Vrindavan: Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}

| name             = Vrindavan

| other_name       = Vrindaban, Brindaban

| nicknames       = City of Widows

| settlement_type = [[City]]

| image_skyline   = {{Photomontage

| photo1a          = Kusum Sarovar.jpg

| photo2a         = Iskon Temple, Vrindawan.jpg  

| foot_montage    = Top to bottom: [[Kusum Sarovar]], [[Krishna Balaram Mandir]] and [[Prem Mandir Vrindavan|Prem Mandir (Love temple)]] in Vrindavan}}

| pushpin_map                     = India Uttar Pradesh#India3

| pushpin_map_alt                 =  

| pushpin_map_caption             = Location in Uttar Pradesh, India

| pushpin_label_position         = right

| coordinates                     = {{coord|27.58|N|77.7|E|display=inline,title}}

| subdivision_type               = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]

| subdivision_name               = {{IND}}

| subdivision_type1               = [[States and territories of India|State]]

| subdivision_type2               = [[List of districts of India|District]]

| subdivision_name1               = [[Uttar Pradesh]]

| subdivision_name2               = [[Mathura district|Mathura]]

| established_title               = <!-- Established -->

| established_date               =  

| founder                         =  

| named_for                       =  

| government_type                 = [[Municipal Council]]

| governing_body                 = Vrindavan Municipal Council

| unit_pref                       = Metric

| area_footnotes                 =  

| area_total_km2                 =  

| area_rank                       =  

| elevation_footnotes             =  

| elevation_m                     = 170

| population_total               = 63,005

| population_as_of               = 2011

| population_footnotes           = <ref name="Census2011Gov"/>

| population_density_km2         = auto

| population_rank                 =  

| population_demonym             = Vrindavan wasi

| demographics_type1             = Languages

| demographics1_title1           = Official

| timezone1                       = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]

| utc_offset1                     = +05:30

| postal_code_type               = [[Postal Index Number|PIN]]

| postal_code                     = 281121

| area_code                       = 0565

| area_code_type                 = Telephone code

| registration_plate             = UP-85

| website                         =  

| footnotes                       =  

| demographics1_info1             = [[Hindi]]

|demographics1_title3=Native

|demographics1_info3=[[Braj Bhasha|Braj Bhasha dialect]]

'''Vrindavan''' ({{audio|Vrindavan.ogg|pronunciation}}; {{IAST3|Vṛndāvana}}), also spelt '''Vrindaban''' and '''Brindaban''',<ref name=":0" /> is a historical city in the [[Mathura district]] of [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[India]]. It is one of the most [[sacred]] places in [[Vaishnavism]].<ref name="Hawley">{{cite book |surname=Hawley |given=John Stratton |year=2020 |title=Krishna's Playground: Vrindavan in the 21st Century |place=Oxford; New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0190123987}}</ref><ref name="Madan">{{cite book |title=India through the ages |url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada |last=Gopal |first=Madan |year=1990| page= [https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/176 176] |editor=K.S. Gautam |publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India}}</ref> It is located in the [[Braj|Braj Bhoomi]] region, and is where, according to [[Hinduism]], [[Lord Krishna]] spent most of his childhood days.<ref name="Hawley" /><ref>{{cite web|title=UP gets first officially designated 'teerth sthals' in Vrindavan and Barsana|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/up-gets-first-officially-designated-teerth-sthals-in-vrindavan-and-barsana/articleshow/61277272.cms|date=27 October 2017|publisher=[[Times of India]]}}</ref> The city is about 11&nbsp;km from [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]], Krishna's birthplace on the [[Agra]]-[[Delhi]] National Highway as [[National Highway (India)|NH-44]].<ref name=route/><ref>{{cite book|last=Keene|first=Henry George|author-link=Henry George Keene (1826–1915)|title=A Handbook for Visitors to Agra and Its Neighbourhood|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/ahandbookforvis00keengoog#page/n113/mode/1up|chapter=Bindrabun|date=1899|publisher=Thacker, Spink & Co.|pages=98–106}}</ref> The town hosts many temples dedicated to the worship of [[Radha]] and [[Krishna]].<ref name="Madan"/>

{{Main|Krishna}}

Vrindavan is considered to be a holy place for [[Vaisnavism]] tradition of [[Hinduism]]. It is a center of Krishna worship and the area includes places like [[Govardhan Hill|Govardhana]] and [[Gokul]] that are associated with Krishna. Millions of devotees of [[Radha Krishna]] visit these places of pilgrimage every year and participate in a number of festivals.<ref name = kk2007>{{cite book

|isbn=978-0-7914-7081-7|quote = The center of Krishna-worship has been for a long time Brajbhumi, the district of Mathura that embraces also Vrindavana, Govardhana, and Gokula, associated with Krishna from the time immemorial. Many millions of Krishna ''bhaktas'' visit these places every year and participate in the numerous festivals that re-enact divine scenes from Krishna's life on Earth, of which were spent in those very places|page=204|author-link=Klaus Klostermaier}} Vrinda means Tulsi (A sacred species of flora) and van as forest, therefore Vrindavan is a holy forest of Tulsi. Vijaypal Baghel, known as GreenMan is promoting, planting and farming Tulsi in mass around the Vrindavan.</ref>

The essence of Vrindavan was lost over time until the 16th century, when it was rediscovered by [[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]]. In the year 1515, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited Vrindavana, with the purpose of locating the lost holy places associated with Krishna's life.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mvtindia.com/history/discovery.htm|title=Discovery of Vrindavan by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref>

In the last 250 years, the extensive forests of Vrindavan have been subjected to urbanisation, first by local Rajas and in recent decades by apartment developers. The forest cover has been whittled away to only a few remaining spots, and the local wildlife, including [[peacock]]s, [[cattle|cows]], [[monkey]]s and a variety of bird species has been virtually eliminated. Only a few peacocks are left in the city but monkeys and cows can be seen almost everywhere.

*[[Radha Madan Mohan Temple, Vrindavan|Shri Radha Madan Mohan Temple]], located near the Kalidah Ghat was built by Kapur Ram Das of [[Multan]]. One of the oldest temples in Vrindavan, it is closely associated with the Lord [[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]]. The original deity of Lord Madan Gopal was shifted from the shrine to [[Karauli]] in Rajasthan for safekeeping during [[Aurangzeb]]'s rule. Today, a replica of the original (deity) is worshipped at the temple

*[[Krishna Balaram Mandir|Sri Krishna-Balarama Temple]] was built by the [[International Society for Krishna Consciousness]] (ISKCON) in Raman-Reti.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.iskconvrindavan.com | title=ISKCON Vrindavan - Home}}</ref> The principal deities of this temple are Krishna and Balaram, with Radha–[[Krishna|Shyamasundar]] and [[Gauranga|Gaura]]-[[Nityananda|Nitai]] alongside. Adjoining the temple is the samadhi of [[A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada]], the founder of ISKCON, built in pure white marble.

Vrindavan is also known as the "city of widows"<ref name="cnn">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9711/16/india.women/|title=India's widows live out sentence of shame, poverty|access-date=25 March 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061129032657/http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9711/16/india.women/ |archive-date = 29 November 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Indian town with 6,000 widows |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21859622 |access-date=12 January 2021 |work=BBC News |date=2 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The widows of Vrindavan |url=https://www.cnbctv18.com/photos/buzz/the-widows-of-vrindavan-2537551-12.htm |access-date=12 January 2021 |work=cnbctv18.com |date=8 March 2019}}</ref> due to the large number of [[widow]]s who move into the town and surrounding area after losing their husbands. There are an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 widows. The widows come from states of west Bengal, Assam and Odisha.<ref name="catalyst">{{cite web|url=http://www.catalystmagazine.org/Default.aspx.LocID-0hgnew0ha.RefLocID-0hg01b001006009.Lang-EN.htm|title=Catalyst Magazine: ''Moksha: the widows of Vrindavan''|access-date=25 March 2007}}</ref><ref name="cnn2">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/07/05/damon.india.widows/index.html|title=''Shunned from society, widows flock to city to die''|access-date=5 July 2007 | work=CNN | date=5 July 2007}}</ref> Many spend time singing [[bhajan]] hymns at [[ashram|bhajanashrams]]. An organisation called Guild of Service was formed to assist these deprived women and children.<ref name="cnn" /><ref name="cnn2" /> According to a survey report prepared by the government, several homes run by the government and different NGOs for widows.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sulabhinternational.org/content/sulabh-dons-mantle-good-samaritan-save-vrindavan-widows|title=Sulabh dons mantle|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref>

Vrindavan is well connected by roads and is connected to [[Delhi]] by [[National Highway 44 (India)|National Highway (NH) 44]] of the [[Golden Quadrilateral]] network. Earlier it was NH 2.<ref name=route>{{cite web |title=NHAI |url=http://www.nhai.org/NH2_Delhi_Kolkata_main.htm |access-date=14 February 2018}}</ref>

*[[Vrindaban Road railway station|VRBD/Vrindaban Road]] is on the Agra-Delhi chord.

KesiGhat River.JPG|Kesi Ghat on banks of the [[Yamuna]] river

PremMandirSideViewFromCanteen.jpg|Prem Mandir, Vrindavan

{{Krishna|state=autocollapse}}

[[Category:Vrindavan|Vrindavan]]