Vrindavan City

South of Delhi, near the place of Krishna's birth, is the town of 4,000 temples where the sounds of celebration constantly resound. Vrindavan was the actual place where Krishna spent his childhood. In some ways, it has retained the characteristics of a village with its narrow streets and many cows that wander around freely. The village had once belonged to cowherds and still the Hindus who live here revere the cows.

Although Vrindavan is not actually where Krishna is believed to have been born, it is here that he performed many of his naughty childhood antics playing with ball with his fellow cowherds, stealing butter from the homes of the villagers and hiding the clothes of cow herding girls (the gopis) as they bathed in the river. However, today the scenery of the city is not much the same as the river has now meandered away while the flourishing woods have long since disappeared. Despite some wooded parkland that has been maintained, the details of Krishna's life have been shrouded by the myths and legends and the only witness to his validity as a historical figure is borne out by ancient scriptures like the Mahabharata that records great battles that were once waged in this region.

Shopping Attractions
Vrindavan is noted for its marble and alabaster products, embossed with semi-precious stones or synthetic gems. One can also buy glass bangles here along with lovely glass beads, stringing glass, and wooden beads in necklaces together with Rudraksh and Tulsi rosaries.

Prime Attractions

Pagal Baba Temple
Founded by Late Pagal Baba, this gleaming white temple has eleven stories in all. One of the modern architectural examples, the temple retains the playfulness of Pagal Baba in the spirit of his disciples who are ready to welcome the visitors into the temple's interior. One can get some good views of the surrounding area from the ninth storey. The main attractions are the puppets exhibited in the temple. Some of them are mechanized and depict scenes from Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

Bankey Bihari Temple
One of the most important and lively temples is the Bankey Bihari, which houses a sacred image of Krishna known as Thakur Ji, which shows Krishna embodied in almost black color. Devotees can be seen playing amall cymbals to timeless tunes of worship and singing hymns to its rhythm and offering garlands of flower petals and offer them to the statue while Brahmins occasionally draw across the curtain to let the devotees catch the glimpse of the great Lord.

Govind Dev Temple
Built in 1590 by Raja Man Singh, the upper layers of this temple was torn down during the time of the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, who considered it the place of idolatry, a sin in his religion. Since then, it is empty. Yet beggars sit on the outside and call for alms while monkeys play amidst the sculptured stonework of it's interior. Even the ruins of this red sandstone edifice impress the visitors with their artwork and in particular, the vaulted ceiling.

ISKON Temple
Newly constructed ISKON temple is one of the most impressive ones with funds coming from devotees overseas. The marble buildings exude their own brilliance and present an example of intricate carving. It owes its existence to Swami Prabhupada, a Hindu devotee born in Bengal in 1896. Today, ISKON is a worldwide movement with followers from many different ethnic backgrounds.

Other Temples
There are more than 4000 temples in the region including the towering Rangaji Temple. Most of them close during the noonday hours while the majority of them are in private homes, which, in some cases, have been inhabited for generations.

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