About Vrindavan

Country: India | State: Uttar Pradesh

Ideal Trip Duration: 1-2 Days

Nearest City to Vrindavan: Agra (70 Kms), Delhi City (155 Kms)

Best Time to Visit Vrindavan: August to March

Peak Season: August to September & March

At a distance of 13 km from Mathura, 70 km from Agra, 155 km from Delhi, 400 km from Lucknow and 235 km from Jaipur, Vrindavan is a holy town situated on the banks of Yamuna River in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh. It is also among the sacred places to visit near Delhi for a 2 day weekend trip and also one of the popular places to visit near Agra.

Vrindavan is a major pilgrimage center for the Hindus and one of the oldest cities in the country. The holy town of Vrindavan has a very rich history associated with the Hindu god Lord Krishna. It is said to be the place where Lord Krishna spent his childhood. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a great devotee of Lord Krishna is credited with rediscovering of Vrindavan. The place was later developed by various kings of the region.

The name Vrindavan is derived from the words vrinda meaning tulsi (or basil) and van meaning grove and most likely refers to the two small groves at Nidhivan and Seva Kunj. While Seva Kunj is believed to be the place where Krishna performed Raaslila with Radha and the Gopikas, Nidhivan is said to be the place where the divine couple rested. The place is also one of the Shaktipeeths, named Bhuteshwar Mahadev. The place is believed to have been the site where the hair of Devi Sati fell.

Vrindavan is also one of the most prominent sites for ISKCON, the association of Krishna devotees. The city of Vrindavan is home to about 4,000 temples. Rangaji temple, Govind Dev Temple, Bankey Bihari temple, Madan Mohan temple, Radha Vallabh Temple, Nidhivan temple and the Pagal Baba temple are the popular and most visited Vrindavan temples.

Holi and Janmastami are the major festivals celebrated in Vrindavan. The Holi festival attracts national and international tourists to this town. Tourists can also visit nearby Barsana where the interesting tradition of Lath Mar Holi is observed. Barsana is the place where Krishna's consort Radha was born. The place is especially interesting during the festival of Holi when the women of Barsana attack the men of nearby village Nandgaon with sticks and play the Lath Mar Holi.

Agra Airport is the closest airport, which is 70 km away. Vrindavan has a Railway Station but Mathura is the major railhead, which is about 13 km. Vrindavan is also well connected by road with Mathura, Agra, Jaipur, Lucknow, Delhi, Indore and Allahabad.

The best time to visit Mathura is from October to March.

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Other Info
Internet Availability: Average
STD Code: 05664
Languages Spoken: Hindi and English
Major Festivals: Holi (Mar) and Janmastami (Aug/Sep)
Notes/Tips:
None

How to Reach Vrindavan

By Air

Nearest Airport: Agra - Kheria Airport (70 Kms)

By Train

Nearest Train Station: Vrindavan Railway Station (0 Kms)
Mathura Jn Railway Station (13 Kms)

By Bus

Nearest Bus Station: Vrindavan Bus Station (1 Kms)

Top 10 Places to Visit in Vrindavan

Heritage | Pilgrimage

#1 of 14 Places to Visit in Vrindavan

At a distance of 1 km from Vrindavan Railway Station, Govind Deo, which is also known as Govind Dev Temple, is one of the most important holy places in Vrindavan.

The Govind Dev Temple was built by Raja Man Singh, the ruler of Amber, Rajasthan in 1590 at a cost of ten million rupees. It is an astonishingly beautiful seven storey temple dedicated to Govind Dev, another name for Lord Krishna. The temple was partially destroyed by Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in 1670, and now only a three storied structure remains.

The architecture of the temple is different from those of conventional temples. This temple reflects the architectural elements of Western, Hindu and Muslim style. The temple was designed in the form of Greek cross and was made using red sandstone. The temple has an imposing facade, looking like a European cathedral because of the pillars and colonnades. It is built on a raised platform and one has to climb a flight of stairs to reach the main hall. The temple has an impressive .....

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Pilgrimage

#2 of 14 Places to Visit in Vrindavan

At a distance of 1 km from Vrindavan Railway Station, Sri Bankey Bihari Mandir is one of the popular Vrindavan temples situated near Radhavallabh Temple in the holy city of Vrindavan. This temple is among the 7 temples of Thakur of Vrindavan including Sri Radhavallabh ji, Sri Govind Dev ji and four others.

The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Krishna. The deity was originally worshipped by Haridas Swami under the name of Kunji-bihari at Nidhivan. The idol of is much older and was worshipped in Nidhivan till 1863. The current temple was built in 1864 by Swami Haridas of the Nimbarka Sampradaya. Later, the deity of Radha Rani was added to the temple. The Bankey Bihari temple is amongst the holiest and famous temples of Lord Krishna.

The presiding deity in the temple is of Lord Krishna standing in the Tribhanga posture. The deity is worshiped and looked after as a child. The idol is black in color and is beautifully carved. Unlike other temples, the curtains before the deity .....

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Pilgrimage

#3 of 14 Places to Visit in Vrindavan

At a distance of 2.5 km from Vrindavan Railway Station, Prem Mandir is a religious and spiritual complex situated on the outskirts of Vrindavan.

Prem Mandir is one of the latest temples in Vrindavan dedicated to Lord Sri Krishna. The temple structure was established by spiritual guru Kripalu Maharaj. The foundation stone laid on January 2001 and the temple was opened to public on 17th February 2012. The cost of the construction was around 150 crore rupees. The presiding deities are Sri Radha Govind and Sri Sita Ram.

Prem Mandir built on 54 acres land is a two storied structure. The main structure built in marble looks incredibly beautiful and reflects the true history of Sanatana Dharma. The sanctum has the beautiful deities of Radha - Krishna on the ground floor and Ram - Sita on the first floor. The inner temple walls are adorned with the fine images and paintings from the life of Guru Kripalu Maharaj. There are totally 80 panels on the walls depicting Radha Krishna Lila.

There .....

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Pilgrimage

#4 of 14 Places to Visit in Vrindavan

At a distance of 2 km from Vrindavan Railway Station, ISKCON Temple, also known as Sri Krishna-Balaram Mandir, is a popular temple situated in Raman Reti, Vrindavan. This is one of the main ISKCON temples in India. The ISKCON Temple was built in the year 1975 and inaugurated on the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami. The foundation of the temple was laid by Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON. It was the first temple to be constructed by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

The beautiful white marbled ISKCON temple has three sanctums. The presiding deity of the temple is of Lord Krishna-Balaram, which is housed under the central shrine of the temple. On the right side are Radha Krishna with Lalita and Vishakha. On the left side is a Murti of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with Nityananda, and Swami Prabhupada and his spiritual teacher Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Krishna - Balaram Mandir enforces one of the highest standards of cleanliness and of deity worship. .....

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Pilgrimage

#5 of 14 Places to Visit in Vrindavan

At a distance of 1.5 km from Vrindavan Railway Station, Sri Ranganath or Rangaji Temple is one of the biggest temples in the region. It is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi.

The construction of this temple began in 1845 and was completed in 1851, at a cost of 45 lakhs rupees. It was built by Seth Radha Krishna and Seth Govindadasa of Chennai. It is one of Vrindavan's largest temples and is surrounded by high walls. The deity in the temple is called Sri Ranganatha and is represented in sleeping posture on Shesh Nag. The temple also houses the idols of Sita - Rama and Lakshmana, Lord Narasimha, Ramanujacharya and Venugopala.

The Rangaji Temple is built in South Indian architecture with eight gopuras built in Dravidian style. The main entrance to this temple is on the western side. There is a six-storey gopuram, which is completely filled with carvings. The temple also has a gold plated 50 feet high Dhwaja stambha. There is also a temple tank and a beautiful garden .....

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Pilgrimage

#6 of 14 Places to Visit in Vrindavan

At a distance of 1 km from Vrindavan Railway Station, Katyayani Peeth Temple is one of the 51 Shakti Peeths and known as Uma Shakti Peeth. It is situated within Bhuteshwar Mahadev Temple in Vrindavan.

This temple is dedicated to Goddess Parvati, in the form of Katyayani. The current structure was constructed in 1923 by Yogiraj Swami Keshvanand Bramachari. Here the worship idols are Devi as Uma and Lord Shiva as Bhutesh. There is a sword of Devi in the temple which is popularly known as Uchawal Chandrahaas. According to the belief of local people, girls worship Mata Katyayani to get Sri Krishna as their fellow mate.

According to legend, this place is believed to have been the site where Devi Sati's hair fallen. According to other versions, Katyayani is the Yogmaya power of Vishnu, whom he ordered to be born as the daughter of Nanda and Yashoda, while he was born as Krishna to Devaki and Vasudev. Also, the Adya Shastra has established Katyayani as the deity of Vrindavan.

The .....

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#7 of 14 Places to Visit in Vrindavan

At a distance of 56 km from Agra, 159 km from Delhi, 419 km from Lucknow and 224 km from Jaipur, Mathura is an ancient city and also the district headquarters of Mathura in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Mathura is one of the popular tourist places near Agra and also one of the best places to visit near Delhi.

Mathura is one of the seven cities (Sapta Puri) considered holy by Hindus, the other six are Ayodhya, Haridwar, Varanasi, Kanchipuram, Ujjain and Dwarka. Mathura has been chosen as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India. Mathura is also one of the popular Delhi weekend getaways for 2 day trip. Mathura is located at the banks of river Yamuna and is popularly known as the Brajbhoomi, the sacred land of Lord Krishna. The Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi .....

Distance (From Vrindavan Railway Station): 13 Kms
Trip Duration (From Vrindavan Railway Station - Including Travel): 1-2 Days
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Pilgrimage

#8 of 14 Places to Visit in Vrindavan

At a distance of 1 km from Vrindavan Railway Station, Sri Radha Damodar Mandir is an ancient temple situated at Loi Bazar near Seva Kunj in Vrindavan.

Sri Radha Damodar Mandir was established by Srila Jiva Goswami in the year 1542 AD. The deities of Sri Radha Damodar were given to Srila Jiva Goswami by his guru, Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhupada and have been worshipped here. Later during the attack of Aurangzeb on Vrindavan, the idols of Radha Damodar were shifted to Jaipur for some time and were brought back to Vrindavan in 1739 AD.

The bhajan kutir and Samadhi of Srila Rupa Goswami as well as the Samadhi's of Srila Jiva Goswami, Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami, Bhugarbha Goswami and the bhajan kutir of Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada are present in the temple premises. Jiva Goswami established a library here, where he stored all the original manuscripts of the Goswamis. The Vrindavan Research Institute has been able to preserve some of the original library, including autographed .....

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#9 of 14 Places to Visit in Vrindavan

At a distance of 1 km from Vrindavan Railway Station, Madan Mohan Temple is one of the oldest temples in Vrindavan and is located near the Kali Ghat.

Established by Sanatana Goswami, the deity of Madan Mohan was originally known as Madana Gopala. Worshiped along with Madana Mohan are Radharani and Lalita Sakhi. Krishna Dasa took care of the temple after Sanatana Goswami.

The original Deity of Madan Mohan was discovered at the base of an old banyan tree by Advaita Acharya, when he visited Vrindavan. He entrusted the worship of Madana Mohana to his disciple, Purusottama Chaube, who then gave the deity to Sanatana Goswami who spent 43 years in Vrindavan. Radharani and Lalita are worshipped along with Madan Mohan.

The original image of Lord Madan Gopala was shifted from the shrine to Jaipur for safe keeping during Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's rule. The original deity of Madan Mohan is said to exactly resemble Krishna from the waist down. In 1748 AD, a replica of Madan Mohan .....

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#10 of 14 Places to Visit in Vrindavan

At a distance of 2 km from Vrindavan Railway Station, Sri Radha Ramana Temple is a popular temple and among the 7 temples of Thakur of Vrindavan including Sri Radhavallabh ji, Sri Bankey Bihari Ji, Sri Govind Dev ji and three others.

Established by Gopala Bhatta Goswami, this temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna as Radha Ramana. He is one of the six Goswamis of Vrindavan who followed the principles of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu strictly. The temple is exquisitely crafted and one of the most revered temples in Vrindavan, especially by the followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. It houses the original shaligram deity of Krishna, alongside Radharani. The temple was renovated in the year 1826 by Shah Behari Lallji.

The deity is self-manifested from a shaligram shila, which is around 30 cm tall and has a mystic smile on his face. The deity was installed on the full moon day in the month of Vaishaka (April-May) in the year 1542. This event is celebrated every year by bathing the deity with .....

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