Lord Shiva’s presence in Brij Dhaam – Brij Yatra Diaries

In Brij bhoomi we have four deities of Lord Shiva, in four directions, known a “Dik-Palas”. They are supposed to be the protectors of Brij Dhama from all directions. Besides that is Nandeshwara Mahadeva, at Nand Maharaj’s palace in Nandgaon.

Nandeshwara Mahadeva:

The palace of Nanda Maharaja is situated atop Nandeshwara hill in Nandagaon. Lord Shiva asked for a boon from Narayana of getting a chance to witness the Brij pastimes of Lord Krishna. Reciprocating with this desire, Lord Krishna granted him this form in Nandagaon. Lord Shiva has stayed at Nandagaon in the form of Nandeshwara Mahadeva and even today, the charnamrita and maha-prasada of Lord Krishna is first offered to him.

Bhuteshwara Mahadeva:

Bhuteshwara Mahadeva protects Brij-Dhama from the western side. The tradition is that when coming to Brij Dhaama, one must first go to Mathura to take permission from him to enter the dhama. Sri Chaitanya Charitamrta (Madhya 17.191) by Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami describes how Lord Chaitanya also visited Bhuteshwara Mahadeva on his visit to Brij Dhama:

स्वयंभू, विश्राम, दीर्घ-विष्णु, भूतेश्वर
महाविद्या, गोकर्णादि देखिला विस्तार

Leela Sthalis of Brij Bhoomi – Brij Yatra Diaries

One can realise the significance of Brij Dhaam by merely entering Brij Bhoomi. The Earth and its dust, the Yamuna flowing, the tulsi trees in Nidhivan, everything here feels sacred. You feel thrilled to be connected to this Earth and dust where our Lord had walked with Radharani and do so even now. It truly feels magical & ecstatic! When you are on a visit to Brij Bhoomi, there are many leela sthalis that usually gets missed by devotees. People will tell you about the usual temple in Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana or Nandgaon. I am putting down few here so that next visit you all can make sure to visit them all.

1. Sankari khor – It’s a narrow pathway between Brahmagiri & Vilas Parvat in Barsana. This path was used by gopis to go out of Barsana to sell their milk, ghee, dahi & other milk products. Krishna with his friends would stop these gopis at this point and play fun games, even break the matkis to trouble them thus sending the gopis rushing off to Yashoda Maiya to complain.
2. Prem Sarovar – Once Radharani & Shri Krishna were sitting together when a Bee started hovering around Radharani’s face thinking it to be lotus. A friend chased the bee away and came to tell her “Madhu is now gone”. Radharani thought Madhu, also a name of Krishna, had left. In her bhav of separation & love, she started crying calling Madhusudan’s name. Krishna tried hard to console her but seeing her pain he too forgot that She was sitting on His lap and he too began to cry. It is said from the mix of their “Tears of Love”, the Prem Sarovar pond emerged. The Prem Sarovar emerged from the tears of Separation of Yugal Sarkar, although they are together.
3. Charan Pahadi – After Shri Krishna entered the cave known as Luk Luka Khandar, He appeared on top of the hill in which the cave is buried and played sweetly on His flute. The sound of the flute broke the sakhis meditation on Him. They looked up to see their beloved playing His flute on the hill, and eagerly ran there to meet Him. The sound of the flute was so sweet that it melted the hill, and Shri Krishna’s footprints manifested there. Even today, after 5000yrs, one can see these footprints very clearly.
4. Hau Bilau, this is something very interesting from Shri Krishna’s life. On the bank of Yashoda Kund, Krishna with Balrama performed childhood pastimes with their friends. The brothers used to get so absorbed in their games that they forgot to come home. Yashoda Maiya would employ various tricks to get them home and main among them was to scare them with Haua who would come & take them. Even today, the ancient stone figures of the Hau Bilau near Yashoda Kund are a reminder of this sweet childhood pastime. There’s a mention of the same in a local Braj poem – Dur khelan mat jau lal yahan hau aye hain; hamskar puchhat kanha maiya yeh kinai pathaye hain “Do not go far away, my child, the haua has come. Krishna smiled & asked Maiya who had sent him.”
5. Ladli-Lal, Sree Radha Rani pragatya mandir. The temple of Radha Rani at Rawal, Mahavan Mathura where she was born. This is the ONLY place where our beloved Radha Rani is worshiped in her “Lalan Swaroop” (toddler Radharani).
6. Kalia Ghat – Krishna was playing with a ball with his friends on the banks of Yamuna, when his ball fell into Kaliya-dah, a part of the river lake where Kaliya Nag, the thousand-headed snake lived. Krishna went up the Kadam tree on the banks and jumped into the river. He fought with Kaliya and emerged victorious, dancing on Kaliya’s heads. The Kadam Tree at Kalia Ghat represent the spot where the incident took place.
7. Paavan Sarovar – Yashoda Maiya used to bathe Lord Krishna here. This is said to be one of Lord Krishna’s favourite lakes. Lord Krishna would come here after the cows would return from grazing and give the cows a bath.
8. Ter Kadamb – The place where Shri Krishna played Raas Leela with the gopis, The Raas Leela Sthali.
9. Brahmand Ghat – The spot where infant Lord Krishna showed the entire Universe or Brahmand to Yashoda Maiya. One day while playing with His friends, infant Krishna swallowed some particles of mud. When Yashoda Maiya came to know about this, she rushed to this very spot and worriedly asked Him to open His mouth so that she could remove all the mud. Krishna opened His mouth wide. She stared in utter disbelief and amazement at what she saw – she could see the entire Brahmand, the Entire Universe was contained within the small confines of Krishna’s mouth. This sight that Yashoda Maiya saw is what has kept this place alive even today.
10. Raman Reti – Also called Raman Van, this pious place is believed to have been the sporting place of Laddu Gopal (baby Krishna) in Gokul. Reti means sand & Raman, divine play. The sand of this sacred place is blessed by the lotus feet of baby Krishna. Thus this place is revered. It is believed that at this place Lord Krishna during his childhood used to play with Lord Balaram and his other gopa friends. So, due to its association with Krishna this land has been used by many saints for their meditation.

At Srimati Radharani’s birthplace – Brij Yatra Diaries

Mukharvali, now known as Raval is a small village not very far from Gokul. The place is known for its spiritual sanctity as our beloved Radharani was born in this village. Raval and Barsana villages are the places where Srimati Radharani was born and life spent in her leelas with Lord Krishna.

This village is situated on the banks of Yamuna and there is a temple known as the Ladli-Lal Mandir, where one can see the beautiful deities of Radha and Krishna. The Deities were installed by Vajranabha, the great grandson of Lord Krishna. Ladli = Beloved daughter and Lal = Beloved son, hence Ladli Lal, meaning the temple of the beloved.  With the courses of time the deities were lost and the temple was turned to ruins. Later Narayan Bhatt, one of the disciples of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu excavated the lost deities in the nearby place and installed them here in this temple. Raval is situated in the small forest of Ravalavana which is mentioned in the puranas as being one of the upavanas or sub-forests of Vrindavan Dham.

Brij Dhaam is surrounded by four hills, each supposedly representing the four heads of Lord Brahma, one being Bhanugarh. It’s said this hill top is the spot where Raja Vrishabhanu had his palace. Here you can see an exceptionally magnificent and opulent edifice dedicated to Shriji or Radharani. Shriji is the locally known name of goddess Radha. As per legend, Vajranabha built a temple here that got destroyed with time. The temple was again erected by Raja Bir Singh in 1675 and later Narayan Bhatt with help of Raja Todarmal turned it into a huge temple almost looking like a palace.

Nand Bhavan, reliving Krishna’s childhood – Brij Yatra diaries

मैया मोरी मैं नहिं माखन खायो,
भोर भयो गैयन के पाछे, मधुवन मोहिं पठायो ।
चार पहर बंसीबट भटक्यो, साँझ परे घर आयो ॥
मैं बालक बहिंयन को छोटो, छींको किहि बिधि पायो ।
ग्वाल बाल सब बैर परे हैं, बरबस मुख लपटायो ॥
तू जननी मन की अति भोरी, इनके कहे पतिआयो ।
जिय तेरे कछु भेद उपजि है, जानि परायो जायो ॥
यह लै अपनी लकुटि कमरिया, बहुतहिं नाच नचायो ।
‘सूरदास’ तब बिहँसि जसोदा, लै उर कंठ लगायो ॥

Yes those lines by Surdasji comes first to your mind when you step into Nand Bhavan. The palace where our beloved Shri Krishna spent his childhood and did so many leelas.

Inside main temple, Yashoda Maiya with Bal Krishna & Rohini Mata with Bal Balaram

Yogamaya & Lord Krishna – The true story!

Click to read

During Janmashtami a whatsapp forward was making rounds on Yogamaya as posted above. The writer stated our scriptures don’t have details on Yogamaya, that a “Girl” child was sacrificed to save a “Boy” child. Unfortunately that is not the case. Here’s some details on the issue with relevant proofs.

What or who is Yogamaya, we need to first understand the difference between Maya, Mahamaya and Yogamaya. Maya is illusion, the delusive power of God. Maya is that power of God which makes us forget our true self. Mahamaya, the Divine Mother, is the power that controls nature & celestial beings. God Himself never interfere in that functioning. As per scriptures, God can interfere and do so through his divine potential energy – The Yogayama. Yogamaya as name suggests, is one who controls the “Maya” of “Yoga”.

According to Vedanta, the most intimate personal power of God that gives life, liveliness, and Bliss to the entire Divine phenomena, including God Himself, is called Yogamaya. It is the power of doing, undoing, and reverse doing capability. It is this very power which graciously makes the entire Divine phenomena Blissful; manifests the loving leelas (Cosmic play) of Radha Krishna; and Graces the souls with the Divine experiences.

Bhagavat Gita provides ample clues to Yogamaya as the power of Lord Krishna, and during his leelas representing his miracle working inherent power. Other scriptures like Srimad Bhagavatam, Devimahattam (Markandeya Puraana), Harivamsha Mahapuraana (The blueprint of Mahabharata), etc also tells in details about Yogamaya leelas not just with Lord Krishna but also other Gods. Because the forwarded message was related to Shri Krishna and Yogamaya, I will stick to that and refer all related scriptures to show the bond between them to refute the claims made.

Modhera Surya Mandir, a Poetry on Rocks!

Solanki dynasty is famous for their beautiful temple architecture and Modhera Sun Temple is one of their exquisite display. From Skanda and Brahma Puranas we get to know that the surrounding was known as Dharmaranya and Modhera was a village here, called as Modherak. Puranas also tell of a yagna done here by Lord Rama to purge himself from sin of killing a Brahmin, Ravana. According to Saura Purana this temple was originally made by Samba, Lord Krishna’s grandson and later rebuilt by King Bhimdeva of Solanki dynasty in 1026

I already gave the engineering part of the temple. [CLICK] Here’s the architecture and sculpture part. The Temple consists of three parts – First you have the Surya/Rama Kund, next the Sabha mandapa or the assembly hall and finally the Garbagriha with an attached Guda Mandapa.

Image Courtesy – Google

Kund consists of the diagonally intersecting steps placed symmetrically on all four sides. Another unique feature is the presence of 108 shrines surrounding the Kund. 108 has always been sacred number for Hindus. Of them there are four major shrines dedicated to Vishnu, Shiva, Shitala Mata & Ganesha. The Sabha Mandapa is an example of stone craft at is best! It consists of 52 pillars symbolizing the no. of weeks in a solar year. Each pillar is a masterpiece depicting episodes from Ramayana, Mahabharata, war scenes, nritikas, musicians etc. Every surface of the Sabha Mandapa is intricately carved and you can watch it for hours yet feel like getting more! The Guda Mandap has sculptures of 12 Adityas or forms of Surya Dev symbolizing the 12 months in a solar year. Each Aditya has 7 horses as his vahana, representing the 7 colors that form white light. The entire structure of Guda Mandapa and Sabha Mandapa appears to float on an upturned lotus. Just above the lotus are 365 elephant sculptures representing 365 days of a year.

Every corner, every niche of the temple is painstakingly transformed into a canvas of beauty. The ornately carved columns, the intricately carved sculptures, everything unbelievably enthralling.  It was wealth that was reason for attack by Mohamad Ghazni and later by Khilji. With such devastating attacks we find ruins inside the temple yet what remains is extremely beautiful and glorifies love of art of Solankis.

Saptarangi Dwarkadheesh ji

After Dwarkadheesh temple beautiful architecture (Click Here) lets come to Dwarkadhish ji himself, who is equally cute and beautiful. Time stops while you watch the Supreme Lord, such is his power. It is said the original Dwarkadheesh temple was built around 400BC, way before Christ was born by Krishna’s grandson. The idol installed then was a different one. There’s an interesting legend about the idol in the Dwarkadheesh temple. Once a girl named Badana was a regular visitor to the temple. Pleased by her devotion, the Dwarkadheesh one day walked out with her. But the priests suspected that Badana had stolen the idol and pursued her to get it back to the temple. Badana wanted to keep Lord with her so pleaded that she would give gold in proportion the weight of the idol and the priests accepted. The idol was placed in one side of the scale and to the surprise of all the priests, one single nose stud of Badana could equal the weight of the statue. Lord knew she had nothing so played the miracle. Just then an ethereal voice said the priests could dig in a particular place the next day to find a similar statue. When they hurriedly dug the place without waiting for the next day, they found only an incomplete statue which was installed in Dwarkadhish temple and seen to this day.

Dwarkadheesh ji is dressed in different colour clothes on different days. Monday Pink, Tuesday yellow, Wednesday green, Thursday Saffron, Friday White, Saturday Blue and Sunday Red. On special days some special colour is worn by Lord and routine is not followed. Since body of Lord Krishna is meghshyam & glittering like rainbow, maybe reason why the colour of he wears is “Saptarangi” like rainbow. Here’s Dwarkadheesh ji in all seven colour atires.

Monday – Pink

Tuesday – Yellow

Dwarkadheesh Temple, Dwarka – An Architectural Wonder!

The splendid Dwarkadhish temple, in Dwarka is situated the on bank of river Gomti. The temple is one among the Chaar Dhaam and very auspicious place of worship especially for Vaishnavites. Not just spiritually but even the architecture of the temple leaves you in awe. The five storey temple, 50+mtrs tall is based on 72 exquisitely carved pillars. The roof of the main hall itself is supported on 60 pillars. The temple is spread 90 feet in the east-west direction and 70 feet in the north-south direction. There is no arch in the temple while the pillars are built from one stone. The spire of the temple is 78.3 m high (that would be 260 feet). That is like having a twenty-five storey building. I can imagine in the years gone by, with a flat coastline and no other buildings that are tall, this temple would have been a very prominent and visible beacon to travelers from miles away, both onshore and offshore. The inner temple supposedly was always there and the subsequent enlargement in the form of an assembly hall known, as Ladwa mandap and the awe-inspiring Shikhara are dated back to the 15th century. Whole construction is done by limestone and sand. The original temple is said to have been built by Krishna’s grandson Vajranabha around 400 BC. It was destroyed by Mohmud Begada in 1473 AD and the present temple was constructed by enlarging the older structure (the main hall).

Kanha to bik jaata hai, Pyaar ke do bol se!

 

Maakan churakar jisne khaaya, Bansi bajakar jisne nachaya
Kanha hai uska naam, Brijwasiyo ka dil jisne lubhaya

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Ek haath mein murli sohe, Duje haath chakra sudarshan
Kanha hi hain jinke ungli pe, Naache vishaal Govardhan.

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Happy Holi 2016 – Lathmar Holi of Braj

All of us in India must have celebrated Holi – the very joyful, energetic  festival of colour. Holi – Popularly known as “Phagwah” in Assam, “Dol jatra” in West Bengal and “Fagu” in Nepal, the festival is celebrated with different names and traditions across India.

But what if I tell you that there is a village in Mathura district, Barsana where people play Holi with wooden sticks? Yes, this village near Vrindavan is the birth place of our dear Radha Rani and lies just beside Nand Gaon, our Kanha’s village. Here, men from Nand Gaon come to play Holi with the girls of Barsana and hope of raising their flag over Shri Radhikaji’s temple. But, instead of colours they are greeted with sticks by the gopis, the women folk of Barsana village. Hence, the Holi get its new name here Lathmar Holi. As the name suggests, “Lath” – Stick, “Mar” – To hit, this is Holi played by hitting sticks.

As per Hindu mythology Lord Krishna visited his beloved Radha’s village on this day and playfully teased her and her friends by applying colours to them. The Gopis took offence and chased Lord Krishna and his friends away by running after them with lathis (Sticks). Men and Women of Braj even today clash in a colorful display of battle. Men of Nand Gaon raid Barsana with the hopes of raising their flag over Shri Radhikaji’s temple.