Govardhan also called Giriraj, is a key pilgrimage centre in India and a municipal town; a

nagar panchayat A nagar panchayat () or town panchayat or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,00 ...

; seat of an MLA (

Member of Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several national ...

) of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

; a

Tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

, in

Mathura district Mathura district () is situated along the banks of the river Yamuna is a district of Uttar Pradesh States and Territories of India, state of north-central India. The historic city of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, Mathura is the district headquarters. ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. About 23 kilometres from Mathura, the town is on the road link between

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 south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

and

Deeg Deeg is an ancient historical city in Deeg district of Rajasthan, India. It is carved out from its former district Bharatpur on 7 August 2023. This little city is worth visiting for its unmatched fortifications, extremely beautiful gardens and p ...

Geography

Govardhana is located at . It has an average elevation of 179 metres (587 feet). Govardhana has been made Tehsil in

Mathura District Mathura district () is situated along the banks of the river Yamuna is a district of Uttar Pradesh States and Territories of India, state of north-central India. The historic city of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, Mathura is the district headquarters. ...

by the

government.

Demographics

In the 2011 Indian Census, Govardhana had a population of 22,576. Males constituted 55% of the population and females 45%. Govardhana has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 70%, and female literacy is 52%. In Govardhana, 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Govardhan Hill

Pilgrimage

Each year

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and other people make pilgrimage to Govardhan, and its sacred

Govardhan Hill Govardhana Hill (; ), also called Mount Govardhana and Giriraj, is a sacred Hindu site in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India on an 8 km long hill located in the area of Govardhan and Radha Kund, which is about from Vrindavan ...

, from different places in India and other parts of the world. They circumambulate Govardhan and offer their obeisances to

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

and

Radha Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Prak� ...

, key deities in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

. One of the main festivals celebrated at Govardhan is

Govardhan Puja Govardhan Puja (), also known as Annakut or Annakoot (meaning a “mountain of food”), is a Hindu festival celebrated on the first lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Kartika, on the fourth day of Diwali. Devotees worship Gova ...

, that commemorates the lifting of Govardhan Hill (Giriraj Parvat) to protect the villagers of

Braj Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhumi, 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, Ballabhgarh and Nuh in ...

from the flood caused by the Lord of thunder and rain,

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

. One of the most important day celebrated at Govardhan is

Guru Poornima Guru Purnima () is a religious festival dedicated to offering respect to all the spiritual and academic gurus. It is celebrated as a festival in India, Nepal and Bhutan by Hindus, Jainism, Jains and Buddhism, Buddhists. This festival is tradit ...

(also called "Mudia Poono"). Following the festival of lights, or

Diwali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...

, the previous day, devotees come to Govardhan for parikrama. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited this temple as per Chaitnya charitamratam. This deity was worshiped by jat king of Bharatpur Surajmal.

Historic religious sites

Sites on the hill include

Kusum Sarovar Kusum Sarovar is a sacred water reservoir with a historic sand monument in its backdrop. It is situated on the holy Govardhan Hill between Manasi Ganga and Radha Kund in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Kusum Sarovar is considered ...

, Haridev Temple, and other temples like

Daan-Ghati Daan-Ghati is one of the two main temple structures in Govardhan, near Mathura, India. The other temple structure is called Dasvisa. It is involved in the Govardhan Puja,a 21 kilometre circumambulation of the hill that it is believed Krishna li ...

Temple and Mukharbind Temple. The town is also famous for its 21 kilometers long

Parikrama Parikrama or Pradakshina is clockwise circumambulation of sacred entities, and the path along which this is performed, as practiced in the Indian religions, Indic religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. In Buddhism, it refers only ...

of the famous Govardhan Hill.

Mansi Ganga sacred lake

The town also houses Mansi Ganga, a close-ended lake. On the banks of this

sacred lake 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 cleric. Th ...

, there are quite a few temples, prominent among them the Mukharbind temple.

Kusum sarovar and Samadhi of Jat ruler Maharaja Suraj Mal

On the Govardhan

path on the western bank of 130 sqm sacred artificial lake

(Kusum kund) there are three

Chhatri ''Chhatri'' are semi-open, elevated, dome-shaped pavilions used as an element in Indo-Islamic architecture and Indian architecture. They are most commonly square, octagonal, and round. Originating as a canopy above tombs, they largely ser ...

s housing the

samadhi Statue of a meditating Rishikesh.html" ;"title="Shiva, Rishikesh">Shiva, Rishikesh ''Samādhi'' (Pali and ), in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, is a state of meditative consciousness. In many Indian religious traditions, the cultivati ...

s of

Jat The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in l ...

ruler

Maharaja Suraj Mal Maharaja Suraj Mal (13 February 1707 – 25 December 1763), simply known as Suraj Mal, was a ruler of Bharatpur State in the present-day state of Rajasthan. Under him, Bharatpur State, a tributary of the House of Scindia, covered the prese ...

(r. 1755 – 25 December 1763) and 2 his wives, all of these memorials were built by his son and successor Maharaja Jawahar Singh. The architecture and carving is in the pierced stone style and the ceiling of cenotaphs are adorned with the beautiful painting of life of lord Krishna and Maharajs Suraj Mal's court.Madan Prasad Bezbaruah, Dr. Krishna Gopal, Phal S. Girota, 2003
Fairs and Festivals of India: Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh
p. 480-494. Most imposing chattri is of Mahara Suraj Mal, flanked on either side by two smaller chattris of his two wives, ''"Maharani Hansiya"'' and ''"Maharani Kishori"''.D. Anand, 1992
Krishna: The Living God of Braj
Page 56. Maharaj Suraj Mal is well known for capturing

Red Fort The Red Fort, also known as Lal Qila () is a historic Mughal Empire, Mughal fort in Delhi, India, that served as the primary residence of the Mughal emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1639, fo ...

in 1754 CE after defeating the forces of Mughal king

Ahmad Shah Bahadur Ahmad Shah Bahadur, also known as Mirza Ahmad Shah or Mujahid-ud-Din Ahmad Shah Ghazi (23 December 1725 – 1 January 1775), was the fourteenth Mughal emperor, born to Emperor Muhammad Shah. He succeeded his father to the throne in 1748, at ...

.Jat Kingdom of Bharatpur
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Transportation

Govardhan is located about 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, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, where the airport is located. A railway station is located at

, where taxis can be hired to reach the town, which is about away. There are also tourist buses and a single line electric train for the journey from Mathura.

Gallery

File:Temple_of_Kishn_Soraba,_Gobardun_-View_across_the_Kusum_Sarovar_Tank_towards_Suraj_Mal%27s_Cenotaph,_Gobardhan-;_a_photo_by_William_Henry_Baker,_1860%27s.jpg, Suraj Mal's Cenotaph at Govardhan, a photo by William Henry Baker, c.1860. File:Palace Goverdhun dli A136 cor.jpg, Samuel Bourne,
Upper Portion of the Palace, Goverdhun, 1312
" 1863-1869, photograph mounted on cardboard sheet

C

References

External links

Goverdhan Parikrama highlights
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Mathura district Hindu holy cities