Nathdwara is a town near Rajsamand city in the Rajsamand district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located in the

Aravalli hills The Aravalli Range (also spelled ''Aravali'') is a mountain range in Northern-Western India, running approximately in a south-west direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana, Rajasthan, and ending in Ahmedabad Gujarat. ...

, on the banks of the Banas River and is 48 kilometres north-east of

Udaipur Udaipur () ( ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic ...

Shrinathji Shrinathji is a form of Krishna, manifested as a seven-year-old child (''Balak''). The principal shrine of Shrinathji is the Shrinathji Temple in the temple town of Nathdwara, 48 kilometres north-east of Udaipur city in Rajasthan,India. Sh ...

, is a swarup of lord Krishna which resembles his 7-year-old ''"infant"'' incarnation of Krishna. The deity was originally worshiped at

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...

and was shifted in the 1672 from Govardhan hill, near

along

holy river Sacred waters are sacred natural sites characterized by tangible topographical land formations such as rivers, lakes, springs, reservoirs, and oceans, as opposed to holy water which is water elevated with the sacramental blessing of a cler ...

Yamuna The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...

after being retained at

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra ...

for almost six months. Literally, Nathdwara means 'Gateway to Shrinathji (God)'. Nathdwara is a significant

Vaishnavite Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as th ...

shrine pertaining to the Pushti Marg or the Vallabh Sampradaya or the Shuddha Advaita founded by

Vallabha Acharya Vallabhacharya Mahaprabhu (1479–1531 CE), also known as Vallabha, Mahaprabhuji and Vishnuswami, or Vallabha Acharya, is a Hindu Indian saint and philosopher who founded the Krishna-centered PushtiMarg sect of Vaishnavism in the Braj(Vraj) ...

, revered mainly by people of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and Rajasthan, among others.

Vitthal Nathji Vitthala-natha or Vitthalanath (IAST: Viṭṭhalanātha, c. 1516–1588), popularly known as Gusainji, was an Indian philosopher. He was the younger son of Vallabhacharya, who founded the Pushtimarg religious sect of Hinduism. Names The n ...

, son of Vallabhacharya institutionalised the worship of Shrinathji at Nathdwara. Today also the Royal king family of Nathdwara belongs to the lineage of vallabhacharya mahaprabhuji. They are called Tilkayat or tikaet of Nathdwara.

Shrinathji Temple

The shrine at Nathdwara was built in the 17th century at the spot as exactly ordained by Shrinathji himself. The idol of the Lord

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

was being transferred from Vrindaban to protect it from the Mughal ruler

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

. When the idol reached the spot at village Sihad or Sinhad, the wheels of bullock cart in which the idol was being transported sank axle-deep in mud and could not be moved any further. The accompanying priests realised that the particular place was the Lord's chosen spot and accordingly, a temple was built there under the rule and protection of the then Maharana

Raj Singh Raj Singh may refer to: *Raj Singh I (1629–1680), Rana of Mewar the maternal uncle of Ajit Singh of Marwar * Raj Singh II (1743–1761), son of Maharana Pratap Singh II * Raj Singh (businessman) (born 1964), Sukhraj 'Raj' Singh, Indian businessma ...

Mewar Mewar or Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasthan, Neemuch and ...

. Shrinathji Temple is also known as 'Haveli of Shrinathji' (mansion).

Other Temples

•Shri Navneetpriyaji Mandir- Shri navneet priyaji is a prominent swarup of pushtimarg. Navneet priyaji is considered as moving form of Shrinathji and is the personal Thakurji of Gusaiji. People believe that the person who visits Nathdwara for darshan of Shrinathji must visit shri Navneet priyaji temple. The current head of the temple is The Tilkayat Maharaj of Shrinathji Temple. •Shri vitthalnathji mandir- It is 2nd peeth or gaadi of pushtimarg of vallabh sect. It is mainly known for self manifested deity shri vitthalnathji. It is a beautiful temple with rajasthani art work. Current head of temple is HH Dwitiya peethadhish Gosvami shri 108 shri Kalyanraiji Maharaj of Indore. • Vanmaaliji temple- This temple also belongs to vallabh sect pushtimarg and is an ancient temple of Lord vanmaali(Krishna). • Madanmohanji temple- This temple is a Krishna temple which under vallabh sect only. • Yamunaji temple- situated at Pritam poli, Nathdwara, it is a temple dedicated to the Goddess river Yamunaji. It also comes under vallabh sect of pushtimarg.

Geography and Transport

Nathdwara is located at . It has an average elevation of 584 metres (1919 ft). Located just 48 km north-east of

in Rajasthan, this town is easily reached by air, road or nearest rail-head.

Demographics

, Nathdwara had a population of 37,007. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Nathdwara has an average literacy rate of 73.0%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 65%. In Nathdwara, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Artists of Nathdwara

Nathdwara Artists are a group of artists working around the precincts of the famous Nathdwara temple in Rajasthan. They are noted for Rajasthani-style paintings, called Pichwai Paintings, belonging to the

School. The paintings revolve around the image of

, the enigmatic black-faced figure of

, who is shown holding up Mount Govardhan. Several authoritative books have been published on this subject. Apart from Pichwai Paintings, the artists also produce small-scale paintings on paper. Themes from Krishna legend predominate. Mentioned under notable citizens are some of the famous artists who have won accolades/awards in the past.

References

External links

{{Hindu holy cities Hindu holy cities Cities and towns in Rajsamand district Hindu temples in Rajasthan Tourist attractions in Rajsamand district