja Bhoomi, especially this Raval area began singing and dancing, celebrating the birth of this beautiful child. Upon seeing Her just once their hearts became insatiably attached to Her and they could think of nothing or no one else except Her. But for some inconceivable reason this child would not open Her eyes. Nor would She acknowledge any sound or make any sound from Her mouth. Perhaps She was blind and deaf and dumb.

       At that time, Narada Muni came to Raval Dham to take the darshan of Shrimati Radharani, the Supreme most object of his worship. Upon Narada’s request Vrishabhanu brought the child and Narada Muni immediately offered his prostrated obeisances to the child. He began to circumambulate this beautiful golden baby. And with tears of love in his eyes he began to chant the glories of Shrimati Radharani. After this Shri Narada explained to Vrishabhanu, you should have big, big celebrations. Let everyone know about the birth of this child. Then he went to a place called Narada Kunda, which is near Govardhan Hill and by the blessings of the darshan of Shrimati Radharani he wrote the Narada Bhakti Sutra there.

       Meanwhile Nanda and Yashoda came to Raval alongwith their little baby Gopal in order to behold the beauty of Shrimati Radharani and to offer their congratulations to Her fortunate parents. At the time when they were discussing so many wonderful subject matters, little Gopal crawled to the swinging cradle in which Shrimati Radharani was sitting, and somehow or other, reached up and He put His beautiful moonlike face right before Shri Radhika. Only then did Shrimati Radharani open Her beautiful lotus like eyes because She did not want to see anything in this world except Her beloved Shyamsundar, Shri Krishna. She began to cry in ecstatic love and when all the Brajvasis saw this wonderful pastime they all began to celebrate the glories of Shrimati Radharani.

Barsana

Barsana

Shriji Temple -Laadli Sarkar Mahal- Radha Rani Mandir;

       Barsana Gram also called Vrishabhanupur, is a village 25 miles northwest from Mathura. Barsana is the eternal playground of Shri Vrindavaneshwari, the Supreme Reservoir of Compassion—Shrimati Radharani.

       Barsana is such a beautiful enchanting land that just by seeing and experiencing the divine landscape of Barsana ones heart and mind is naturally transported to the realm of devotion. Just like a lotus flower has a whorl and eight petals similarly Barsana is the whorl of the lotus, the abode of Shrimati Radharani, and around Barsana are the villages of all of Her eight Sakhis. There are many intimate pastime places in Barsana Dham such as Sankhri Khor, Pili Pokhar, Krishna Kunda, Morr Kuti, palace of Vrishabhanu Maharaj, Ladli Lal temple etc. Krishna is Hari—He steals away all our attachments and ultimately steals our heart when it becomes soft like the butter of the gopis, but Shrimati Radharani steals the heart of even Hari, so She is “Hare” and Barsana is the abode of Shri Radhika where She performed Her childhood pastimes in the courtyard of Vrishabhanu and Kirtida.

Maan Garh -Maan Mandir;

       This village is settled on and around two hills which are adjacent to each other. The white colored hill is the longer one and is called Brahma Hill while the black colored one is called Vishnu Hill. Padma Purana states that Lord Brahma has taken the form of these hills in Barsana so as to get the dust of the lotus feet of Shri Shri Radha Krishna and Their devotees on his heads. There are four peaks of these hills- Bhangarh, Maangarh, Daangarh and Vilasgarh and each of these peaks is one of the heads of Lord Brahma. Vilasgarh lies on the Vishnu Hill while the rest three peaks lie on Brahma Hill.

Shriji Temple -Laadli Sarkar Mahal- Radha Rani Mandir;

       Atop Bhangarh is the famous temple of Shriji. This deity of Shriji, also known as Ladli Lal (The beloved one), was originally established by Vajranabh, some 5000 years ago. Just at the foot of the steps leading to Shriji temple is the palace of Vrishabhanu Maharaj where Shri Radhika performed Her childhood pastimes. Here one can have darshan of Vrishabhanu, Kirtida, Shridama and Shri Radhika. Just across the road from Shriji temple is a beautiful pond called Pili Pokhar. When Yashoda Mayi applied turmeric paste to Shri Radhika’s hands accepting Her as her bride, Radharani came and washed Her hands out of shyness in this pond. Consequently the color of the water here turned golden yellow.

Pili Pokhar;

       Atop Maangarh is the Maan Mandir, the place where Shrimati Radharani would go into seclusion in Her transcendental loving anger towards Krishna. At Maan Mandir Krishna pleads, weeps and cries like a beggar to gain the favor of His beloved Shrimati Radharani. Within the temple, there is a small tunnel leading to a dark chamber which is said to be the place where Radharani would go and sit. Down the hill from Maan Mandir are Morr Kutir and Krishna Kund. Morr Kutir is the place where Krishna and Radharani danced in the form of peacock and peahen. Krishna Kund or Radha Sarovar is the pond in Gahavara Vana (forest of caves) where Shrimati Radharani would bathe. Also Radha-Krishna would have water sports here.

Morr Kutir; 

vihara-kunda-meeting-place-of-radha-and-krishna-varsana;

Maan Garh -Maan Mandir;

       Sankari Khor is a very narrow passageway at the junction of the Brahma hill and Vishnu hill. Krishna and His cowherd boys dressed up as tax collectors would block the way of Radharani and Her Sakhis with their sticks here and would ask for yogurt, butter and ghee as tax for passing through Sankari Khor.

Saankari Khor;

Saankari Khor;

Saankari Khor;

      As we are roaming through these beautiful forests of Barsana, we should be praying for the dust of the lotus feet of Shri Radha and Her devotees. This is the spirit. If there is false ego, we can’t understand the Dham. We should pray to be able to overcome egoistic contaminations and to overcome superficiality, artificiality that is born of the false ego and that we can genuinely, earnestly and honestly pray to be the servant of the servant of the servant of the Vaishnavas, because that gentle and sincere desire will attract the mercy of Shri Shri Radha Shyamasundar. This should be the mood and prayer at Barsana Dham.

Brahmaji as mountain in Barsana

Lord Brahma;

       Lord Brahma is the father of all living beings in the universe. He lives for three hundred and eleven trillion (311,000,000,000,000) years and even the demigods turn to him in times of difficulty. But Lord Brahma, according to Varaha Purana and Padma Purana performed tapasya, and prayed to Krishna to allow him to serve the Lord in such a way that the dust of the feet of not only the Lord but of all His devotees would always be upon his head. Understanding His devotee’s heart, Lord Krishna benedicted Brahmaji to become a mountain in Barsana Dham. This mountain is comprised of two hills. The white colored hill is the longer one and is called Brahma Hill while the black colored one is called Vishnu Hill. The four peaks of this mountain in Barsana are actually the four heads of Brahmaji. He finds greater pleasure with the devotees walking on the top of his head, sitting on his head, dancing on his head. The peak where Vrishabhanu Maharaj had his palace is known as Bhanugarh. Just across the ridge from Bhangadh, there is the beautiful peak that is called Vilasgarh, where Shri Shri Radha and Krishna performed innumerable playful pastimes. The esoteric mountain peak where Shrimati Radharani would go in seclusion when She wanted to please Krishna through Her pastimes of ‘Anger’ is Maangarh. The peak where the pastimes of charity and tax collection are performed is Daangadh. Vilasgarh lies on the Vishnu Hill while the rest three lie on Brahma Hill.

       A brief description of the important pastime places atop these four peaks can be given as follows: Atop Bhanugarh is the famous temple of Shriji also called the Ladli Lal temple. On Bhanugarh, the palace of Vrishabhanu Maharaj is there where Shri Radhika performed Her childhood pastimes. Across the road from Shriji temple is a beautiful pond called Pili Pokhar. Atop Maangarh is the Maan Mandir, the place where Shrimati Radharani would go into seclusion in Her transcendental loving anger towards Krishna. Down the hill from Maan Mandir are Morr Kutir and Krishna Kund. Sankari Khor is a very narrow passageway at the junction of the Brahma hill and Vishnu hill where mischievous Krishna and His cowherd boys would stop Radharani and Her Sakhis and collect taxes of butter, yougurt and ghee from them. Thus, Brahmaji in the form of this mountain is witness to these sweet pastimes in Barsana.

Radha Kushalbihari

       About half a kilometer from the Larily-Lal temple is Kushal Bihari temple.

       There was a great king from Rajasthan who was very much devoted to Barsana Dham. He would come here with his royal family regularly to worship in the eternal home of Srimati Radharani. He decided to build a magnificent temple for Larily Lal, and thus this temple, one of the extravagantly opulent temples in Vraja Dham with very intricate hand carved sand stone—both inside and outside—came into being. He built it this way to show the world that Krishna should be the center of all activities, whoever we may be. He was a king. But he didn’t put his throne in the center. He wanted the beautiful deity of Larily-Lal in the center. And he built small rooms around the deity where he and his family members and his ministers could live. The idea is, everyone should be fully conscious that whoever we are, we are just the humble servant of the servant of the servants of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna.

       So the King spent years and fabulous amounts of wealth to build this beautiful palace. When it was complete, a day was assigned for the installation—bringing the deities of the little temple on Bhangad to this place. But the day before the installation Srimati Radharani appeared to the King in a dream and told him, “The place where the little temple is situated, that is my home, and not this.” Therefore, the King built another big temple where the little temple was.

       Different set of deities were installed in this temple and were named Radha-Kushalbihari. With Their merciful glance, They bless all the pilgrims who come here to Barsana Dham.

       So we should pray to Radha Kushal Bihari that we may learn how to practically perform our service for the pleasure of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. When Krishna is pleased all our desires will be fulfilled. Krishna is pleased when there is harmony, love and trust amongst the devotees. He is displeased when there are egoistic conflicts and disunity amongst the Vaishnavas. Vaikuntha consciousness means – “everyone is better than me. I am the servant.” 

Shriji Temple at Barsana

Shriji Temple;

       A top Bhanugarh, one of the four peaks of Barsana, is the famous temple of Shriji. This deity of Shriji, also known as Ladli Lal (The beloved one), were originally established by Vajranabh, some 5000 years ago but were lost later on. One very great devotee of Lord Chaitanya, Narayan Bhatt Goswami, discovered the deities just close by, and installed them here. The temple is a masterpiece of exquisite stonework with beautiful arches and domes adorning the palace. There are beautiful colorful pictures on the walls and ceiling of this temple, depicting the loving pastimes of Shri Shri Radha and Krishna. This temple is one of the most important places to visit in Vraja. All the Vrajavasis gather together at this particular temple to celebrate Radhashtami, the appearance day festival of Shrimati Radharani. At the foot of the steps that lead to this temple is the palace of Vrishabhanu Maharaj where one can have darshan of Vrishabhanu, Kirtida, Shridama and Shri Radhika. Near this palace is the temple of Brahmaji who is welcoming and blessing devotees going to take darshan of Ladli lal. Also close by is the Ashtasakhi temple where one can have darshan of Shri Radhika alongwith Her principal Sakhis (girl-friends).

Shriji Temple -Laadli Sarkar Mahal- Radha Rani Mandir;

Nandagaon

Nandagaon

Sacred village of Nandagaon from a distance;

       Nandagaon is the place of the palace of Nanda Maharaj. Nanda Maharaj was staying here in Nandagaon before moving to Gokula-Mahavan where Krishna-Balaram appeared. For about three years and four months they remained in Gokula and then because of the attack of so many demons they decided to move to more favorable places near Govardhan hill. In the forest of Vrindavan, they went to Chatikara and Kamyavan and some other places and ultimately came back to Nandagaon. It was here in Nandagaon that Krishna along with Lord Balaram were first given charge of herding the cows. This day of Krishna taking charge of the cows is celebrated to this day in Vrindavan as the festival of Gopashtami. There are many pastime places to be visited in Nandagaon such as Nanda Bhavan, Nanda Baithak, Pavan Sarovar, Yashoda Kunda, Charan Pahari, Hau-Bilau etc. Lord Shiva prayed to the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna to allow him to assist in His earthly pastimes in such a way that he can always have the feet of the Lord and His devotees upon His head. So by the blessings of Shri Krishna, Lord Shiva has appeared as the Nandishwar mountain in Nandagaon. It has five peaks representing the five heads of Shiva.

Lord Shiva in Nandagaon;

       As Lord Brahma made himself available as a mountain in Barsana, to be the home of Shrimati Radharani, Lord Shiva has made himself available in the service of the Lord as a mountain in Nandagaon to be the home of Krishna and Balaram.

Nanda Bhavan;

       On the top of this hill there is a beautiful temple called “Nanda Bhavan”, which is the palace of Nanda Maharaj where Krishna and Balaram lived with Yashoda Maharani, Rohinidevi and Nanda Maharaj.

Nandagaon;

Nandagaoun;

Yashoda and Rohini Matajis with their Kids; 

       It is at this place that in the presence of the Sakhas and the Gopas, Krishna and Balaram would play many beautiful games. On the altar one can have darshan of Nanda Maharaj on the right side, and then there is Krishna-Balaram and on the left is Yashodamayi. And there is also a beautiful deity of Shrimati Radharani, Subal and Shridama and other cowherd boyfriends of the Lord. Nanda Baithak is the place where Nanda Maharaj and the cowherd men would assemble and meet to discuss the welfare of Krishna and Balaram.

Nanda Baitak;

       Near Nanda Bhavan there is a beautiful bathing place called Paavan Sarovar where Nanda Maharaj used to bring Lord Krishna and Balaramji for bathing. On the banks of Paavan Sarovar one can have darshan of the Bhajan Kutir of Shrila Sanatana Goswami where he used to perform his bhajan. Not far from Paavan Sarovar is a place called Moti Kund where Krishna grew his garden of multi colored fragrant pearls. Yashoda Kund is a pond situated south of Nanda Bhavan.

Yashoda Kund; 

      Mother Yashoda would personally come here with her maidservants to take her bath in this beautiful kund. Close to Yashoda Kund is a temple of Narsingha Deva. These deities of Narsingha Deva were given to Krishna for worshipping by Garga Muni. On the western bank of Yashoda kund is a place called Hau-Bilau. Here Krishna-Balaram used to play endlessly with Their cowherd boyfriends. Yashoda Mayi would come here in order to call Them home for dinner. But They would not respond so mother Yashoda would threaten Them that a hobgoblin called Hau-Bilau will come and eat Them. Hearing this, innocent Krishna-Balaram would run to take shelter of Yashoda Mayi and thus she would happily carry Them home for dinner. Murtis of Hau-Bilau are still present at this place. To the west of Nandagaon lies a hill called Caran Pahadi which is non-different from Lord Shiva. Here one can have the darshan of Krishna’s lotus feet. Once Krishna was playing His flute on the top of this hill. Hearing the tender and sweet sound of Krishna’s flute, Lord Shiva melted in ecstasy and impressions of Krishna’s foot prints were left on the head of Lord Shiva.

       Prayer: at this place, in a very humble heart we should pray that every arrangement and every plan that we make in our own life should always be centered on serving and giving pleasure to Krishna and His devotees.

Nanda Baithak: the conference pavillion of Nanda Maharaj

Nanda Bhaitak;

       Nanda Baithak is a place in Nandagaon where Nanda Maharaj would hold meetings and all the cowherd men would sit here together and discuss about the welfare of Krishna- Balaram.

       Once at the Nanda Baithak, the cowherd men headed by Upananda began to chastise Nanda Maharaj that, “Krishna is no ordinary boy. He must be some sort of a great yogi or perhaps He is an incarnation of God or Demigod because after all how He killed Putana? How He killed the Tranavarta Demon? How He lifted the Govardhan Hill with the little finger of His left hand? How He crashed down the twin Arjuna trees? And yet Yashoda, your wife sometimes she threatens to hit Him with stick, sometimes she pulls Him by the ear, sometimes she chastises Him, sometimes she makes Him go to bed without food. This is no way to treat a great exalted personality. 

Nanda Bhaitak;

       So Nanda Maharaj with great amusement heard what they were saying and he said, “You do not understand what is this Krishna? You are saying He is incarnation of God, He is a great personality. But great personalities are judged by how they can control their senses. And this child Gopal, He eats all day long. He never stops eating, and if we do not give Him anything to eat, He will steal it. And if the Laddus are not sweet enough He becomes very angry. And great souls are not supposed to become angry. If there is not enough sugar in the sweet rice he becomes so angry, He begins to throw things and break pots. And great souls are supposed to be honest. We all know that anything that is lost in Vrindavan must be stolen by Krishna only. He steals butter, He steals yogurt. And then after He steals it, even when it’s in His hand. You ask Him, “Why did You do this?” He says,” No. No. I did not do it. Why you are blaming me. Someone else has done it.” And great souls are supposed to be fearless. When it is raining and there is lot of thunder, little Krishna runs to our bed at night and embraces mother Yashoda trembling in fear, and he doesn’t stop crying until mother Yashoda begins to shower Him again and again with kisses and kisses and kisses.” He said, “If these are the qualities of an exalted person, I see no reason to call Him exalted. Krishna is just my child. You do not understand.” And as he was speaking this he began to laugh. As he was thinking of the wonderful pastimes of Lord Shri Krishna, he laughed and laughed, and all the cowherd men as they pictured the beautiful form of little Gopal engaging in His wonderful mischievous activities they all began to laugh. And they laughed so hard that they fell to the ground, and tears were streaming from their eyes and they laughed and laughed until every limb of their bodies was aching because of laughing so hard. And somehow or other they laughed to the point where they just could not laugh any longer. And then they were just laying silently and then Nanda Maharaj again would start laughing and everyone else would start laughing and laughing and laughing, rolling in the sacred dust of Nandagaon, laughing at the beautiful pastimes of Lord Shri Krishna. So these wonderful pastimes took place at this place, Nanda Baithak.

       We should know that all of these meetings that took place here were all for only one reason- how to give more and more pleasure to Krishna-Balaram. The cowherd men would come together to discuss, “How to best serve Krishna and Balaram?” They did not see Them as the “Supreme Lord”. They simply saw Them as two most charming beautiful and attractive brothers. They were completely dependent on their own arrangements for the protection, well being and happiness of Krishna-Balaram. Thus, this is a very, very special place. Here the cowherd men with exclusive devotion for the pleasure of Krishna and Balaram would plan out all of their wonderful, wonderful arrangements so that the whole Nandagaon is managed.

       We should pray here in a very humble heart that every arrangement and every plan that we make in our own life is always centered on serving and giving pleasure to Krishna and His devotees.

Hau-Bilau- Even the Supreme Lord fears him

Haau Bilaau;

       One day, Krishna and Balaram were playing in this place near Yashoda kund with Their friends, but it was time for them to come home to take Their lunch and mother Yashoda sent Rohini, “You go to get Krishna and Balaram”. Rohini came and she said, “Krishna, Balaram, please come home. Your lunch is waiting for You. Nanda Maharaj is also waiting for You.” But They were so busy playing, having so much fun with Their friends that They ignored mother Rohini. So she went and told Yashodamayi that They will not come. So Yashodamayi came and she began to very strictly order Krishna, “You come back”. But Krishna’s friends told Him “If You go we will not play with You tomorrow, because You will ruin our game if You go in the middle.” So Krishna, afraid of being banned from the play, continued playing, and mother Yashoda was pleading with Krishna and chastising Krishna. But Krishna and Balaram just kept playing.

       And finally mother Yashoda was thinking, “What should I do? He will be hungry.  I cannot allow Krishna and Balaram to be hungry. It is not good for Their health.” So she began to think. Then she got an idea. She said, “Krishna-Balaram, You better come right now, because the Hau-Bilau is coming”. Krishna and Balaram said, “What is Hau-Bilau?”  She said, “He is coming. He is coming, lets go.” They again asked, “What is this ‘Hau-Bilau’?” Yashoda replied with a huff, “Hmm… ‘Hau-Bilau’ walks on four legs and has very, very fierce eyes and big, big mouth and sharp, sharp teeth and he eats little children, and he is coming”. Then Krishna-Balaram looked at her and said, “We do not believe in “Hau-Bilaus”. There is no such thing.” And then mother Yashoda, she looked behind Krishna and Balaram from where they were standing and she said, “Here he is, the “Hau-Bilau” has come ahhh!!!” And then with big eyes she started running away as fast as possible. And when Krishna and Balaram saw this they were afraid to even look back. They immediately let out and scream and said, “Mother wait for us.” They started running full speed ahead and mother Yashoda ran all the way back to Nanda Bhavan and Krishna and Balaram ran and ran as fast as they could. They were afraid to even look back, and then They came into the house, and Yashodamayi had nice prasad ready for Them and They sat next to Nanda Maharaj. And Krishna and Balaram were telling Nanda Maharaj, “You should have seen this Hau-Bilau. He had big fiery eyes, and long teeth and big mouth and fur all over him, but We escaped. Somehow or other We ran so fast, We got away.” and Nanda Maharaj was very happy. So in this way mother Yashoda with her loving parental affection performed so many pastimes for the pleasure of Krishna and Balaram. It is also said, that after mother Yashoda saw that this pastime worked very good, she made these Murtis of Hau-Bilau. And when Krishna and Balaram would be naughty, she would say, “Beware, I will take you to Hau-Bilau”. So they would become very nice. So, even the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna and Balaram fear Hau-Bilau! This is the sweetness of the Leela of Shri Vraja Dham.

Haau Bilaau;

Charan Pahadi;

Charan Pahadi;

Yashoda Kund;

Yashoda Maiya Mataki;

Paawan Sarovar-Sanatan Goswami bhajan Sthali & Mahaprabhu Baithak;

Paawan Sarovar-Sanatan Goswami bhajan Sthali & Mahaprabhu Baithak;

Pawan Sarovar;

Paawan Sarovar-Sanatan Goswami bhajan Sthali & Mahaprabhu Baithak;

Places near Vrindavan

Places near Vrindavan

Way to Yavat;

       There are many small villages and upavans (sub-forests) in Vraja Mandala Bhoomi which are the holy places of the appearance and the activities of Lord Shri Krishna and His associates. Prominent amongst these are Raval, Barsana, Nandagaon, Unchagaon and Javat. The scriptures describe that whenever the Supreme Lord appears on this planet, He does not come alone, rather He descends with all His eternal associates and His personal paraphernalia from the spiritual world, Goloka Vrindavan. In fact, before His descent to this world, Lord ordered all the demigods to take birth in the various villages in and around Vrindavan so that they can witness and assist in His sweet pastimes.  So, these villages around Vrindavan are also very important as they are the places of appearance and pastimes of the Lord’s intimate associates.

       Raval is the birthplace of Shrimati Radharani, the female counterpart of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Shri Krishna. This is the place where Vrishabhanu Maharaj found Shrimati Radharani floating in the Yamuna on a golden lotus flower on the day of Radhashtami. Later on Vrishbhanu Maharaj and Kirtida Devi, father and mother of Shri Radhika, moved to Barsana. Barsana Gram also called “Vrishabhanupur”, is the eternal playground of Shrimati Radharani, the Sakhis, the Manjaris and Shri Krishna, the Sakhas and the Gopas. Visiting Barsana and Raval to beg for Shrimati Radharani’s mercy is an important part of a devotee’s pilgrimage to Vrindavan dham because Krishna’s mercy automatically follows for a person who has received the mercy of Shrimati Radharani and Her servants.

       Another prominent place is Unchagaon which is the village of Lalita Sakhi, a close friend of Shrimati Radharani. Lalita Sakhi is one of the eight principal Gopis (ashta sakhis).

       Each and every inch of this Vraja Bhoomi is extraordinary and spiritually surcharged with Lord Krishna’s sweet pastimes. It is not possible to describe the glory and importance of each and every place here.

       Places to visit:

      

       1. Nandagaon
       2. Barsana
       3. Raval
       4. Yavat
       5. Unchagaon

Radha Kund and Shyama Kund

Radha Kund and Shyama Kund

Radha & Shyama Kund, Govardhan;

       Radha Kund and Shyama Kund, the two most spiritually surcharged Kunds (ponds), are located in a village called Arita about 3 miles north-east of Govardhan and fourteen miles from Mathura and Vrindavan.

Radha Kund is the holiest place in all of Brahma’s creation. Radha Kund and Shyama Kund represent the eyes of Govardhan, which is in the shape of a peacock. This is the place where Radha and Krishna performed their most intimate and most sweet pastimes.

Krishna is killing a demon Arishtasura;

       One of the demons by the name Arishta, sent by the evil Kamsa to kill Krishna and Balarama, assumed the form of a bull and attacked Krishna. But he was easily overpowered and was instead killed by the Lord. This pastime took place in the afternoon when Krishna and His cowherd friends were herding the cattle.

       That night when Krishna went to meet His beloved Srimati Radharani, She jokingly forbade Him to touch Her and said, “Today, You have killed a bull, which belongs to the cow family. You have therefore committed the sin of killing a cow. Please do not touch My pure body.”

       Krishna smilingly replied that the bull was in fact a very dangerous demon and so by killing it He incurred no sin. But Radharani refused to accept this explanation and Her sakhis also supported Her.

       Krishna then asked how He could atone for the sin. In reply, Radharani said that the only way to atone the sin is to take bath in every holy place in the world. To fulfill Her desire Krishna created a large kunda by striking the ground with His heel. He then summoned all the holy places from all over the planet. When they appeared Krishna asked their personified forms to enter in to the Kunda in the form of water, which they promptly did. Within moments the kunda was filled with the most pure and sacred water. Krishna then bathed in it and approached Radharani, having atoned for the sin of killing a bull. He bragged about how His kunda was the most beautiful and how great He was in creating such a kunda. Hearing Her beloved boast in such a manner, Radharani along with Her sakhis decided to create an even more exquisite kunda adjacent to the one created by Krishna, by digging the place with their bracelets. When not a drop of water manifested in the kunda, Krishna said that they could take water from His kunda. Radharani refused and She along with Her sakhis decided to fill Her kunda by carrying water from Manasi-ganga in clay water pots. Sri Krishna signalled to the holy places that they should insist that Radharani and Her sakhis fill up their kunda with water from His. The holy places personified prayed to Radharani and Her sakhis and pleased them by glorifying them in many ways. She then mercifully gave them the permission to enter Her kunda, and immediately a current of water flowed from Krishna-kunda to Radha-kunda.

Shyama Kund, Govardhan;

       After Radha-kunda was filled with holy waters of the entire planet, Lord Krishna told Srimati Radharani that Her kund would be the most famous place in the world and that He would daily bathe in Her kunda. Lord Krishna declared that Radha-kunda is as dear to Him as Srimati Radharani Herself and anyone who bathes in it will get Her love. Radha kunda is the personified love of Srimati Radharani.

Radha Kund, Govardhan;

        These two kundas manifested at midnight on krishnashtami (the eighth day of the dark moon) in the month of Kartika; therefore, thousands of people bathe here at midnight on this day, which is known as Bahulashtami.

       Since these are the places where Radha and Krishna performed their most intimate and sweet pastimes, Srila Prabhupada, told that we should not approach Radha Kund in a familiar or light manner. Otherwise it would not help us to advance in our spiritual life. We should approach these pastimes with great reverence and should not treat them as something ordinary or talk about it lightly. We should consider these pastimes to be way above our heads and should aspire to be the servants of the servants of those who have realized the glories of Sri Radha Kunda.

The Mentality of Arishtasura

       Arishtasura represents one of the very serious obstacles on the path of devotional service: the propensity to consider oneself very religious, and to follow the principles of religion invented by other conditioned souls—while criticizing the path of devotional service. This is a very serious obstacle, and it’s everywhere. In the name of religion, in this age of Kali, there is so much concoction: what is religion is taken to be irreligion and what is irreligion is taken to be religion. There are people presenting so many different ideas about God, about who is God and how to attain God.

       Some people say that there is one path and it doesn’t matter what God you worship, it doesn’t matter what deity you worship, because ultimately, I am God, you are God, and everything is God; you just somehow purify yourself by concentrating yourself, your attention on some kind of divinity, and you will become Bhagavan. Hundreds and millions of people in this world believe in this. And then when we tell them Krishna is God, that Bhakti is the real process, they criticize—what is this sectarianism? What is this close mindedness? What is all this austerities and renunciation you are talking about? You just worship any God, any demigod, it doesn’t matter. Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur declared war against these misconceptions.

      But we sometimes tend to become affected by all this propaganda. Then it becomes very, very great obstacle in devotional service.

       We should therefore understand what Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita:

       Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet. (BG 7.23)

        So we should not be mislaid by false propaganda.

       And even, often times, people who declare Krishna to be God, have so many different conceptions without knowing what actually the truth is.

       Therefore Krishna says:

 Evam parampara praptam imam rajarsayo viduh

Sa kaleneha mahata yogo nastah parantapa (B.G. – 4.2)

       If we take the truth from a proper disciplic succession of great acharyas, we then understand what is what. 

       So many people are dragged away from the process of devotional service, due to this type of association—represented by Arishtasura.

      Kamsa worshipped Shiva, considered himself a very, very religious man, and he sent Arishtasura to promote hisreligiosity. What was the purpose? To kill Krishna. Similarly, all these Arishtasuras who are preaching principles that are contrary to pure devotional service, they are coming to attack Krishna in our hearts. Therefore, we must defend ourselves by maintaining proper association, by understanding philosophically what our siddhanta is, and ultimately by crying out to Krishna for help by chanting his holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

Jihva Mandir

Jihva Mandir, Govardhan;

       Raghunath Das Goswami wanted to dig a well so that the Vrajvasis would not wash their clothes in Radha-Kunda. While digging the well the workers hit upon a rock and blood began to come out of that rock. Raghunath Das Goswami immediately stopped the digging. Later on, Lord Krishna appeared in his dream and told him that He was non-different from Govardhan and the rock that was hit upon was the tongue of Giriraj. Krishna then asked Radhunath Das Goswami to take out that sila and worship it on the altar.

Even to this day the Govardhan sila representing the tongue of Giriraj is worshipped with Tulasi leaves and water from the Radha-kunda as instructed by Lord Krishna to Das Goswami.

Excavation of Radha Kunda and Shyam Kunda

Lord Krishna in the mood of Srimati Radharani in Govardhan;

       Generally it is noted that after the great spiritual personalities wind up their pastimes in this material world, the places associated with them are lost to the world in due course of time. The Lord then arranges these places to re-manifest to the world through His pure loving devotees, in order to reveal to the world the glories of these devotees.

       After Krishna disappeared from this world, Radha Kunda and Shyama Kunda were also lost to the world.

       The pastime of how Radha-kunda and Shyama-kunda were revealed to the world through one of the most intimate and pure devotees of Lord Chaitanya, Srila Raghunath Das Goswami.

       Radha Kunda and Shyama Kunda were lost to the world for a long time. Then in 1550 Lord Chaitanya came to Vrindavan on the day of Kartika Poornima and stayed in Vrindavan for two months.

Place where Lord Chaitania found Radha and Shyama Kunds;

       Lord Caitanya was searching for Aritagram, because according to the scriptures this is the place where the famous Radha-Kunda and Shyama Kund were present. So one day Lord Caitanya sat under a Tamala tree and while meditating upon Radha-Kunda and Shyama- Kunda, He saw two bodies of water in a nearby paddy field. Lord Caitanya who is none other then Radha and Krishna, could immediately identify them as Radha Kunda & Shyama Kunda. He very happily took the waters of the kundas and applied tilaka on His body using the clay from Radha-kunda.

 Lord very happily took the waters of the kundas
and applied tilaka on His body using the clay from Radha-kunda;

        Raghunath Das Goswami witnessed Lord Chaitanya’s pastimes at Puri, and after the departure of Lord Caitanya and His associates he came to Vrindavan. Sanatana Goswami instructed him to stay near Radha-Kunda where he daily spoke for 3 hours on Gaur Lila. He performed his bhajan at Radha-Kunda. One time Raghunath Das Goswami, understanding the mood of Lord Chaitanya, was thinking that Lord Caitanya wanted the holy places of Vrindavan to be excavated for the benefit of all people. But at that time Radha-Kunda & Shyama-Kunda were just two small ponds. Raghunath Das Goswami thought of excavating them but he didn’t want to entangle himself in money etc. Radha & Krishna understood his heart. At the same time a wealthy merchant was on his way to Badrikasrama with the intention of building a beautiful temple for Lord Badrinath. Badrinath appeared in the dream of that merchant and instructed him to excavate Radha-Kunda under the guidance of Raghunath Das Goswami instead. In this way Radha-Kunda & Shyama-Kunda were excavated.

       While excavating Shyama-Kunda, Yudhisthira Maharaj appeared in a dream to Raghunath Das Goswami and told him that he, with his four brothers, were standing there in the form of trees and meditating on the pastimes of Radha & Krishna. So in order to show respect to the Pandavas the trees were left as it is and therefore Shyama-Kunda is not square shaped.

The Highest Position of Sri Radha Kunda

Radha Kund;

       Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is none other than the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna in the compassionate mood of Srimati Radharani, invested within the heart of Rupa Goswami his own divine love and commissioned him to come to Vrindavan and reveal Vrindavan to the world. In Shri Updeshamruta(text 9) Srila Rupa Goswami has written about all holy places in this creation. It is said that Mathura Puri is most sacred because here the Supreme Lord Krishna appeared. Of all the places in Mathura Puri Vrindavan is more sacred because here Krishna performs the Rasa Lila or dances of Vraja. Of all places in forests of Vrindavan, Govardhan is most sacred because such very, very confidential pleasing pastimes are eternally being enacted here. Of all places of Govardhan, the supreme-most of all places in all the spiritual and material worlds is Sri Radha kunda, because it is at Radha-kunda that the highest divine loving relations of Sri Radha and Sri Krishna are enacted. For devotees what is highest is whatever gives Radha and Krishna most pleasure. Because They enjoy each other’s company with highest degree of ecstatic love at Radha kunda, it is considered holiest of all holy places in all of creation.