We were on Delhi Agra Mathura Vrindavan tour package and we are all pious. So we all decided to visit the 4 prominent temples of Mathura and Vrindavan. Mathura is a city located in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is just 50km from Agra. Its location is its advantage. It was at the junction of the routes of ‘Caravan’ means ‘travelers’. Thus, in earlier times, it was the economic hub of the kingdom. It is quite populated as this is the place of birth of Lord Krishna, people find a lot of peace here. Lord Krishna’s birthplace is at Krishna Janmasthan Temple Complex. There is Sapta Puri (Mathura, Ayodhaya, Haridwar, Varanasi, Kanchipuram, Ujjain and Dwarka) in India, the group of seven holy cities. Mathura is one of them. Mathura has been chosen as heritage city under the Governement project of Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana.
Vrindavan is also a city in the district of Mathura. Lord Krishna was born in Mathura and was brought up in Vrindavan especially in his childhood. It is only 11 km away from Mathura. It has many temples dedicated to Radha Krishna and their sacred love. It is said that one can win his love back if he worships Radha Krishna.
Shri Krishna Janmbhoomi Temple: Mathura
It is the most sacred place in Mathura. It is the place on priority for the Hindus. It is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna, the one who killed many of the monsters and made many magical activities. He is the lord of the earth for the Hindus. What he did has not been possible for any normal human being. For example, he picked up a huge mountain on his small finger to save people from heavy rains. There is a marble statue of Lord Krishna. The best time to visit the temple is during the celebration of Janmashtami. It is the festival of birth of Lord Krishna. The time to visit the temple on a daily basis is 05:30 to 12:00 in the morning and 16:00 to 20:00 in the evening.
Dwarkadheesh Temple
This temple is important because Lord Krishna was immediately brought here and was exchanged with another child where he was brought up. It has the idol of Radha-Krishna. At the entrance there is Rajasthani style of architecture. The courtyard is open. There are beautiful pillars. The ceiling is also painted. The main attraction of the temple is the golden colored swing of Lord Krishna as many pictures depict him while sitting on it comfortably and playing ‘bansuri’. The time to visit on daily basis is 06:30 to 13:00 in the morning and 17:00 to 21:30 in the evening.
Banke Bihari Temple
This temple is in Vrindavan. ‘Banke Bihari’ is the name of Lord Krishana itself. It means ‘Supreme Enjoyer’. There are famous seven temples of Vrindavan. One of them is this one. The entrance is beautified with traditional designs of architecture in yellow-brown colors. There is a black statue of Lord Krishna which is the main attraction. Lord Krishna is known as ‘Thakur Ji’. There are different timings to visit the temple. In winters is 09:00 to 13:00 in the morning and 16:30 to 20:00 in the evening. In the summers, you can visit from 08:00 to 12:00 in the morning and 17:30 to 21:30 in the evening.
Prem Mandir
The literal meaning of this temple is ‘Love temple’. It represents divine love and it is located on the outskirts of the town. The idols inside are of Lord Krishna and Sita Ram. The idols are of white marbles. The idols are nonetheless than wonders of architecture. There are carvings of different types around the temple. You can also find the depiction of Lord Krishna picking up the mountain Govardhan when rains trouble the villagers. He also controlled and had victory over Black Snake of multiple mouths in the river Yamuna. You can visit the temple from 05:30 to 20:30.
Overall Mathura and Vrindavan are the best spots as far as pilgrimages are concerned.
