Vrindavan

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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