Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhoomi, is a region in India on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura- Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal and

Ballabhgarh Ballabgarh, is a large town, nearby Faridabad city and a tehsil (subdistrict) in Faridabad district of Haryana, India, and is part of the National Capital Region.Haryana state, Bharatpur district in Rajasthan state and Morena District in Madhya Pradesh.Janet Cochrane, 2008
Asian Tourism: Growth and Change
page 249. Within Uttar Pradesh it is very well demarcated culturally, the area stretches from the Mathura, Aligarh, Agra,

Hathras Hathras is a historical city in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the headquarters of Hathras district, formed on 3 May 1997 by merging parts of Aligarh, Mathura and Agra. It is a part of the Aligarh Division. The primary spoken language is a ...

and districts up to the Farrukhabad, Mainpuri and Etah districts. Braj region is associated with

Radha Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also de ...

and Krishna who according to scriptures were born in

Barsana Barsana is a historical town and ''nagar panchayat'' in the Mathura district of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Barsana is believed to be the birthplace and home of the Hindu goddess Radha, the chief consort of Krishna. It is in the Braj re ...

and Mathura respectively. It is the main centre of Krishna circuit of Hindu pilgrimage. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 50 km northwest of Agra.

Etymology

The term Braj is derived from the Sanskrit word ''vraja (व्रज)''. Vraja was first mentioned in Rigveda, and in Sanskrit it means a pasture, shelter or resort for cattle from Sanskrit term ''""'' which means ''"go"'' in English.

Braj pilgrimage circuits

Since this is a site associated with the Vedic era Lord Krishna and Mahabharata, it is an important place of pilgrimage for

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

s. It is one of 3 main pilgrimage sites related to ''Krishna'' circuit, namely ''

48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra The 48 kos parikrama is a parikrama (a circumbabulatory pilgrimage) of various ''Mahabharata''-related and other Vedic-era tirthas (Hindu sacred sites) around the holy city of Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana, India. Associated with Kri ...

'' in Haryana state, '' Vraja Parikrama'' in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh state and '' Dwarka Parikrama'' (Dwarkadish yatra) at Dwarkadhish Temple in Gujarat state. '' Braj Yatra'' circuit of pilgrimage was formally established by the 16th-century sadhus of vaishnava sampradaya with fixed routes, itinerary and rituals. The circuit covers is spread across 2500 km² area with 84 kos or 300 km long periphery extending 10 km to east and 50 km to north and west. Braj has two main types of pilgrimage circuits, the traditional longer ''Braj Yatra'' encompassing the whole circuit, and the other shorter significantly modified contemporary point-to-point pilgrimage to visit the main sites at Mathura, Vrindavan, Gokul, Govardhan. The former, longer traditional pilgrimage route, also includes additional sacred sites Nandgaon and

with travel on foot.

Etymology

Braj pilgrimage circuits

See also

References

Further reading