Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan temple
Vraj Mandal Parikarma – by Rajshekhar Das Brahmacari
The Puranas say after Lord Krishna’s disappearance from the world, Vajranabha Maharaja, His great grandson, was appointed the king of Mathura by Yudisthira Maharaja, just prior to the Pandavas retiring from their royal duties at Hastinapura and going to the Himalayas for meditation. Vajranabha Maharaja was the son of the great hero Aniruddha, who was the son of Pradyumna, who was the son of Lord Krishna and Princess Rukmini, thus making Vajranabha the only direct relative of Krishna left on the planet. As soon as Vajranabha Maharaja was enthroned at Mathura, many of Lord Krishna’s great devotees, who were all feeling the pangs of the Lord’s separation, requested Vajranabha to establish temples and holy tirthas at all the places throughout Vraja Mandala where Lord Krishna had performed His transcendental pastimes. Vajranabha readily agreed and being guided by scriptures like the Adi-Varaha Purana, he identified and named every forest, grove, garden, lake, kunda, hill, rock, and village, connected to Krishna’s pastimes within the entire area of Vraja Mandala.
It is said that Vajranabha installed at least sixteen very important deities at various places around Vraja Mandala. The first deities were established in the forest of Vrindavana and included; Madana-mohana, Govindaji, Gopinatha, and Sakshi-Gopala. Other deities installed at various places around Vraja included; Keshavadeva in Mathura, Harideva next to Manasi-ganga at Govardhana, Shrinathaji (Gopala) at Aniyora Village on top of Govardhana Hill, and the deity of Krishna’s elder brother Lord Balarama (also known as Dauji or Baladeva) at Mahavana. Vajranabha also established four Shiva-lingas known as the dig-palas, or protectors of the holy Dhama including; Bhuteshwara at Mathura, Gopishwara in Vrindavana, Cakreshwara at Govardhana Hill, and Kameshwara at Kamyavana. Vajranabha also established four deities of Krishna’s sister Yogamaya Devi, which are known as the four devis of Vraja and included; Yogamaya Devi presently at the Yoga-pitha in Vrindavana, Vrinda Devi presently at Kamyavana, Manasi Devi at Govardhana, and Patala Devi in Mathura. Due to the turmoil that unfolded over the next five thousand years, with the ever-changing socio-political scenario, almost all of the holy places and deities established by Vajranabha were either hidden, abandoned, looted, or just forgotten.
THE SEVEN GOSWAMI TEMPLES OF VRINDAVANA TEMPLE NAME TEMPLE FOUNDER
| Radha Madana-mohana Mandira | Sanatana Goswami |
| Radha Govinda Mandira ( Govindaji) | Rupa Goswami |
| Radharamana | Gopala Bhatta Goswami |
| Radha Damodara Mandira | Jiva Goswami |
| Radha Shyamasundara Mandira | Shyamananda Pandita Goswami |
| Radha Gokulananda Mandira | Lokanatha Goswami |
| Radha Gopinatha Mandira | Madhu Pandita Goswami |
Madana-mohana Mandira
The famous temple of Lord Madana-mohana is the first of the ‘Seven Goswarni Temples’ that is visited during the parikrama of Vrindavana and was established by Shrila Sanatana
Goswami. The temple was built on the spot where the celebrated deity of Madana-mohana was being worshiped by Shrila Sanatana Goswarni on top of the small hill known as Dwadashaditya Tila. The temple of Madana-mohana was the first temple built in Vrindavana since the time of Vajranabha Maharaja five thousand years earlier. King Vajranabha, Lord Krishna’s great grandson, established a number of important temples in Vrindavana including; Madana-mohana, Govindaji, and Gopinatha but during the course of
time, these temples disappeared and the deities were also lost. According to the some old records of the period, the first temple comprising of a single shikara or tower was erected in
1534 with the financial help of the wealthy merchant Ramadasa Kapoor. After a number of years, it is believed this particular temple developed cracks and therefore another temple was constructed during the same period when the Govindaji Mandira was being built. The present
temple of Madana-mohana that can be seen today was completed in the year 1580, ten
years before the Govindaji Mandira which was completed sometime later in 1590, having been built on a much larger scale. In the year 1670, just prior to the attack on Vrindavana by the soldiers of the Mughal tyrant Emperor Aurangzeb, the deity of Lord Madana-mohana, along with the other important Gaudiya Goswami deities including Govindaji and Gopinathaji, were secretly taken out of Vrindavana for safety and hidden at Radha-kunda. They were then taken from Radha-kunda to Kamyavana, and then finally to jaipura in Rajasthan, where the deity of Madana Mohana was worshiped for many years. Sometime later, when a princess of the Jaipura royal family married a prince from the kingdom of Karauli near Bharatpura, it is said the princess; unable to bear the separation of Lord
Madana-mohana took the deity with her and established His worship in Karauli, where the deity remains even to this day. During the desecration of the temple by Aurangzeb’s soldiers, some say that they dismantled the top of the temple shikara.
Madana-mohana is one of the three most important deities of Vrindavana, the others
being Govinda and Gopinatha. The name ‘Madana-mohana’ means ‘He who charms Cupid’ the
god of love (also called Madana or Kamadeva) , and He is the first deity that all Vaishnavas are advised to worship in order to reestablish their long-lost relationship with the Supreme Lord. In the beginning stages of sadhana-bhakti, it is Lord Madana-mohana who has the power to attract us and help to nullify our false attachment to the sensual pleasures of this material world. Just as He has attracted Cupid, He can also attract the fallen souls and raise them to the platform of experiencing the transcendental mellows of devotional service. The initiating spiritual master, who engages his disciples in following the regulative duties or abhidheya of devotional service, is the direct representative of Lord Madana-mohana. Unless one can achieve the mercy of Lord Madana-mohana and his representative the spiritual master, the path of pure unalloyed devotion is difficult to ascertain. For this reason the disciples of Lord Chaitanya, headed by the Goswamis Rupa and Sanatana, established the three principle deities in Vrindavana for the benefit of all aspiring Vaishnavas.
Before writing the Chaitanya-charitamrita, Shrila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami came
from Radha-kunda to Vrindavana and visited the temple of Lord Madana-mohana in order to
obtain His permission, before attempting to write about the pastimes of Lord Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu. As Krishnadasa Kaviraja bowed down before the deity, a garland fell down from Lord Madana-mohana’s neck and all the devotees present understood that the Lord’s permission had been granted; the pujari then offered the garland to Krishnadas Kaviraja amid loud cries of the Lord’s holy name.
The Story of Lord Madana-mohana
When Sanatana Goswami first came to Vrindavana, he performed his bhajana on top of
a small hill known as Dwadashaditya Tila. Sometime later when he obtained the deity of Madanamohana, he also worshiped the deity at this same place and is said to have kept the deity in a tree until a temple was eventually built. The first seva-puja of Madana-mohana was believed to have been performed in the year 1534 on the basis of ancient hand written records. There are two separate accounts of how Sanatana Goswarni actually obtained the deity of Madana-mohana. In the first version, the deity of Madana-gopala was given to Sanatana by a brahmana from Mathura named Purushottama Choube, who had been given the deity by Advaita Acharya (who had discovered the deity at Advaita Vata), and because he was leaving Vrindavana and returning to Bengal, he asked Choube to worship the deity. The surname Choube is short for Chaturvedi, and they are a well-known brahmana community from Mathura, who were also priests of the famous Keshava Mandira. In the second version based on an ancient hand-written
record known as Seva-prakasya, it mentions that the deity of Madana-gopala was obtained from a brahmana from Mahavana named Parashurama Choube in the year 1534, and Sanatana Goswami established the first seva puja of the Madana-gopala in the same year, which was on the second day of the bright-moon or dwitiya-shukla in the month of Magh Qan-Feb 1534), and Krishna Dasa Brahmachari was appointed as the pujari. It appears that at the instillation ceremony, Sanatana Goswami gave the deity the name of Madana-mohana. As the details found in the Sevaprakasya appear acurate, it must be concluded that Advaita Acharya gave the deity of Madanagopala to Parashurama Chou be (wrongly called Purushattama), a Mathura brahmana residing at Mahavana, who later gave the deity to Sanatana Goswami.
The generally accepted story of how Sanatana received the deity from Choube is that
while staying in Vrindavana, Sanatana Goswami used to go to Mathura for performing madhukari and one day while accepting alms from the brahmana Choube’s house; he noticed the children were playing with the beautiful deity of Madana-gopala. However the Bhahti-ratnahara specifically says that Sanatana was staying at Mahavana at the time when he first saw Madana-gopala. One day while chanting on his beads near the banks of the Yamuna at Ramanaka (Ramana Reti) , not far from Mahavana Village, Sanatana noticed a very beautiful and unusual looking cowherd boy playing games with the other children. Sanatana felt certain within his heart that this was no ordinary boy, but must be Krishna Himself, enjoying pastimes with the local children. Therefore, when all the children returned home after playing, Sanatana followed the cowherd boy to see
where he was living and determine his true identity. When the cowherd boy went inside a nearby temple, Sanatana also went inside, but to his surprise found himself alone inside a temple, with the little boy nowhere in sight, as if he had completely vanished. The only other person inside the temple was the deity of Madana-gopala. Sanatana immediately bowed down before the deity and without uttering a word to anyone, and in a deep mood of contemplation, returned to his cave near Nanda Bhavan in Mahavana Village.
After this incident, when Sanatana went out to collect alms he would also have darshana
of Madana-gopala in the temple managed by the brahmana Chou be and his wife, who also lived on the temple premises. On one occasion Sanatana felt somewhat shocked at the irreverence being shown to the deity, when he saw the Chou be’s children playing in their house with the deity, and also the way in which Choube’s wife was serving the deity, as if the deity was one of her children. Sanatana mildly reprimanded the brahmana’s wife, who was supposedly looking after the worship of the deity, and wanted to know why they were not following the specific rules governing deity worship, the brahmana’s wife admitted her fault and agreed to be more conscientious in the future. However, that night Sanatana had a dream in which Madana-gopala told Sanatana that He had been very happy playing with Choube’s children, but since Sanatana had asked the Choube’s to be more reverential in their deity worship, they had now introduced so many rules and regulations, that He was no longer happy staying at Choube’s house, and told Sanatana to take Him back to Vrindavana.
The next day, feeling great remorse that the deity was no longer feeling happy, Sanatana
returned to the Choube’s house to apologize for to his over-exuberance in encouraging them to be more reverential in their deity worship. However, Choube requested Sanatana to take the deity of Madana-gopala, as he had also received a dream in which the deity had told him that, as he already had so many children and Sanatana had none, therefore Choube should hand Him over to Sanatana. Hearing the words of Choube, Sanatana said that as he was in the renounced order of life and subsisted by begging alms, he was in no position to worship the deity in the proper way, and for this reason could not accept Choube’s offer. That night, Sanatana received another dream in which Madana-gopala again appeared before him and once again asked Sanatana to take care of Him, saying this would make Him very happy. The deity further said that whatever simple things Sanatana could offer, He would gladly accept it. After this dream, Sanatana agreed to take the deity from Choube, and after bringing the deity to Vrindavana, began to worship Him on top of Dwadashaditya Tila.
Because of being in renounced order and subsisting simply on alms given to him while
performing madhukari, Sanatana’s only offering to the deity, besides water and wild flowers, were dry chapattis, small flat rounded pieces of unleavened wheat bread cooked over an open fire. One day, after having made an offering of dry chapattis, Sanatana heard the deity asking for some salt to put on His dry chapattis. Sanatana replied by saying. “Just see, now you want salt, and tomorrow You will want sweets; I am an old man and have so many books to write, so please be satisfied with these dry chapattis.”
It so happened that on same day, a merchant hailing from Multan in Punjab, named
Ramadasa Kapoor (some say his name was Ramadasa Sadagara from Amritsar), was ferrying salt and other goods by boat down the Yamuna River to the city of Agra, and while passing
Dwadashaditya Tila his boat got stuck on a sandbank in the middle of the river. In great anxiety and fearing his goods may be lost, the merchant came ashore in order to get help. Ramadasa could not see anyone around accept a young cowherd boy sitting near the riverbank. Some say the cowherd boy was actually Madana-mohana taking part in one of His pastimes for which He was very famous. Ramadasa asked the cowherd boy if there was anyone who could help to free his boat and the cowherd boy informed him that there was a sadhu performing bhajana on the nearby hill who might be able to help. Climbing the hill, Ramadasa humbly approached Sanatana and asked him to help free the boat. Sanatana said that as he was old and also quite weak, he was not in any position to give much help, but advised Ramadasa to seek help from his beloved deity Madana-mohana, who was sitting in the nearby tree. With full faith, Ramadasa bowed down and offered heart-felt prayers to Madana-mohana and very humbly requested His help. Suddenly there was the deafening sound of thunder and immediately torrential rainfall began to inundate the whole area. Within a short time, due to the heavy downpour, the large deluge of rainwater began to swell the Yamuna and the merchant’s boat became freed from the sandbank. Being overcome with joy, Ramadasa repeatedly offered his obeisance’s to Madanamohana and profusely thanked Sanatana, asking him what service he could perform in gratitude.
Sanatana suggested that Ramdasa could help in building a temple for Madana-mohana. It is said that after completing all his business in Agra, and having made a handsome profit, Ramadasa soon returned to Vrindavana, and provided the funds needed to build a temple for Lord Madanamohana.
It appears that after Sanatana Goswami installed the deity on Dwadashaditya Tila, he
named the deity as Madana-mohana, which is believed to have been the deities’ original name given by Vajranabha Maharaja. Madana-mohana was one of two gopala-murtis carved by Vajranabha, the other being Sakshi-gopala. Previously Sakshi-gopala was known only as Gopala, but His name was later changed to Sakshi-gopala after the pastime of His becoming a witness.
The Gopala deity discovered by Madhavendra Puri, who was one of the two natha-murtis carved by Vajranabha, was also known by other names like Gopala-Raya, Gopala-Natha, and also ShriNatha.
Additional information
When Advaita Acharya left Vrindavana for Navadwipa, it is said that the deity of Lord
Madana-mohana informedAdvaita Acharya in a dream that He was unwilling to leave Vrindavana, and therefore Advaita Acharya kept the deity with a Mathura brahmana named Chou be. According to the Seva Prakatya, Chou be lived at Mahavana where the deity was supposedly being worshiped. This deity of Madana-gopala was later handed over to Sanatana Goswami, because the deity desired to worshiped by Sanatana and be brought back to Vrindavana. Sanatana Goswami initially kept the deity in the crevasse of a tree and renamed the deity as Madana-mohana, after some period of time a temple was built on top of Dwadashaditya Tila. It is said that when Advaita Acharya returned to Bengal, he began worshiping a small deity of Krishna that he also named Madana-gopala, and this is one of the reasons why the confusion has arisen. Recently, this small deity of Madana-gopala was brought to Vrindavana from Bengal amid claims that it was the deity found at Advaita Vata, but this idea has been rejected by Gaudiya scholars. The fact is that all the deities carved by Vajranabha are quite large and distinct, and besides this, there are no historical records that Lord Madana-mohana (Madana-gopala) left Vrindavana before 1670, prior to Aurangzeb’s attack on the holy city. Another important point is that the Bhakti-ratnakara says that Lord Chaitanya as well as Lord Nityananda both had darshana of Madana-gopala at Mahavana some years after Advaita Acharya had returned to Bengal. Madana-mohana was accepted
to be Vajranabha’s original deity by the Six Goswamis and all other Gaudiya Vaishnavas authorities since the time of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Shri Vraj Mandal Parikarma
Mahäräja Vajranäbha installed the three deities of Çré Govinda, Çré Gopénätha and Çré Madana-mohana in Çré Dhäma Våndävana. In time, due to the oppression of the barbarians, the priests hid these deities in various places and fled. Våndävana turned into a dense forest. It has already been described how Çré Govindadeva re-appeared after many years by the endeavours of Çré Rüpa Gosvämé. Now, we will briefly describe how Çré Sanätana Gosvämé manifested Çré Madana-mohana. Sometimes in the morning, Çré Sanätana Gosvämé walked the sixteen miles from Våndävana to Govardhana to perform the fourteen-mile long parikramä of Govardhana. From there, he would walk another sixteen miles to Mathurä to collect alms (mädhukaré) and then again walk back to his bhajana-kuöé in Våndävana. One day, he came to the house of a Caube brähmaëa in Mathurä for alms. What did he see there? In the house of the Caube, two beautiful boys were playing the game gullé-òaëòä. Madana, the restless, fidgety boy with a dark-bluish complexion defeated the son of the Caube. Madana climbed upon the shoulders of the defeated boy and enjoyed a ‘horse ride’. But when the Caube’s son defeated Madana the second time they played, and it was his turn to enjoy a ride on Madana’s shoulders, Madana ran into the temple room. Seeing this, the son of the Caube angrily abused and pursued Him. He wanted to enter the temple, but the priest scolded him and chased him away. Pointing his forefinger at Madana, who had turned into the deity, the son of the Caube said, “You just wait, I will see You tomorrow.” This scene amazed Çré Sanätana Gosvämé. The next day, he arrived a little earlier, at breakfast time, desiring to again have darçana. Although she had not yet taken bath, the Caubäin was making khichré for both boys, who were sitting waiting for their breakfast. Maiyä was brushing her teeth with one end of a stick and was stirring the khichré with the other end. When she had finished cooking, she served the boys the hot khichré in bowls, cooling it down by blowing on it with her mouth. The boys were relishing this khichré with great love. Sanätana Gosvämé could not tolerate her improper conduct. “Maiyä, it is not proper to cook khichré without taking bath, to stir it with the stick you use to brush your teeth, and then to serve this contaminated breakfast to the boys.” The Caubäin realized her mistake, and replied, “Bäbä, from tomorrow, I will be clean when I cook and serve the boys their breakfast.” Çré Sanätana Gosvämé wanted to see some more pastimes of the deity of Çré Madana-mohana, so on the third day he went there again. Breakfast was delayed that day because Maiyä was taking bath. She then had to clean the pots. The hungry boys were demanding breakfast. Maiyä pacified them, and after completing her morning chores, she started cooking khichré. The two boys were pulling on her cloth and insisting on eating at once. Sanätana Gosvämé was unable to tolerate this. He approached her and said “Maiyä, there is no need for you to be clean by bathing. If this Madana is pleased with your unclean and impure breakfast, then you should do as such. I have committed an offence at your feet. From tomorrow, you should do whatever you think is proper to satisfy them.” Just as Sanätana Gosvämé was about to leave, the boy Madana came out of the temple room and said, “Bäbä, I will come with you.” But Çré Sanätana Gosvämé replied, “I am a completely renounced person. I have neither a place to live, nor any arrangement to cook palatable food. If even Yaçodä-maiyä could not completely satisfy You, how can I take care of You?” The child Madana nonetheless insisted on coming with him. Sanätana Gosvämé said, “If You really want to come, then You will have to follow me on foot. I cannot carry You on my shoulders.” The boy said, “I will walk behind you, but do not turn around along the way to look at Me. You can look at Me only at your bhajana-kuöé.” When Sanätana Gosvämé had reached his bhajana-kuöé, he turned around and saw the boy Madana smile and change into His deity form. Sanätana Gosvämé constructed an altar by putting a board on top of a few stones and seated Him there. Every day, he would cook some balls of dough without salt on live coals, and offer them to the deity. One day, as Sanätana Gosvämé was making his offering, Madana-mohanajé asked him for some salt. Sanätana Gosvämé would happily have given salt if only he had some, but there was no salt in his hut. Madana-mohanajé told him, “I am not able to swallow this dry dough-ball.” Upon hearing this, Sanätana Gosvämé began to repent. At that time, Kåñëadäsa Kapüra, a rich merchant from the Multäna province, happened to be travelling along the Yamunä carrying valuable articles for trade in large boats. As the boats approached Sanätana Gosvämé’s bhajana-kuöé, they got stuck in the sand. Despite several efforts, the boats could not be released from the sand. The merchant came ashore and saw the extremely beautiful deity of Çré Madana-mohana in front of the hut. Sitting down on the invitation of Sanätana Gosvämé, the merchant began to weep and lament to him about his situation. In his mind, he firmly vowed, “As soon as my boats are freed from the sand, I will construct a beautiful temple for Çré Madana-mohana with the profits I make from this journey. I will also make proper arrangements for His service and offerings.” The moment he resolved this, his boats were dislodged by themselves and started drifting again. He made an enormous profit from his trade and, on the inspiration of Çré Sanätana Gosvämé, had a huge temple constructed for Çré Madana-mohana. However, Çré Sanätana Gosvämé entrusted all the arrangements of service, worship, offering and so forth to the priests and again began performing mädhukaré11 in Vraja. In this way, he maintained his life by living under a different tree every night and performing rigid sädhana-bhajana. After the disappearance of Çré Sanätana Gosvämé from this material world, Aurangzeb, who was inimical to the Hindus, desecrated this temple in 1670 AD, destroying the dome and other parts. Before he did this, Madana-mohanajé and other deities of Våndävana had already been moved to Jaipura. Nowadays, Madanamohanajé resides in Karaulé. In 1748 AD, a pratibhü-vigraha of Madana-mohana was established here. Then, in 1819 AD, Çré Nandaläla Vasu constructed the present temple. The ancient hand-written books, Sevä-präkaöya and Iñöaläbha, mention that Sanätana Gosvämé obtained Çré Madana-Gopäla from Paraçuräma Caube of Mahävana in saàvat 1590 (1534 AD) and re-established the deity’s service and worship in the same year on Çuklä-dvitéyä (the second day of the bright moon) of Mägha (January–February). He entrusted the duties of the service and worship to Kåñëadäsa Brahmacäré. At that time, there was no deity of Çré Rädhikä with Çré Madana-mohana. Çré Puroñottama Jänä, the father of King Pratäparudra of Orissa, arranged with great faith to send two deities of Rädhä from Puré-dhäma to Våndävana. Çré Madana-mohana informed the priest in his dream, “The taller of the two deities from Puré is Lalitäjé, and the shorter is Rädhäjé. You should place the deity of Rädhikä on My left side and the deity of Lalitä on My right side.” It is mentioned in Bhakti-ratnäkara that Çré Sanätana Gosvämé built a temple for Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu in the southern part of Çré Madanamohana’s temple, but Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu did not come to Våndävana a second time. In the new temple, Rädhikä stands on Çré Madana-mohana’s left side and Lalitä stands on His right side. A çalägräma-çilä is also there, and Çré Jagannätha presides in a separate room (prakoñöha). Places of darçana near the old temple are Çré Sanätana Gosvämé’s bhajana-kuöé, samädhi and the grantha-samädhi.
Appreciating Vrindavan
“Madana-Gopala has been famous as Madan-mohan in this world. Sriman Madan-Gopala also exists within Vrindavana . Gopala lives eternally as a boy
Gopala is of a calm but proud disposition
Gopala is lion necked
“The Madan-mohan Deities simply establish that ‘I am Your eternal servant.’ Since this relationship can be learned by worshipping Madan-mohan vigraha, Krsna das Kaviraja Gosvami first established his relationship with Them
By receiving the mercy of the Radha-Madan-mohan De¬ity, and by studying the writings of the “Sambandha-acarya”Srila Sanatana Gosvami, a devotee will attain sambandha jnana, or knowledge of one’s spiritual identity and his eternal relationship with Sri Krsna.
Past time
One day while the soft saffron rays of the sun were setting behind the red sandstone temple of Radha-Madan-mohan, an old widow with buck teeth was offering a ghee lamp to the Yamuna River. Suddenly, a group of cows passed before her vision, spontaneously she began offering the ghee lamp to the cows while calling out ecstatically: Shyamala! Dhumala! Candani! Pingala!
Prabhupada
Srila Prabhupada states, “Madan-mohan, Sanatana Gosvami’s deity, helps us progress in Krsna-consciousness. In the execution of Krsna-consciousness our first business is to know Krsna and our relationship with Him; which we can learn by worshipping the Madan-mohan vigraha.”
Samadhis at Vrindavan
• The three Vrndavana Deities (Madana Mohana, Govindaji and Gopinatha) are the life and soul of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas.
• The Deity of Madana Mohana has the specific quality of helping the neophyte devotees understand their eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna.
• “Madana Mohana” means Krishna who is so indescribably beautiful that He even attracts Cupid, Kamadeva. Sanatana Gosvami is the sambandha acarya who gives us knowledge of our proper relationship with Krishna, And his Deity, Madana Mohana, helps us overcome our attraction for material sense gratification (Cupid) and fix our minds on devotional service.
• PASTIMES
• Sri Madana Mohana appeared one day and said, “Baba! you are too old. Don’t take so much trouble to walk around Govardhana Hill everyday.”
• Sanatana replied, “This is one of the daily activities of my bhajana: I must maintain it.”
• “Since you are old,” said Madana Mohana, “you may now give up this vow.”
• Starting to walk again, Sanatana replied, “I will never give up my religious principles.”
• Sanatana Gosvami’s firm determination to complete his daily devotional vow pleased Sri Madana Mohana (Krishna). But in the loving dealings between the Lord and His pure devotee, Krishna’s desire to please His devotee often defeats the devotee’s desire to please Him. So out of loving compassion for His devotee, Sri Krishna stood on a large flat stone (Govardhana sila) taken from Giriraja. He played His irresistable flute. The Govardhana sila melted in ecstasy, capturing the impression of Krishna’s lotus feet.
Vrindavan Days
Dwadashadipya Hill,”
“the hill of twelve suns. This whole area’s known as Kaliya Ghat because here Krishna defeated Kaliya. After dancing on Kaliya’s hoods, Krishna felt a little chilly and came here. When Radharani prayed for Him to get warm, twelve suns arose at once in the sky to warm Him.”
A stone staircase leads up to the temple. At the top of the steps we get a good view of both sides of the jamuna. Fields extend some two hundred yards from the hill to the river, and farmers have planted them with vegetables and built small huts of mud and straw. The fields flood during monsoon, but now they’re very dusty. Across the river stands Nandagram forest.
“Madana Mohana was the first temple constructed in Vrindaban,”
“It was completed in the 1580s.”
The red sandstone complex consists of a gateway, a nave, and two cylindrical towers-four distinct edifices in all. The towers are no higher than fifty feet, but they dominate the Vrindaban skyline from Dwadashadipya Hill.
What makes Madana Mohana so successful? The glory is not in height, nor ornamentation. The smaller tower has no carvings at all, and only two basic patterns—a lotus and a diamond—adorn the other. The taller tower is divided into four sections, each higher section smaller than the one below. The lotus carving on the top is a masterful crown, even though five of the eight horse gargoyles surrounding it are missing.
“There used to be a golden spire on top,” “but the Muslims stole it.”
Standing beside the towers is a square gateway with a pyramidal top and a nave nearly sixty feet long. The vaulted roof of this nave has entirely disappeared, and the upper part of a choir loft within has also been destroyed. The exterior surface is covered with sculptured panels, and over the eastern door a Sanskrit inscription proclaims the temple dedicated to Nandakishore, Krishna. Within the past hundred and fifty years, someone tried to restore the nave with brick instead of red sandstone. Fortunately, this attempt was abandoned. The square gateway, executed in the same warm red sandstone as the towers, now serves as home for countless bats. They flap their wings as we enter the portico. Lotus and diamond patterns are abundant, and two carved elephants fight above the exterior archway.
In the small alcove of the main tower, Radha Krishna and Gour Nitai Deities are worshiped, as well as Deities of Gopal Krishna, the butter thief, and Govardhan sila, stones from Govardhan Hill.
After walking around the temple, we sit down and rest beside the samadhi of Sanatan Goswami. An old sadhu draws water from a well and hands it to us in clay cups. The water is pure, cool, and sweet.
“Drink deep,” Achyutananda says. “Krishna also drank from this well.”
While we sit and drink, Achyutananda relates the temple’s history.
When the Goswamis arrived here in the sixteenth century, Vrindaban was a jungle, a forest of tulasi and neem. Still, the Goswamis were instructed by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. to establish temples.
Of all the Goswamis, Sanatan underwent the most severe austerities. Once, a very naughty boy named Madana Mohan was entrusted to him for rectification. It was hoped that the great sage’s influence would be beneficial. Sanatan used to get the boy to fetch water from this very well, but one day the boy disappeared, and in his place appeared the Deity of Madana Mohana. Of course, there was no temple here then. Sanatan kept the Deity in a tree, wrapped in a cloth.
Sanatan made offerings to the Deity every day. He would take some flour, mix it with Jamuna water, roll it into a ball, and throw it onto a cowdung fire. Then, after the ball baked very hard, he would offer it to Madana Mohana. This somewhat unpalatable food was offered day after day. Finally, the Deity spoke: “You are offering Me only these bread lumps? Not even a little salt?”
“Today You want some salt,” Sanatan replied, transcendentally angry, “and tomorrow You’ll want some sugar. Then some ghee. So, You’re supplying the universe with everything. I can offer only what You give me.
At that moment, a rich merchant named Ramdas was passing down the Jamuna in his boat loaded with salt. Suddenly, he ran aground just opposite Dwadashadipya Hill. The boat couldn’t be budged. Some local boys suggested that the merchant consult Sanatan Goswami for help. Out of frustration, Ramdas went to Sanatan, who said, “I can’t do anything, but you can pray to Madana Mohana, who’s in that tree over there.”
As soon as Ramdas began to pray, the boat slid off the sand. “How can I repay you?” he asked.
“I don’t want anything,” Sanatan said, “but you may build a temple for my Madana Mohana.”
Thus, the Madana Mohana Temple was built from the profits of that cargo of salt.
During the Muslim persecution of 1780, the Maharaj of Jaipur ordered all the valuable Deities of Vrindaban moved to Jaipur for safety, but a princess of Karauli, Rajasthan, prayed for Madana Mohana to come to her. Madana Mohana did so, and to this day, the original Deity is worshiped very opulently in Karauli.
SANATANA GOSWAMI SAMADHI
We pay obeisances before the samadhi of Sanatan Goswami. In front of the samadhi, a Sanskrit verse is inscribed on a marble plaque: Param vijayate sri-krishna-sankirtanam. Words from Lord Chaitanya’s Sikshastakam: “All glories to Sri Krishna sankirtan. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.” Then the last phrase of the first verse of Srimad Bhagavatam: Satyam param dhimahi. “I meditate on the Absolute Truth.”
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