Shri Radha Damodar Temple is a
Hindu temple
A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...
, dedicated to
Hindu deities
Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. Deities in Hinduism are as diverse as its traditions, and a Hindu can choose to be polytheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, monistic, even agnostic, atheistic, or humanist. Julius J. L ...
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� ...
and
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 ...
. The temple is situated in
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, Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance for Hindus who believe that Krishna, one of ...
of
Indian state
India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...
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 ...
. In the temple, Krishna is worshiped in the form of ''Damodar'' with his consort Radha. It is one of the main seven Goswami temples of Vrindavan. The temple belongs to
Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnavism, Vaishnava Hindu denominations, Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region o ...
tradition and was founded by
Jiva Goswami
Jiva Goswami (; ) was an Indian philosopher and saint from the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Vedanta tradition, producing a great number of philosophical works on the theology and practice of Bhakti yoga, Vaishnava Vedanta and associated discip ...
in 1542.
History
Shri Radha Damodar Temple was first established by Jiva Goswami in the year 1542 and was located at Seva Kunj of Vrindavan. Later, In 1670, when the Muslim emperor
Aurangazeb
Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...
invaded Vrindavana, the original deities Radha Damodar were shifted to Jaipur for some time and when the social conditions became favourable, deities were brought back to Vrindavan in the year 1739. The deities Radha Damodar have been served in Vrindavan since then. Before the disappearance of Jiva Goswami in 1596, he left the deities in the care of his successor Krishna Dasa, the head priest. Presently, the descendants of Krishna Dasa are serving the deities.
Significance
The temple is one of the ancient temples of Vrindavan. It is among the seven significant temples of Vrindavan which includes
Radha Madan Mohan temple, Radha Gokulnanda temple,
Radha Raman temple, Radha Govinda temple, Radha Gopinath temple and Radha Shyamsundar temple. The temple also houses the ''Giriraj Shila'' having the footprints of Krishna which was believed to be given to
Sanatana Goswami by
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 ...
himself.
According to popular belief, four ''parikramas'' (circumambulation) of the Radha Damodar Temple is equal to one circumambulation of
Govardhana Hill.
There are also samadhis of many Gaudiya saints including
Rupa Goswami
Rupa Goswami
Rupa Goswami (, , ; 1489–1564) was a devotional teacher (guru), poet, and philosopher of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. With his brother Sanatana Goswami, he is considered the most senior of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan as ...
, Jiva Goswami and
Krishnadasa Kaviraja[Samadhi of Shri Krishna Das Kaviraj at Shri Radha Damodar Temple, Vrindavan.]
/ref> inside the premises of the temple. Founder of ISKCON
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, is a religious organization that follows the Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. It was founded on 13 July 1966 ...
, Srila Prabhupada also stayed in this temple for six years before heading to the United States of America to preach about Krishna.
Temple deities
Along with Radha Damodar and Giriraj Shila, the other deities worshiped in the temple are - Radha Vrindavanchandra, Radha Madhav, Gaur
The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ) is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 ...
Nitai and Jagannath
Jagannath (; formerly ) is a Hindu deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India as part of a triad along with (Krishna's) brother Balabhadra, and sister, Subhadra.
Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, '' Purushot ...
.
Temple timings
The time zone ( UTC+05:30) observed through India by the priest -
Morning - 4:30 AM to 1:00 PM
Evening - 4:30 PM to 9:00 PM
Gallery
See also
* Radha Kund
*Radha Krishna
Radha-Krishna (IAST , ) is the combined form of the Hindu god Krishna with his chief consort and ''shakti'' Radha. They are regarded as the feminine as well as the masculine realities of God and gender in Hinduism, God, in several Krishnaism, Kr ...
* Kusum Sarovar
* Govardhan Shila
* Radha Rani Temple
* Nidhivan, Vrindavan
* Radha Raman Temple
* Radha Damodar Temple, Junagadh
* Radha Vallabh Temple, Vrindavan
*Radha Madan Mohan Temple, Vrindavan
Shri Radha Madan Mohan Temple, is a Hindu temple situated in Vrindavan of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the oldest and highly revered temple of Vrindavan. The presiding deity of the temple is Madan Mohan, a form of the god Krishna ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official website
Radha Krishna temples
Tourist attractions in Mathura district
Hindu temples in Mathura district
Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Mathura district
Krishna temples
Vrindavan
16th-century Hindu temples
1542 establishments in India