Srila Rupa Gosvami originally estblished this temple under the
instruction of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; being ordered to excavate all
the lost holy places of Vrindavan. Five thousand years earlier, Lord
Krishna's grandson, Vajranaba, installed a number of important Deities
in Vrindavana; Govindaji was one of these Deities.
Rupa Gosvami searched 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). Suddenly, Lord Krishna, appeared in the guise
of a beautiful brijbasi boy. He informed Rupa Gosvami that there was a
cow that came every day to a nearby hillock, and the cow emptied its
milk into a hole on the hilltop. He asked Rupa to accompany him to the
place to see what might be contained in the hole. Rupa Gosvami followed
the boy and upon reaching the spot, the boy disappeared. Looking
within the milk drenched hole, Rupa Gosvami immediately fell unconscious
in a wave of ecstatic emotions. When he recovered, he summoned the
local people who then excavated the hole and found the beautiful Deity
of Lord Govinda. The loud cries of "Hey Govinda, He Krishna" suddenly
reverberated throughout the sky.
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.
It towered into the sky seven stories high and was built on top of the
hill where the Deity was first discovered, making it the tallest
building in this part of India. The temple was completed in 1590.
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 sanctorum as well as mutilated all the stone
carvings within the temple.
New Radha Govinda Temple
Because the soldiers of Aurangzeb desecrated the main temple, it is
believed that worship cannot continue in that temple. Therefore this
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.
Directions: This temple is directly behind and
slightly to the right of the Govindaji temple. To get here you go around
the Govindaji temple and there is small road just behind the temple.
Temple Timings:
Summer darshan is 7:30 to 10:30 am and 5:30 to 7:30 pm.
Winter darshan is 8:00 to 11:30 am and 4:30 to 7:30 pm
