42. Shri Shri Radha Gopinath Temple



During the oppression of Aurangzeb, the original deities of Gopinathji, Radhika and Jahnava also proceeded to Jaipur together with other deities. The Pratibhu Vigrahas now preside in the temple built by Nand Kumar Vasu. Jahnava Thakurani is seated on the left side of Gopinath, and Lalita Sakhi and a small deity of Radhika are seated on His right. The deity of Mahaprabhu Shri Gaurasundara is in a separate chamber. In 1632 AD, the original temple was built by Ray Singh, the son of the king of Bikaner, Maharaja Kalyanamala of the Rathaur dynasty. Aurangzeb destroyed this temple. The Pratibhu Vigrahas were established in 1748 AD, and the new temple was built in 1819 AD. Near the new temple to the east is the samadhi of Madhu Pandita. Close to the famous Vanshivat, on the bank of the Yamuna, Shri Paramanand Bhattacharya and Madhu Pandita used to worship Shri Radha-Krishna Yugala with extreme renunciation.

Once, the current of the Yamuna cut into her bank and a very beautiful deity of Shri Gopinath was revealed from under the sand. In the morning, when the devotee Paramananda came to the Yamuna to bathe, he found this exceptional deity who stole his heart. He entrusted the service of Shri Gopinath to Shri Madhu Pandita. First, Shri Gopinath resided near Vanshivat, but later on a magnificent new temple was constructed elsewhere and His service and worship continued there.

Once, Nityananda Prabhu's wife Jahnava Thakurani came to Vrindavan. As she was having darshan of Shri Radha-Gopinath, she thought that the deity of Radhika was too small and that, if Radhika had been a little taller, the Couple would look much more beautiful. Jahnava Thakurani returned to her residence after beholding the evening ceremony. That night, in a dream, Shri Gopinath asked Jahnava to arrange for a taller deity of Radhika. She received similar instructions from Radhika, and had a deity of Her made that was a more appropriate size for the deity of Gopinath. The book Bhakta Mal describes that at the time of Jahnava Thakurani's disappearance, she revealed her own deity and established herself in it. She instructed the priests to install the deity of her in the chamber of Shri Gopinath. When this deity arrived at the temple of Gopinath in Vrindavan, the priests hesitated to install her along side Shri Gopinath. At that time, Gopinathji Himself instructed the priests, "Do not hesitate. This is My beloved Ananga Manjari. Place her on My left and Radhika on My right." And so it came to be that Jahnava stands on Shri Gopinath's left side and Radhika stands on His right.

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50 Temples Mathura And Virandavan

20. Foot Prints Of Lord Krishna

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It is believed that Charan Pahari has the impression of Krishna's feet. Charan Pahari is situated on the southwest side of Nandagram, near the street that goes to Kamyavana. This place is a 1 km from Pavana Sarovara in Nandagaon of Mathura District. Indeed, even today, one can see these impressions unmistakably. The stones on the close-by slope where his companions were playing and the calves were brushing likewise softened, leaving impressions of their feet and hooves.
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34. Kali Deh Temple

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Kaliya ghat or  Kalideh  is the place on the banks of river Yamuna where Lord Krishna during his childhood pastimes in Vrindavan subdued a poisonous serpent Kaliya Nag. Earlier Yamuna used to flow near to this place but during the course of time the river has drifted away. It’s said that once Krishna was playing with his Sakhas on the bank of river Yamuna. Suddenly their ball went inside the river. Fearing of Kaliya Nag, due to whom the water of Yamuna was also turned poisonous, no one was ready to go inside the river and bring the ball back. Knowing this Krishna decided to relieve the people of Vrindavan and river Yamuna of this poisonous serpent and thus jumped from the nearby Kadamba tree into the river.  Kaliya nag , who was sleeping, got angry at Krishna for disturbing his sleep. In a fit of anger he started releasing poison from his mouth. Krishna immediately jumped and mounted over one of the hoods of Kaliya who was having thousands of hoods. There was a l...
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23. Sankari khor

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This is the famous place where Kṛṣṇa’s dana-lila takes place: where he asks the gopis to pay taxes, steals their milk products, and breaking their curd-laden pots. Here Kṛṣṇa’s gopas would face off with the delicate gopīs in argument and flirtatious exchanges. In celebration of this occasion, the men from Nandagoan sat opposite to the men of Barṣāṇā, repeating the ancient songs of yore carrying forward the glorification of their personal ishtadevas (worshipable deities). The  buddhi-lila , namely the transcendental arguments between Kṛṣṇa and the gopis who are en route from Chiksoli village to Barṣāṇā. Nowadays the residents stand and shout at each other from atop the ravine. The lila concludes with the Matki lila, or the breaking of the earthen wares. According to  Vraja-bhakti-vilāsa , there are two mountains in Barṣāṇā – Brahmā and Viṣṇu. On the Viṣṇu mount is located Vilāsagarh and the rest of the mountain is Brahmācala. At the juncture of the two is Sankari K...
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