Vrindavan ()() (alternately spelled
Vrindaban,
Brindavan,
Brindavana, or
Brundavan) also known as
Vraj (as it lies in the
Braj region) is a town in the
Mathura district of
Uttar Pradesh,
India. It is the site of an ancient forest which is the region where Lord
Krishna spent his childhood days.
The town is about 15 km away from
Mathura, the city of Lord Krishna's birthplace, near the
Agra-
Delhi highway. The town hosts hundreds of temples dedicated to the worship of
Radha and Krishna and is considered
sacred by a number of religious traditions such as
Gaudiya Vaishnavism,
Vaishnavism, and
Hinduism in general.
Etymology
The ancient name of the city, Brindavana, comes from its groves of 'Brinda'
Ocimum tenuiflorum (
Holy Basil or
tulsi) with
vana (
Sanskrit: वन) meaning a
grove or a forest.
The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 9, p. 17. Two small groves still exist at Nidhivan and Seva Kunj
History
Vrindavan has an ancient past, associated with Hindu history, and is an important Hindu pilgrimage site. One of its oldest surviving temples is the Govinda Deo temple, built in 1590, with the town founded earlier in the same century.
It is believed that the essence of Vrindavan was lost over time until the 16th century, when it was rediscovered by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In the year 1515, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited Vrindavana, with purpose of locating the lost holy places associated with Lord Sri Krishna's...
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