Vrindavan, in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, has religious significance for Hindus who believe that Krishna spent most of his childhood there. The city is host to about 5,500 temples all of which are dedicated to the worship of Krishna and his consort, Radha. Vrindavan is a sacred pilgrim destination for those of Vaishnava affiliations.
Govardhan Hill is a sacred site relating to the life of Krishna and it is believed that the deity is embodied in the earth. The hill is 8 km long and the place where Krishna and his brother Balarama would play.
Nidhivan, above, means sacred forest. This is where Radha and Krishna, along with their cowherd companions, would dance (as we did!). The forest is locked at night as it is believed Radha and Krishna return to dance. The dance is called raslila which is rendered to mean the “Dance of Divine Love” or “Sweet act of Krishna.
Close to the Krishna Balaram temple is a small dwelling that was home to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON. Prabhupada would visit and stay in the house between 1975 and 1977. Devotees are politely asked not to sit on the entrance step.
A long day ended with a welcome classical music concert. I’ll try to get some more detials of the nice music we could listen to, the performers and the host organisation.
After Vrindavan we went to Agra and Lucknow