||Hare Krishna||

||Jai Srila Prabhupada||

Sri Sri Radha Govinda Devji

(Established by Srila Rupa Goswami in 1570)

Vrindavanam Cha Govindam Ye Paschyanti Vasundhare.

Na Te Yampuram Yanti Yanti Punyakritam Gatim.
- Varaha Purana, Mathura Mahatama (153.49)
“O earth-goddess, they who go to Vrindavan and see the Govinda Deity do not
go to the abode of Yamaraj. They go to the place where pure-hearted saints
go.”

When Vajranabha had the three main deities carved, Uttara was called.
When she saw this beautiful form, she explained that the chest and face
of the Lord are most perfectly revealed in this deity.

 Finding The Deity of Govindaji:

On the order of Lord Caitanya, Rupa Goswami came back to
Vrindavan and along with Sanatana Goswami started fulfilling the
instructions of Lord Caitanya. Although what Rupa Goswami had
accomplished was inconceivable, he was feeling some emptiness in his
heart. Lord Caitanya wanted him to find the deity of Govindadev but
inspite of all efforts and searching all over Vrindavan to locate the
Yogapith, the resting place of the original Deity of Govindaji, but after
months of searching, the Deity could not be found.

       Feeling disappointed, Rupa Gosvami came and sat by the bank of

the Yamuna river and shedding tears, he began to call out the name of
Lord Caitanya--"Ha Caitanya, Ha Caitanya" (oh, Caitanya). One day
while he was sitting on the bank of river Yamuna, a young beautiful
Brajavasi boy approached him and asked him why he was morose.
Rupa Goswami explained everything and the little boy told him that he
can find the deity of Govindadev on Goma tila. The boy said, “A
Surabhi cow comes to Goma tila every day and let’s down large
quantities of milk without any one milking her straight into the ground.
That is the place where you will find Govindadev.” The little boy took
Rupa Goswami with Him and showed the cow letting down large
quantities of milk. Suddenly the boy disappeared and Rupa Goswami
could understand that Krishna had personally come to give him
directions.
Rupa Goswami went and informed the local Brajvasis who then began
to excavate that place. Lord Balrama spoke in the form of an invisible
voice and told them exactly where to dig and very soon they found the
beautiful deity of Govindadev. Rupa Goswami installed Govindadev
and began to worship Him.
Along with Govindaji, a small white deity of Yogamaya, lord Krsna’s
younger sister, was found and it is being worshipped in a small temple,
adjacent to the old Govindaji Temple.
 

 Temple Of GovindaDevji:
Raghunath Bhatta Goswami was the son of Tapan Mishra. As a little
boy he served Lord Caitanya with great love and devotion. He went to
Puri and performed menial services and Lord Caitanya asked him to
return to Varanasi. He told him to not get married, serve his parents
and study Srimad Bhagavatam under the guidance of a pure Vaishnava.
After his parents passed away he went to Puri to be with the Lord. He
stayed with the Lord for 8 months and then the Lord sent him to
Vrindavan.
The construction of the temple of Radha Govinda began under the
guidance of Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami and his disciples headed by
Raja Man Singh of Jaipur sometime after 1570. It was the most
impressive edifice that Hindu art had ever produced in the whole of
Northern India. This temple was originally seven stories tall with a
marble altar, silver and gold. A sculptured lotus flower weighing
several tons decorates the main hall.
Less than one hundred years later, Emperor Aurangzeb, the Muslim
zealot, was standing on the ramparts of his fort at Agra, and noticed a
bright light burning in the far distance. Upon being informed that this
was a large ghee lamp kept atop the Radha Govinda temple in
Vrindavan, he became furious that a Hindu shrine was taller than any
Muslim building and immediately ordered its destruction. By the time
the soldiers of Aurangzeb arrived, Lord Govindadeva and all the
important Deities of Vrindavana had been moved to safer places. The
solidiers of Aurangzeb dismantled the top floors of the Govindaji
temple and desecrated the sanctum sanatorium as well as mutilated all
the stone carvings within the temple. When some stories were
destroyed, suddenly the ground began to shake violently and
Aurangzeb's men panicked and ran for their lives, never to return.

Because the soldiers of Aurangzeb desecrated the main temple, it is

believed that worship cannot continue in that temple. Therefore another
temple was established behind the original Govindaji temple and it
contains the pratibhu Deities of Radha Govinda. The original Deities of
Govinda were brought to Jaipur. The pratibhu Deities are considered to
be the same as the originals.
 The Deities on the altar in this temple are Govindaji in the middle, to
His left is Lord Caitanya, and to His right is Lord Nityananda. Below
are small Radha and Krishna Deities. Below Them are Lord Jagannath
and a Govardhana-shila.
The temple was erected on top of the same Goma Tila, where the deity
was found.The exact spot where Srila Rupa Goswami found the
Govindadevji deity is marked by a platform behind the Temple.

 Raghunath Bhatt Goswami offered a beautiful flute and shark

shaped earrings to Govindadevji. He built one of the most
magnificent temples in Vrindavan but personally slept under a tree.
He wore simple torn cloth, but ornamented Govindadev with
elegant jewels.
Srila Prabhupada taught us that the pleasure of the soul is to give
pleasure to Krishna.
No matter how nice our house is, it will always be a source of anxiety.
No matter how much money and effort we put into a place of residence
it is never right. It is always a cause of anxiety. No matter how much
we decorate these bodies, they will never give any satisfaction to the
heart and even if we have beautiful diamonds and rubies and emeralds
and gold and silk decorate our body, this body is still going to grow
old. Even if we have the nicest oils, our hair is still gong to go grey and
white. So Raghunath Bhatt Goswami is teaching us the secret of
happiness – make Krishna happy.
Bhakti is the art of giving pleasure to Krishna.When we water the root
of the tree then every part of the tree is nourished. When we supply
food to the stomach every part of the body is satisfied.

 Glories of Govinda Devji:

Sri Govindadeva is Vrndavanesvara – the Lord (isvara) of Sri
Vrndavana. In the Skanda, Padma, Varaha and other Puranas, He is
said to be Vrndavana’s raja-rajesvara, King of kings. Sri Govindadeva
is thus the worshipful deity of Vrndavana. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
(Adi-lila 8.50–51) states:
vrndavane kalpa-drume suvarna-sadana
maha-yogapitha tahan ratna-simhasana
tate vasi ‘ache sada vrajendra-nandana
‘sri-govinda deva’ nama-saksat madana
“At the maha-yogapitha in Vrndavana, beneath a desire tree is a golden
throne bedecked with jewels. On that throne Vrajendra-nandana, Sri
Govindadeva, the transcendental Cupid, is seated.”
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi-lila 1.16) also says:
divyad-vrndaranya-kalpa-drumadhah
Srimad-ratnagara-simhasana-sthau
sri-sri-radha-srila-govinda-devau
presthalibhih sevya-manau smarami
“I meditate upon Sri Radha Govindadeva, who are seated beneath a
desire tree on an effulgent bejewelled throne in the supremely beautiful
land of Vrndavana. There, They are always being served by Their
beloved sakhis, especially by Lalita and Visakha.”
There are many famous statements regarding Sri Govinda in different
scriptures. For instance, Srimad-Bhagavatam (6.8.20) states:
“mam kesavo gadaya pratar avyad govinda asangavam atta- venuh
“May Sri Kesava protect me with His club in the morning hours, and
may Sri Govinda, who is holding His flute, protect me in the second
portion of the day.” A commentary on this verse nicely elucidates its
meaning. In the Gopala-tapani Upanisad (Purva- khanda text 38) it is
said: “tam ekam govindam sac-cid-ananda- vigraham – You are
Govinda and Your form is transcendental, full of knowledge, bliss and
eternality.” The Vedas (Urddhva-amnaya) glorifies Sri Govinda in the
following verse: gopala eva govindah prakataprakatah sada vrndavane
yogapithe sa eva satatam sthitah asau yuga-catuske ‘pi Srimad-
vrndavanadhipah pujito nanda-gopadyaih krsnenapi supujitah. The
Atharva Veda says, gokularanye mathura-mandale vrndavana-madhye
sahasra-dala-madhye ‘astadala-kesare govindo’pi syamah dvibhujo,
and so on. Furthermore, the Skanda Purana states: govinda-svami
namatra vasatyarccayatmiko ‘cyutah gandharvair apsarobhisca krida
manah sa . Sri Narayana Bhatta Gosvami also mentions Sri Govinda in
the following verse from Vraja-bhakti-vilasa (10.76):
Vranda-devi sametaya govindaya namo namah
loka-kalmasa-nasaya paramatma-svarupine
“I pay my respect to Sri Govinda together with Vrnda-devi. He is the
personification of the Supersoul and the destroyer of the sins of
mankind.”
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says in 7th verse of Shikshastakam:
Yugayitam nimeshena
Chakshusha pravrishayitam
Shunyayitam jagat sarvam
Govinda-virahena me
“O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to
be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like
torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your
absence.”

 Gaura Govinda:
Kashishwar Pandit was a disciple and personal servant of Srila Ishwar
Puri, the spiritual master of Lord Chaitanya.
As Ishwar Puri was leaving the world, he ordered Govinda and
Kashishwar to render personal service to Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu.
After Lord Chaitanya returned from south Indian tour, the two of them
arrived. They fell at the lotus feet of the Lord and informed Him that
they were meant to be His servants. But Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
felt very ashamed, because they were His Godbrothers and personal
servants of His own spiritual master. How could he receive service
from them? Therefore, He enquired from Sri Sarvabhauma
Bhattacharya, who replied, “The order of the spiritual master is all-
powerful and it must be carried out, above and beyond other forms of
social etiquettes. They have been ordered by their guru Maharaj to
serve You.” So Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu accepted them as His
personal servants. Kashishwar Pandit was very strong in his physical
condition and when Lord Chaitanya would dance ecstatically, he would
personally hold the crowds back to facilitate the Lord to beautifully
dance in ecstatic love. As the Lord would walk through the crowds, he
would also arrange a pathway by which the Lord would not be
disturbed. And by the arrangement of Lord Chaitanya, he was also in
charge of the distribution of prasadam.
One day in Gambhira( Tota Gopinath Temple) Sri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu was talking to His devotees. He told Gadadhara Pandit, “I
have not heard from Rupa or Sanatan for a long time. I wonder why.”
And right when He said that, a messenger came in, walking all the way
from Vrindavan and said, “O Lord! I have a message from Rupa
Goswami.” When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu got this letter, Rupa
Goswami was sharing his joy that Govinda Dev had once again
manifested, to deliver the material world with His all attractive mercy.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was very happy. He was overwhelmed with
ecstasy. He could not control His love when He heard this news.
Then He took Kashishwar Pandit to a private place, and instructed him
to go to Vrindavan and assist in the worship of Lord Govinda.
Kashishwar began to lament. How could he live without the personal
association of Sri Gaurasundar? He lamented piteously. Gauranga
Mahaprabhu understanding his heart gave Him a beautiful Deity of
Himself, of the name ‘Gaur Govinda’. This was a Deity of Lord
Krishna in which Lord Sri Chaitanya had personally manifested. Lord
Chaitanya told Kashishwar how to worship this Deity  , “Whenever
you will worship this Deity, you will see Me and you will feel My
presence. Whenever you will offer Him food, you will see Him eating.
You should worship Him in great love.” Then Lord Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu embraced Kashishwar Pandit and sent him to Vrindavan.
This is a very important story. Because of the power of the love of
Kashishwar, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, for the first time, came to the
western provinces of India in the Deity form. Kashishwar traveled to
Vrindavan and placed the Deity of Gaur Govinda on the right side of
Sri Govinda Dev, and dedicated the rest of his life to serve these two
deities. Not far away from Govind Dev temple, are 64 samadhis of
great Gaudiya Vaisnava saints and amongst them, one of the primary
Samadhi is of Kashishwar Pandit – the personal associate of Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu and servant of Rupa Goswami and Radha Govind.”

 Radharani and Other Deities:

The son of King Prataparudra, King Purusottama Jana, wanted to
establish the deities of Radharani besides Madan Mohan and
Govindadev. With great effort he made 2 beautiful deities of Srimati
Radharani and sent them in an entourage to Vrindavan. Everyone in
Vrindavan was excited and they were making grand arrangements for
the installation. When the 2 deities of Radharani arrived, the pujari of
Madan Mohan temple had a dream, in which Srimati Radharani
appeared to him and said, “Actually everyone is thinking that both
these deities are me, but the truth is one of them is my deity and the
other is Lalita Sakhi. One should be installed on the right side and
other on the left side of Madan Mohan.” Thus both the deities were
installed as per Srimati Radharani’s instruction.
Meanwhile Pursottama Jana was very happy but he wanted Radharani
to be with Govindadev as well. Some time passed in prayer and he had
a dream. Srimati Radharani appeared to him and told him that
sometime back in the land of Orissa in a village by the name
Radhanagara, there lived a great devotee named Brhadbhanu. He had a
deity of Radharani whom he loved & served like his own daughter. He
had no children and after his death the deity was left alone. At that time
the King of Orissa came to that village and brought that deity to Puri.
Over the years people forgot that she was Sri Radha and began serving
her like Srimati Lakshmidevi. So Srimati Radharani asked Purusottama
Jana to take her from Puri and bring her to Vrindavan and install her
next to Govindadevji. So he sent the deity in a beautiful procession to
Vrindavan and Srimati Radharani was installed on the left hand side of
Govindadev.
In 1739, a deity of Lalita sakhi was donated by Maharaja Savai Jai
Singh for serving Radharani. Savai Jai Singh’s grandson, Savai
Pratapa Singh, deputed one of his maidservants to the temple for
tambula (paan) seva, and when she passed away, he presented a deity
of Visakha Sakhi to the temple in her place.
 Story behind Govinda Bhashya:
Around the time 1718 CE, a branch of the Sri
(Ramanuja) Sampradaya known as the Ramanandi sect, in the court of
the king Sadacari Raja at Jaipur, Rajasthan, complained that since the
Gaudiya Vaisnavas had no commentary on the Vedanta Sutra, they
were not qualified to worship the Deity and therefore the worship of
Radha Govindadevji should be turned over to the Sri Sampradaya.
They also objected to the worship of Srimati Radharani along with
Sri Krishna as not being authorised anywhere in the shastras.
The king was initiated within the Gaudiya sampradaya and he sent
word to Vrindavana, informing the devotees what had happened. At
that time Srila Visvanatha Chakravarti was very aged so in his place he
sent his student, Sri Baladeva. In a great assembly he posed such
forceful arguments to the followers of Ramanuja that they could not
reply to them. He further explained: "The originator of the Gaudiya
Vaisnava sampradaya, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, has accepted Srimad
Bhagavatam as the natural commentary on the Vedanta-sutra, as
composed by Srila Vyasadeva Himself. This is proven in the Sat-
sandarbhas."
The scholars in the assembly, however, refused to accept anything
other than a direct commentary on the sutra. Having no other recourse,
Baladeva promised to present them with one.
Feeling very aggrieved, Sri Baladeva came to Sri Govindaji's temple
and informed Sri Govinda of everything that had happened and started
cryinf, falling at his lotusfeet. That night the Lord appeared to him in a
dream and instructed him to write a commentary on the Vedanta-sutra:
"I will dictate to you what to write and therefore no one will be able to
refuse to accept it."
Thus Baladeva began to write, and within a few days completed the
commentary which was titled 'Sri Govinda Bhashya'. It convinced the
Ramanandi scholars and they bestowed upon Sri Baladeva the title
'Vidyabhushana' ('ornament of knowledge (vidya)').
They expressed their desire to accept initiation from Sri Baladeva
Vidyabhushana. However, he declined their request by stating that
amongst the four authorized sampradayas, the Sri sampradaya was
highly respectable and the foremost adherent of dasya-bhakti (devotion
in servitorship). If there was any cause of loss of respect to the
sampradaya this might be considered an offense.

 Vrinda Devi:
Kamyavana is dedicated to goddess Vrinda, one of the four most
worshipped Devis of Braj Mandal. Vrinda Devi is the presiding deity
of Kamyavana. Vrinda Devi is actually the expansion of Sri Radharani
and she is known to be managing the whole land of Vrindavan, to
make the arrangements for the loving pastimes of Radha and Krishna.
The most famous temple of Kamyavana is Radha Govinda Temple
where the deity of Vrinda Devi is installed. This deity of Vrinda Devi
is the oldest deity in the whole world. This deity was excavated by
Shrila Rupa Goswami in the Brahma Kund after Vrinda Devi herself
told him in his dream about the place where the deity was hidden. This
deity was earlier established and worshipped at Radha Govinda temple
of Vrindavan but later in the anticipation of attack of Mughal ruler
Aurangzeb, this deity along with other presiding deities were hidden in
the Kunds, from where they were secretly moved to Jaipur through
Kamyavana. While passing through Kamyavan, the cart carrying the
deity of Vrinda Devi was stuck and could not go further as Vrinda
Devi never wanted to leave Vraja Mandala. Since then the Vrinda Devi
is residing in Kamyavan and worshipped in this temple of Radha
Govinda along with the Pratibhu Vigrahas (replica deities) of Radha
Govindaji.
  64 Samadhi Area:
Near the Radha Govinda Temple, Vrindavan is a garden that contains
the nama (name) and puspa (flower) samadhis of 64 important Gaudiya
Vaishnava Acharyas, associates of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. These
devotees are considered by Vaishnava authorities to be the 64 most
confidential associates of Lord Chaitanya.
The first samadhis to be established here were those of Raghunath
Bhatta Goswami, Kasisvara Pandit Goswami and Subuddhi Raya.
-Bhatta Goswami (incarnation of Sri Raga Manjari, one of the main
intimate associate of Srimati Radharani) has his full samadhi. The
other two are Subbhudhiya Raya and Kavisvara Pandit (the personal
servant of Krsna in the spiritual world called Bhrngara).

When Mahaprabhu visited Sri Vrindavan in the year 1515, the place
was a vast jungle. He would gather his closest associate at this 64
Samadhis area and would give them special instructions about the
location of various lost holy places around Vrindavan.

In the courtyard there is a small temple of Sri Radha Giridhari and

different other deities. There´s also a very beautiful Neem tree, which
shelters Mahaprabhu bhaitak or sitting place together with the other
members of the Panca Tattva. According the local pujari, this Neem
tree has been around since the time of Mahaprabhu.

Further down a small path on the left hand side another special tree
called the Peelu is located. It is said that this tree has been around since
the beginning of Dvapara Yuga.

There is another important spot in the far hand corner of the 64

samadhis in a small jungle-like area. There used to be a pond called,
Venu Kupa.
While engaged in sportive pastimes in Vrindavana, Sri Krsna
Knew that His beloveds were thirsty, so He touched His flute
(Venu) to the earth and blew into it. A stream of water which
Pierced patala, the lower regions, emerged by the sound of Krsna's
Flute. The water was very cool and fragrant. The gopis drank this
Water, praising Krsna and His flute. The gopis named this pond Venu
kupa. A well has been built to keep that spot as the pond itself is dry
now.
The well is quite deep and it is actually the same depth as the Yamuna
river which flows into it. But at this moment the well is also dry and
inhabited by a huge snake which only comes out at night. This whole
area is full of snakes basically.
About 150 years ago the Govindaji temple managers started to add
more samadhis. These samadhis are pushpa, smriti, or nama samadhis.
Most of the samadhis are nama samadhis which means a place where
the Vaishnava personality’s name is inscribed.
This is a transcendental place filled with spiritual energy and is very
peaceful to chant Japa.

 Srila Rupa Gosvami jokingly forbids the darsana of Govindadeva

with the following words: “If you have even a slight desire to enjoy
life with your wife, sons, relatives and friends, then listen to my
advice. Never go to Kesi-ghata in Vrndavana, even by mistake.
There, Sri Hari as the deity of Govinda is standing in His charming
threefold-bending form, smiling. Raising His eyebrows, He looks
here and there with slightly crooked eyes. His yellow cloth
(pitambara) is shimmering on His body, and He is decorated with a
heart-stealing garland of forest flowers and bunches of fresh leaves.
Aah, the flute, the root cause of all troubles, is gracefully placed to
His lips, and the peacock feather on His head is increasing His
beauty. A person who even once beholds this deity of Govinda
young with his own eyes never returns to his home, and his
household life is ruined. Therefore, O wordly jiva, be cautious.
Never ever go towards Kesi-ghata; otherwise an unthinkable
disaster may occur”