Vraja Mandal Parikrama, also called Braj Yatra (Braj pilgrimage), is a

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 ...

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

related to

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 one ...

with the circumambulation of 84 kos Vraja region (Braj) which takes 1 to 2 months depending on the route and speed of travel on foot.http://www.bvml.org/SBNM/books/srivrajmandalparikrama2ndedition.pdf The

Nimbarka Sampradaya The Nimbarka Sampradaya (IAST: ''Nimbārka Sampradāya'', Sanskrit निम्बार्क सम्प्रदाय), also known as the Hamsa Sampradāya, and Sanakādi Sampradāya (सनकादि सम्प्रदाय), is ...

tradition Vaishnava Nagaji Maharaj only performed 84 crore Vraja Parikrama 530 years ago. Since this is a site associated with the

vedic era The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (ca. 1300–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, betwe ...

Lord

and

mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

, it is an important place of

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 Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

state, ''"Braj parikarma"'' in

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. ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

state and "'' Dwarka parkarma"'' (Dwarkadish yatra) at

Dwarkadhish Temple The Dwarkadhish temple, also known as the Jagat Mandir and occasionally spelled Dwarakadheesh, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Krishna, who is worshiped here by the name ''Dwarkadhish'', or 'King of Dwarka'. The temple is located at Dwarka ci ...

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 ...

state.

Braj pilgrimage circuit

''Braj Yatra'' circuit of pilgrimage was formally established by the 16th century

sadhu ''Sadhu'' ( sa, साधु, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female)), also spelled ''saddhu'', is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. Th ...

s of vaishnava sampradaya with fixed routes, itinerary and rituals. The circuit covers is spread across 2500 km² area with 84

kos Kos or Cos (; el, Κως ) is a Greek island, part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese by area, after Rhodes and Karpathos; it has a population of 36,986 (2021 census), ...

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 Gokul is a town in the Mathura district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Mathura. According to Bhagavata Purana, Krishna spent his childhood in Gokul. Geography The town has an average elevation of . Demo ...

Govardhan Govardhan also called Giriraj, is a key pilgrimage centre in India and a municipal town; a nagar panchayat; seat of a MLA Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), Member of Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, Uttar Pr ...

. The former, longer traditional pilgrimage route, also includes additional sacred sites Nandgaon and

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 ...

with travel on foot.Janet Cochrane, 2008
Asian Tourism: Growth and Change
page 249. The origin of the Vraj Mandal Parikrama is variously ascribed to Sri Nagaji of the Nimbarka Sampradaya and Sri Narayana Bhatta of Unchagaon or Varsana (Barsana), of the 16th century, who wrote complete guidebooks of the Yatras. The largest groups (5,000-20,000 people) at present which conduct the Braj Mandal Parikrama Yatra include the Radharani Braj Yatra of Ramesh Baba, Barsana, Kathia Baba Ashram Yatra, Vallabh Sampradaya Yatra and others.

Vraja Dham

Vana

There are twelve ''vanas'' in the Vraja Mandal.

Madhuvan Madhu Forest or Madhuvana ( sa, मधुवन) was a dense forest in ancient northern India, west of Yamuna. In the Ramayana and the Mahabharata According to the Ramayana, an Asura named ''Madhu'', ruled this forest and its territory. He was def ...

, Talavan, Kumudvan, Bahulavan, Kamavan, Khadiravan,

Vrindavan Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...

, Bhadravan, Bhandiravan, Belvan, Lohavan.

Mahavana and Upavana

There are twelve Mahavanas in Vraja Mandala. There are twelve ''Upavanas'' in Vraja Mandala. Namely, Gokul, Govardhan, Barsana, Nandagram, Sanket, Paramadra, Aring, Sessai, Mat, Uchagram, Kelvan, Sri Kund, Gandharvavan, Parsoli, Bilchhu, Bacchavan, Adibadri, Karahla, Ajnokh, Pisaya,

Kokilavan The Kokilavan Dham is the place where the famous Shani Dev Temple is situated in Kosi Kalan near Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, India. This is very ancient temple of Shani Shani ( sa, शनि, ), or Shanaishchara ( sa, शनैश्चर, ) ...

, Dadhigram, Kotvan and Raval.

Kunda

There are twelve ''kundas'' in Vraja Mandala; namely, Govinda Kunda, Lalita Kunda, Radha Kunda, Shyam Kunda, Davanal Kunda, Shantanu Kunda, Bilol Kunda.

Sarovara

There are twelve ''sarovaras'' in Vraja Mandala namely Kusum Sarobar, Prem Sarobar

Nimbarka Sampradaya

In the Nimbarka ''Paramapara'' Sri Nagaji Maharaj, who was born in

Paigaon Paigaon is a large village in the Chhata constituency of the Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is connected by road to Kosi Kalan and Shergarh. Chhata railway station is the nearest railway station. According to the 2011 census its p ...

, Mathura district - introduced Vraja Parikrama(circumambulation of 84 Krosha Vraja Dham, the eternal playground of Lord

Sri 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 one o ...

with His cowherds and Gopis) continuing since the last 530 years.

Kathia Baba Ashram

A branch of the Nimbarka Sampradaya, the Kathia Baba ka Sthaan, Vrindaban, Gurukul Marg conducts one of the biggest Yatras of only Sadhu Sants The yatra continues for 42 days and does not charge a penny for fooding and lodging from the Sadhus.

References

{{Mahabharata Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Brij