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Vrindavan is replete with temples that are dedicated to Lord Krishna, Tanushree Podder writes.

If you want to lose yourself in the labyrinth of religious fervour, Vrindavan is the place to visit. I was hit by a strong religious sentiment one morning and decided to pay homage to the Sri Krishna, the God who has given us some of the most enlightening teachings through Bhagvad Geeta. I was stationed at Agra at the moment, which is considered just a stone’s throw from the holy city of Vrindavan, since it is just 58 kilometres away.

Mathura was once the crossroad to trade routes to the North West and the famous Silk Route. Lying between the twin capitals of Delhi and Agra, it bore the brunt of invaders on many occasions. Destroyed and patronised alternately, it provided the religious succour to the northern parts of the country.

While the Mughal Emperor Akbar is said to have been involved with the mysticism of the place, Aurangzeb razed many of the temples in the town. The little town on the River Yamuna was transformed into a place of faith after Lord Krishna was born here. Vrindavan, a village - once noted for its fragrant groves, is where he spent an eventful youth.

Unwittingly, I had chosen to visit the town on Radha Ashtami, which is considered an auspicious day for a religious tour of Vrindavan. A steady drizzle that morning made my progress a little sticky and mud stained because the holy town is best covered on foot since the lanes are too narrow for the vehicles to drive through. Neither was it possible to unfurl the umbrella without hitting another person so I walked, soaked to the skin, along with the swelling crowd of devotees that had not lost any of their spiritual fervour due to the dampening weather.

Spiritual solace

Vrindavan is replete with temples. Almost every lane has a temple dedicated to the flute wielding God. There are no less than 24 ghats on the Yamuna River, of which Kesi Ghat and Vishram Ghat are the most popular ones. Every morning and evening, the ghat glows with its myriad diyas and flowery tributes as people perform the Yamuna arti, a sight that is guaranteed to gladden the heart.

I chose to begin my tryst with the holy town with the famous Banke Bihari Temple, which is a structure with superb stone filigree work, constructed in 1864. Since it is one of the most popular temples in the town, no pilgrim ever goes back without a salute to the Lord in this temple and I joined the throng of devotees chanting and singing bhajans in a frenzied manner as they waited for the curtains to go up.

The amazing idol of Krishna in this temple is revealed for a couple of minutes every quarter of an hour. Devotees waited impatiently for the unravelling and their chanting reached a crescendo the moment the curtain went up.

I caught sight of a magnificent black idol of Banke Bihari momentarily before the curtain fell once more. Thrice did the curtain part and each time for a couple of seconds while the crowd went into frenzy. Mesmerised, I stood rooted at the spot till I was literally thrown out by the incoming rush of devotees and found myself on the back lane of the temple.

My next halt was at the ancient Madan Mohan Temple located near the Kali Ghat which was the first temple to have been built at Vrindavan. When the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb began his rule and many Hindu temples were being razed to the ground, the idol of Madan Gopal, another name for Lord Krishna, was removed to Karauli in Rajasthan for safe keeping. It is said that the saint Chaitanya worshiped Krishna in this temple.

One of the most beautiful temples at Vrindavan is the one built by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and the queues for darshan are a testimony to its popularity.

Regretfully, I abandoned my plans of enjoying a thali of Vaishnav cuisine served at the Govinda restaurant of the temple as I had a long list of temples that I wanted to see before I retired for the day.

From there to Rangaji Temple, I travelled in Radheshyam’s colourful rickshaw. He proved to be the chattiest rickshaw puller I have ever met. In a nutshell, during the fifteen minutes of our journey, he managed to point out a host of things like the eatery famous for its puri-bhaji, regaled me with a few colourful tales about the local politics and enlightened my ignorant mind about the feats of the deity.

The Rangaji temple is a typical South Indian temple architectural structure which was built by the wealthy Seth family of Mathura in the year 1851, and is dedicated to Lord Ranganatha. The highlight of the temple is the annual Ratha Yatra held during the month of Chait (March - April), a festival that lasts for ten days.

On my agenda was the Shahji temple built in 1876 by a wealthy jeweller, Shah Kundan Lal of Lucknow. It was a temple I did not want to miss as it is renowned for its splendid architecture and beautiful marble sculpture. Structured more like a palace than a temple, it boasts of 12 spiral columns and a ‘Basanti Kamra’, which is actually a darbar hall famed for its Belgian glass chandeliers and fine paintings.

Religion potpourri

I was looking for the extraordinary stories in temple construction and the Govind Deo Temple provided me just the story I wanted. Although only a remnant of its past glory, the temple was once a magnificent seven storeyed structure built in the form of a Greek cross.

It is said that the Emperor Akbar donated some of the red sandstone that had been brought for to construct the Red Fort at Agra, for the construction of this temple.

Built at the astronomical cost of one crore rupees in 1590 by his general Man Singh, the temple is a confluence of western, Hindu and Muslim architectural structural elements.

Vrindavan has so many temples that it is physically impossible to cover them within a day or two but I couldn’t go back without a visit of the controversial Krishna Janambhoomi so I made my way to the complex. It seemed like a well-guarded fortress. The tight security and the gun-toting security personnel were an incongruous lot in the temple.

As I went through the metal detector and the frisking, I felt saddened at the turn of events. A narrow passage led to the garbha griha and the spot where Krishna was born in captivity is marked by a small shila. Just 500 metres away stands Katra Masjid, a mosque, which was erected on the foundations of the once-famous Kesava Deo temple, destroyed by the Moghul emperor, which had itself been built on the ruins of a Buddhist monastery.

Although there were some more temples on my list, I had an appointment with the poor widows of Vrindavan and went in search of the Bhajan Ashram located near the Rangaji Temple. My tryst with the women in white was steeped in tearful tales, but then that is another story.

Circle of culture

The sun was preparing to set as I made my way to the Vishram Ghat where, according to legend, Krishna took rest after killing Kansa. It is here that the traditional parikrama (circumambulation of all the important religious and cultural spots of the city) starts and ends. Just as the sun went down, scores of little oil lamps began floating on the river setting the placid water sparkling with myriad flickering lights.

Boats floated lazily by and the diyas bobbed up and down on the polluted waters announcing the end of yet another day in the land of Krishna.

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