Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. It is located in the

Braj Bhoomi 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 district, Mathura-Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal and Ball ...

region and holds religious importance in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global po ...

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 ...

spent most of his childhood days in this city. Vrindavan has about 5,500 temples dedicated to the worship of

and his divine consort

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 d ...

. It is one of the most

sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or godd ...

places for

Vaishnavism 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 the ...

tradition. Vrindavan is a significant part of the "Krishna pilgrimage circuit" which also includes

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the to ...

, Barsana, Gokul,

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 Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh; a Tehsil, in Mathura district in the India in state of Uttar Pradesh. Ab ...

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra (, ) is a city and administrative headquarter of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty ") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Pur ...

Dwarka Dwarka () is a city and a municipality of Devbhumi Dwarka district in the States and territories of India, state of Gujarat in Western India. It is located on the western shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula on the right bank of the Gomti rive ...

and

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as ''S ...

Etymology

The ancient

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

name of the city, (), comes from its groves of ''vṛndā'' ( Holy basil) and ''vana'' (a

grove Grove may refer to: * Grove (nature), a small group of trees Places England *Grove, Buckinghamshire, a village * Grove, Dorset * Grove, Herefordshire * Grove, Kent * Grove, Nottinghamshire, a village * Grove, Oxfordshire, a village and civil ...

or forest).

Geography

Vrindavan is located at . It has an average elevation of 170 metres (557 feet). Yamuna river flows through the city. It is located 125 km away from

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...

and 15 km away from

City.

Climate

Demographics

As of

2011 Indian Census The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Vrindavan had a total population of 63,005, of which 34,769 were males and 28,236 were females. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 7,818. The total number of literates in Vrindavan was 42,917, which constituted 68.11% of the population with male literacy of 73.7% and female literacy of 61.2%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Vrindavan was 77.8%, of which male literacy rate was 83.7% and female literacy rate was 70.3%. The sex ratio is 812 females per 1000 males. The

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

population was 6,294 and 18, respectively. Vrindavan had 11,637 households in 2011. Vrindavan lies in the cultural region of

Braj 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 in Har ...

Religious heritage

Vrindavan is considered to be a sacred place for Vaisnavism tradition of

. The other prominent areas surrounding Vrindavan are Govardhana, Gokul, Nandgaon, Barsana,

and

Bhandirvan Bhandirvan is an ancient religious site in Mant Tehsil of Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh, India. The site is associated with the legends of Hindu god Krishna and his chief consort goddess Radha. Transport Bhandirvan forest is ...

. Along with Vrindavan, all these places are considered to be the center of

and

worship. Millions of devotees of Radha Krishna visit Vrindavan and its nearby areas every year to participate in number of festivals. Vrinda means Tulsi (A sacred species of flora) and van as forest, therefore Vrindavan is a holy forest of Tulsi. Vijaypal Baghel, known as GreenMan is promoting, planting and farming Tulsi in mass around the Vrindavan. The common salutation or greetings used in Braj region by its residents is ''

Radhe Radhe ''Radhe Radhe'', also spelled ''Radhey Radhey'', is a Hindi expression used as a greeting and salutation in the Braj region of India. The greeting is associated with the Hindu goddess Radha, who is the consort of Krishna. She is worshiped as th ...

'' which is associated with the Goddess Radha or Hare Krishna which is associated with Krishna.

History

Vrindavan has an ancient past, associated with Hindu culture and history, and was established in the 16th and 17th centuries as a result of an explicit treaty between Muslims and Hindu Emperors, and is an important Hindu pilgrimage site since long. Of the contemporary times, Vallabhacharya, aged eleven visited Vrindavan. Later on, he performed three pilgrimages of

, barefoot giving discourses on Bhagavad Gita at 84 places. These 84 places are known as

Pushtimarg Baithak Baithak or Bethak, , is a site considered sacred by the followers of the Pushtimarg tradition of Vaishnava Hinduism in India for performing devotional rituals. These sites are associated with Vallabhacharya Mahaprabhu, the founder of Pushtim ...

and since then are the places of pilgrimage. Yet, he stayed in Vrindavan for four months each year. Vrindavan thus heavily influenced his formation of Pushtimarg. Bankebihari temple main gate Vrindavan

The essence of Vrindavan was lost over time until the 16th century, when it was rediscovered by

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; born Vishvambhar Mishra) was a 15th-century Indian saint who is considered to be the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna by his disciples and various scriptures. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krish ...

. In the year 1515,

visited Vrindavan, with the purpose of locating the lost holy places associated with Krishna's life. In the last 250 years, the extensive forests of Vrindavan have been subjected to urbanization, first by local Rajas and in recent decades by apartment developers. The forest cover has been whittled away to only a few remaining spots, and the local wildlife, including peacocks, cows,

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incom ...

s and a variety of bird species has been virtually eliminated.

Temples

Vrindavan, the land of Radha Krishna has about 5500 temples dedicated to them to showcase their divine pastimes. Some of the important pilgrimage sites are - * Shri Radha Madan Mohan Temple, located near the Kalidah Ghat was built by Kapur Ram Das of

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the olde ...

. One of the oldest temples in Vrindavan, it is closely associated with

. The original deity of Madan Gopal was shifted from the shrine to Karauli in Rajasthan for safekeeping during

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 ...

's rule. Today, a replica of the original (deity) is worshipped at the temple * Sri Radha Raman Mandir, constructed at the request of Gopala Bhatta Goswami and houses a

saligram A shaligrama shila ( deva, शालिग्राम शिला, Śāligrāma-śilā), also rendered as shaligram, is a particular variety of stone collected from riverbed or banks of the Kali Gandaki, a tributary of the Gandaki River in N ...

deity of Krishna as Radha Ramana, alongside

. * Banke Bihari Temple, built in 1862 after the image of Banke-Bihari was discovered in Nidhivan by

Swami Haridas Swami Haridas (1480—1573) was a spiritual poet and classical musician. Credited with a large body of devotional compositions, especially in the Dhrupad style, he is also the founder of the Haridasi school of mysticism, still found today ...

. * Radha Vallabh Temple is one of the ancient temple of Vrindavan. It was constructed in 1585 AD and was the first temple made up of red sandstones. * Radha Damodar Temple is a Gaudiya Vaishnavism temple, which is dedicated to Radha Krishna and was constructed in 1542 CE. * Sri Krishna-Balarama Temple was built by the

International Society for Krishna Consciousness The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organization. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhakti ...

(ISKCON) in Raman-Reti. The principal deities of this temple are Krishna and Balaram, with Radha– Shyamasundar and

Gaura ''Gaura'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Onagraceae, native to North America. The genus includes many species known commonly as beeblossoms. Recent genetic research has shown that the genus is paraphyletic unless the monotypic genu ...

- Nitai alongside. Adjoining the temple is the samadhi of

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami (; 1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977) was an Indian Gaudiya Vaishnava guru who founded ISKCON, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna movement". Members of ISKCON view Bhaktivedanta Swami as a repr ...

, the founder of ISKCON, built in pure white marble. * Prem Mandir is a spiritual complex situated on a 54-acre site on the outskirts of Vrindavan dedicated to divine love. The temple structure was established by spiritual guru

Kripalu Maharaj Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj ( IAST: '; 5 October 1922 – 15 November 2013) the fifth original Jagadguru in Indian history, the embodiment of the nectar of divine love, was one of the foremost rasik saints who showered the bliss of ...

. The main structure built in marble and figures of Krishna cover the main temple. * Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir is housed in a modern geodesic structure with a traditional gopuram based on Khajuraho style of architecture. It is being built by one of the ISKCON factions based in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. At cost of it will be the tallest temple in world on completion.

Transportation

Road

Vrindavan is well connected by roads and is connected to

by National Highway (NH) 44 of the

Golden Quadrilateral The Golden Quadrilateral ( hi, स्वर्णिम चतुर्भुज, Svarnim Chaturbhuj; abbreviated GQ) is a national highway network connecting several major industrial, agricultural and cultural centres of India. It forms a ...

network. Earlier it was NH 2. 129 km from

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

117 km from Gurgaon 54 km from

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 is ...

9 km from

While in Vrindavan, battery powered e-rickshaw are available for commuting within city-limits.

Rail

* BDB/Vrindavan is on the Mathura-Vrindavan MG link. * VRBD/Vrindavan Road is on the Agra-Delhi chord.

Flight

Nearest Airports are Agra Airport and New Delhi International Airport.

City of Widows

Vrindavan is also known as the "city of widows" due to the large number of

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can ...

s who move into the town and surrounding area after losing their husbands. There are an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 widows. The widows come from states of West Bengal, Assam and Odisha. Many spend time singing

bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

hymns at bhajanashrams. An organization called Guild of Service was formed to assist these deprived women and children. According to a survey report prepared by the government, several homes run by the government and different NGOs for widows.

Gallery

KesiGhat River.JPG, Keshi Ghat on banks of the Yamuna river Vrindavan, India (20566547434).jpg, Rangaji Temple of Vrindavan PremMandirSideViewFromCanteen.jpg, Prem Mandir, Vrindavan ISKON TEMPLE 1.jpg, Krishna Balaram Mandir Madanmohan Mandir Vrindavan.JPG, Radha Madan Mohan Temple, Vrindavan Radharani 5.jpg, Wall art of the name

Pagal Baba Mandir.jpg, Pagal Baba Temple

References

External links

{{Authority control Krishna Cities and towns in Mathura district Vaishnavism Sacred groves Widowhood in India Yamuna River Rigvedic rivers Hinduism Krishna temples Locations in Hindu mythology Holy cities Hindu holy cities Hindu pilgrimages Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Religious tourism in India Ancient Indian cities