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stC o n n e c t i n g V a a s t u t o t h e 21 C e n t u r y

VaastuyogamGUJENG01150

u Volume 70 u Pages 16u June 2014 www.vaastuyogam.com

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May all be free from illness.

May all see what is auspicious,

May no one suffer.

OM! Peace, Peace, Peace.

- Mantra From Upanishad

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Welcome to the June 2014 issue of Vaastuyogam.

India has a new government and the Vaastuyogam team joins the nation in

congratulating the BJP on its convincing victory in the elections. We also hope that

Congress will take its role in opposition seriously. The sure way of weakening

democracy is to have a feeble opposition.

The Vaastuyogam team is enthused by the new government’s resolve to clean the

river Ganga. A clean and sparkling Ganga is a true source of pride of our Vedic

heritage.

Our yatra of the seven mokshapuris takes us to Mathura – Vrindavan, the land of

Krishna’s birthplace. Along with Dwarka these two places are of paramount

importance to devotees of Lord Krishna. Mathura is where he was born and

Vrindavan, where he spent his early childhood. Dwarka is where he ruled as a king.

Apart from being one of the Sapta Puri, the seven most ancient religious cities in

the country Dwarka is one of the foremost Chardhams, the four sacred Hindu

pilgrimage sites. This ancient kingdom of Krishna is believed to have been the first

capital of Gujarat.

Sadly, the mad bloodthirsty rampage of Islam has destroyed all the original

temples and monuments of Mathura and Vrindavan. As for the original Dwarka city,

it is said that it was drowned in floods in the pre-historic times.

The Vaastuyogam team looks forward to your views on our magazine. Do keep in

touch. It encourages us in our mission of bringing the Vedic sciences to the modern

world.

Happy reading !

Editorial

B-302, Balleshwar Square, Opp. Iscon Temple, SG Highway, Ahmedabad-380015. Gujarat, IndiaPhone : +91 7926862783/85 Fax : + 91 7926862771 Website : www.vaastuyogam.comVaastuyogam

Contents

- Architect’s Voice | Mrs Heena Shah

4

- Corporate Logos | Royal Enfield

7

Dr Ravi Rao

Design: ARM Communication

- Saptapuri | Mathura

11

4 Vaastuyogam June-2014

ARCHITECT’S VOICE

Mrs. Heena Shah is a practicing

Interior Designer. She studied

Interior Design from the Institute of

Environmental Design, Vallabh

Vidhyanagar. After completing her

studies at Vallabh Vidyanagar she

initially worked with Amala Shah

and Ariane Thakore. She had a

good experience on developing

furniture and working on the

intricate patterns and detailing

whilst working with Amala Shah.

While at Ariane Thakore she got an

exposure on working with high

profile clients where budget was not

a constraint and where everything

was customized to meet the client's

taste. Thereafter she moved on to

InteSpace where the scale of

projects were huge and meeting the

deadlines was always on chart.

Since past eight years she is a Sr.

Interior Designer with InterSpace

Design Pvt. Ltd, Ahmedabad where

she has – among other things -

conceptualized varied residential,

commercial, retail and corporate

interiors.

Architect Mrs. Heena Shah

because it is customized; it is out of context,

i t is something newborn and fresh,

something people have never seen before. It

sort of stimulates the senses.

Design School

After my family moved from Mumbai and

settled in Ahmedabad there were three

design school options I had after my

schooling. NID, CEPT and Vidyanagar. I

tried at NID and subsequently at CEPT as

well but my grades fell short so eventually I

went for the five year interior design course

at Vallabh Vidyanagar. Though at that time I

felt that I had missed out on a good design

school, my subsequent experiences proved

me wrong. Actually, Vallabh Vidyanagar has

a more distinguished reputation as far as

interior design is concerned.

CEPT

What happens in a place like CEPT is that it

has a fantastic reputation for architecture

This month the Vaastuyogam team met Mrs.

Heena Shah practising Interior Designer at

her residence in Ahmedabad. Born and

brought up in Mumbai Mrs. Heena Shah

s tud ied In ter ior Des ign a t Va l labh

Vidyanagar, Gujarat. She does not have a

family background of either interior design or

architecture.

Excerpts from the interview:-

Before joining design school

As a child, my parents thought I would do

well as an interior designer because I was

very good at sketching and painting. I

participated in many competitions organized

by Asian Paints and always received top

grades. Almost everything I did informed my

design instincts. I would not isolate any one

activity. Everything got expressed in my

drawing. I had this penchant for customizing

everything. In my later years as an interior

designer, these traits have become my

strength. Design becomes the eye catcher Continued on page 5

“Interiors are neither right nor wrong.

They are only suitable or unsuitable”Architect Mrs. Heena Shah

5Vaastuyogam June-2014

Continued from page 4

Continued on page 6

and planning but for interior design, NID and

Vallabh Vidyanagar score higher. Moreover,

my experience with interior design

graduates from CEPT is that they are not l

flexible and have a mindset that is

somewhat rooted in theory. CEPT design

students ( I am not here referring to

architects and town planners) tend to go

berserk with celebration of design and are

out of their métier when the environment

does not provide a free hand and you have

to tune-up to a recalcitrant contractors and

subordinate agencies.

There is yet another thing; the advent of the

computer is a great leveler. The traditional

notion of an architect / interior designer

having a vision and then drawing it and then

constructing it is not really how it works

today, and in reality, the computer has a lot

of influence on design.

Having said that, let me add that these

people are best as independent consultants

o r wh i l s t add ress ing a co rpo ra te

environment. To give an example, a couple

of CEPT designers who were working with

us. Later, went on to be proved as a big hit

when they migrated to a modular furniture

division of a large Bangalore based Indian

multi-national company.

Architecture V/s Interior Design

If they are true to public expectations of

them, there is no gainsaying the fact that

architects need to be more learned and

have greater depth and bandwidth than

in te r io r des igners . Examples l i ke

Mr.B.V.Doshi, come straight to the mind in

such a category. In the face of such

stalwarts, an interior designer finds himself

in a humbler station. In such an architecture

the interiors are predesigned. For example ,

the place of a sofa or dining table could only

be where the architect has envisaged it.

There would be no other logical space , but

what was the architect’s intent. The interior

designer would simply have to go along with

the pre-determined vision.

Architect Mrs. Heena Shah

ARCHITECT’S VOICE

Projects by Architect Mrs. Heena Shah

ARCHITECT’S VOICE

Clients show greater deference to an

architect’s viewpoint then that of an interior

designer. Whilst dealing with architects

clients are aware of their limitations vis-a-

vis the architect and rely on him to deliver for

them. In the case of interior designers,

clients do not imagine themselves as

untutored and insist on having a say on

every little thing at each level. Architecture

involves computations that result is

geometrical and structural balance

necessary for an upright structure. For the

client this is all esoteric knowledge and an

architect can shoot down a client’s

suggestion citing the argument that it goes

against calculations. In interiors, there are

no such computations. In fact, Interiors are

neither right nor wrong. They are only

suitable or unsuitable.

So, when there is no right or wrong every

suggestion by the interior designer can go

for a toss. Further still as interior design is

more hands-on and client centric, drawings

alone cannot carry the day; one has to

constantly be at the site. When you go to a

site, you usually run into usability problems

pretty quickly. They're not hidden. They're

not complicated. They're not baffling. They

were in the design or crept into the design

and it is the lot of the interior designer to

face-up to intense – and embarrassing -

client scrutiny on a routine basis.

There is another side to this as well. Let us

say you took a second opinion on a

probable treatment course from a doctor.

Even if his opinion will differ from the earlier

one, neither of the doctors will run down

each other. In the case of interior designers,

the marketing strategy is to get the better of

the competition by deprecatory allusions to

the competitor’s skills and ethics. The

architects are of course more circumspect.

All this leads to severe erosion of the

respectabil ity of the interior design

professionals and so the interior designer’s

vision and ideology are always under siege.

Finally, what is organic about architecture

as a field, unlike interior design, is this whole

issue of a holistic worldview and of

monumentality. Architects have to design

things that are coherent as a single object,

but also break down into small rooms and

have an identity of both the big scale and the

small scale.

Vaastu

My interest in Vaastu is peripheral. I have

read some books on the subject and am

convinced that it needs exhaustive time and

study to get to the bottom of it. I do know that

the plot orientation, size and shape are

together most crucial for a Vaastu

standpoint. I am aware of the existence of

Shermukhi plots and Gaumukhi plots.

However, my encounters with Vaastu have

been restricted to within the built space.

However, I give importance to space

planning first and last with nothing else in-

between. There have been many instances

wherein we have had infusion of Vaastu

input and I have accommodated it without

argument.

One client who was well entrenched in the

shipping business was diversifying into

cement. We did all their offices in western

India. This was an assignment with total

Vaastu control right from the start. For me it

was a great learning experience from the

Vaastu angle. Apart from the emphasis on

directions there was strict control over the

color shades used, different size tables

depending on the hierarchy etc.

Since we were using modular furniture it

was not possible to have different sizes of

the same design tables, but since the

quantities were large we were able to

prevail over the manufacturers to customize

their specifications for our project. Apart

from this one glitch, working under Vaastu

supervision was no problem at all.


Projects by Architect Mrs. Heena Shah


ROYAL ENFIELD Scaling Up Without Diluting Brand Equity

Continued on page 8

the sporting rider. The post-war Bullets, built

with telescopic front forks and swinging-arm

rear suspension, were first seen in trials

competition use in 1948. The 350cc model

was made available to the public in early

1949. Royal Enfield India opened their

Madras factory in 1955. Production was first

based on the assembly of kits imported from

of the iconic bike turned the tide. This is a

strong case of reviving a product solely on

its brand loyalty.

The Royal Enfield Bullet holds the

distinction of being the world's longest

running production motorcycle. Bullets

were built in 250, 350 and 500cc capacities

between 1933 and 1939 and were aimed at

In India, especially in the smaller towns and

rural areas, it’s a matter of pride to be an

owner of a Royal Enfield Bike as it is

synonymous with power, performance and

satisfaction. The aristocratic black with gold

livery and its thumping 350cc engine always

go with a ratatata sound that reminds all

passersby of a royal motorcycle in the

vicinity. It doesn’t matter if Bullet bikes do

not match the number of Pulsars or

Splendors, but they surely are royal

motorcycles.

Around the year 2000 the problem facing

the Royal Enfield motorcycle was that

despite the bikes' fan following, the

motorcycle division was bleeding and

Eicher Motors was about to shut down the

motorcycle division. It did not. The fortunes

CORPORATE LOGOS


Britain. The bike proved so ideal for use in

India that the factory thrived. By the time

Royal Enfield folded in Redditch in 1967,

the Indian plant was producing all but a

handful of components for their Bullets. In

2005, Royal Enfield India celebrated 50

years in production. Although some variants

use modern-day technology, including an

electric starter, coil ignition, and improved

brakes, the Bullet is essentially the same

bike the company started with in 1955.

For all its reputation, by early 1999 - 2000

the sales of the bike was down to 2,000

units a month against the plant's installed

capacity of 6,000; losses had been

mounting for years. Though the bikes had

diehard followers, there were also frequent

complaints about them - of engine seizures,

snapping of the accelerator or clutch

cables, electrical failures and oil leakages.

Many found them too heavy, difficult to

maintain, with the gear lever inconveniently

positioned and a daunting kick-start.

Around the year2000 senior managers at

Eicher Motors who felt that the Royal

Enfield could still be saved put in action a

plan to revive the loss making Royal Enfield.

They faced a tough choice. If they did what

they wanted and went ahead and

modernized the bikes to appeal to a wider

customer base they stood losing out on the

existing customers who wanted their Bullets

just the way they had always been. The bike

had its reputation, a cult following, an

i ns tan t l y recogn izab le bu i l d , and

aspirational value. Changes had to be

made to keep up with the times and make

the bike more acceptable, and therein lay

the problem. Royal Enfield fans liked the

bikes exactly the way they had always

been.

Modernizing Royal Enfield involved the risk

of losing these die-hard traditional fans

wi thout poss ib ly ga in ing any new

customers. That was not all. Apart from


CORPORATE LOGOS

Continued on page 9

In 2005, Royal

Enfield India

celebrated 50

years in

production.

Although some

variants use

modern-day

technology,

including an

electric starter, coil

ignition, and

improved brakes,

the Bullet is

essentially the

same bike the

company started

with in 1955.

“

The success of the

Bullet story is that

it retained Bullet’s

vintage look but -

by using modern

technology and

improved

management

practices- the rest

of the motorcycle

was given a

gradual yet total

overhaul.

“


Continued on page 10

which was 70 per cent of the amplitude of

the original bike.

Today, Royal Enfield's problems are that it

faces challenges from iconic global brands

such as Harley-Davidson which has

entered the Indian market. With other

options available, will its customers

appealing to a wider base, there was also

the challenge of making the motorcycle

more reliable. The success of the Bullet

story is that it retained Bullet’s vintage look

but - by using modern technology and

improved management practices- the rest

of the motorcycle was given a gradual yet

total overhaul.

There are many global examples of auto

companies that have sunk following a

radical change in the engine of their

products. Learning from this the company

retained many of the Bullet’s old engine

characteristics - the long stroke, the single

cylinder, the high capacity with push rod

mechanism but what was put in place was a

new engine arrangement, new metal and

fewer moving parts. But it was ensured that

the new Bullet produced the maximum

rhythmic vibrations possible and a beat,


continue to sit out the six-month period it

takes to provide deliveries?

Royal Enfield's turnaround is an ideal case

study in product planning and brand

management. More important too is the

company’s passion to do the right thing, to

remain patient, and keep an ear open for the

customer. This has ultimately made all the

difference. A number of quality initiatives

have made the Royal Enfield product a

significantly better proposition today than

say in the 1990s.

For a company, success can be defined by

market share and/or profitability. Royal

Enfield will probably have profits but not

market share. That means it will be

profitable but not big. This goal is easy to

achieve given Royal Enfield's traditional

strengths.

HISTROY OF ROYAL ENFIELD

Royal Enfield is a motorcycle manufacturing

company based in Chennai, India.

Originally, a confluence of the British

Motorcycle company, Royal Enfield and

indigenous Madras Motors, it is now a

subsidiary of Eicher Motors Limited, an

Indian automaker. Along with its flagship

motorcycle Royal Enfield Bullet, the

enterprise is notable for its Mid-premium

motorcycles with the characterist ic

thumping engine sounds and high capacity

CORPORATE LOGOS


engines. In late 1995, the Enfield India firm

acquired the rights to the name Royal

Enfield. Royal Enfield of India now sells

motorcycles in over twenty countries.

Royal Enfield was the name under which

the Enf ie ld Cyc le Company made

motorcycles, bicycles, lawnmowers and

stationary engines. The legacy of weapons

manufacture is reflected in the logo, a

cannon, and their motto "Made like a gun,

goes like a bullet". Use of the brand name

Royal Enfield was licensed by The Crown in

1890. (Put 3royal-enfield_logo)

Royal Enfield produced bicycles until it

closed in early 1967. The company's last

new bicycle was the 'Revelation' small

wheeler, which was released in 1965.

Production of motorcycles ceased in 1970

and the company was dissolved in 1971.

In 1956 Enfield of India started assembling

Bullet motorcycles under licence from UK

c o m p o n e n t s , a n d b y 1 9 6 2 w e r e

manufacturing complete bikes. Enfield of

India bought the rights to use the Royal

Enfield name in 1995. Royal Enfield

production, based in Tiruvottiyur, Chennai,

continues and Royal Enfield is now the

oldest motorcycle brand in the world still in


production with the Bullet model enjoying

the longest motorcycle production run of all

time.

Royal Enfield motorcycles made in England

were being sold in India from 1949. In 1955,

the Indian government looked for a suitable

motorcycle for its police and army, for

patrolling the country's border. The Bullet

was chosen as the most suitable bike for the

job. The Indian government ordered 800

350 cc model Bullets.

In 1955, the Redditch company partnered

with Madras Motors in India to form 'Enfield

India' to assemble, under licence, the 350

cc Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle in

Chennai (then called Madras). The first

machines were assembled entirely from

components shipped from England. In

1957, the tooling was sold to Enfield India

s o t h a t t h e y c o u l d m a n u f a c t u r e

components. By 1962, all components were

made in India.

An independent manufacturer since the

demise of Royal Enfield in England, Enfield

India still makes an essentially similar bike

in 350 cc and 500 cc forms today, along with

several different models for different market

segments.

Around the

year2000 senior

managers at

Eicher Motors who

felt that the Royal

Enfield could still

be saved put in

action a plan to

revive the loss

making Royal

Enfield. They faced

a tough choice. If

they did what they

wanted and went

ahead and

modernized the

bikes to appeal to

a wider customer

base they stood

losing out on the

existing customers

who wanted their

Bullets just the

way they had

always been.

“

This is a researched article and relies on sources from the internet, published newspaper stories as well as material provided by our panel of research scholars and academics .

Royal Eneld 3,5 pk 425 cc 1913

CORPORATE LOGOS



Ganga Tirtha is Vishrama Ghat, the best

known of all the bathing ghats on the

Yamuna in Mathura. Anyone can direct you

to it. It was here that Lord Varaha rested

after saving the earth from Hiranyaksha and

spoke the Varaha Purana. Lord Krishna

also bathed and rested here after killing

Kamsa, the demoniac king. And Sri

Chaitanya also bathed here while visiting

Mathura. So many pilgrims come here to

perform various rituals and take a purifying

bath. You can also watch the aratika to the

Yamuna River that takes place every

evening around seven PM.

place"). It is the largest city in Vraja with

around 325,000 residents. It is a very busy,

noisy, and dusty town with a large railroad

junction. Nonetheless, it is an important

town for pilgrims. Besides being the

birthplace of Lord Krishna, Srila Vyasadeva

also took birth here at Krishna Ganga Tirtha

on the banks of the Yamuna, where there is

a small temple to Ganga Devi and many

Shiva lingas. It was also at Ambarish-tila

where the great devotee King Ambarish

fasted while waiting for the sage Durvasa

Muni to return from being chased by Lord

Vishnu’s chakra, as described in the

Bhagavata Purana. Not far from Krishna

Sapta Puri are the seven holy pilgrimage

centres in India where the word 'puri' means

"town" or "city" suffixed to the word 'sapta'

meaning "seven". Specifically, the names of

the pilgrimage centres, which are tirthas

(holy places), are: Ayodhya, Mathura,

Haridwar, Varanasi (Benaras, Kashi),

Kanchipuram, Ujjain (Avanti) and Dwarka.

Mathura, located on the right bank of the

Yamuna River in the district headquarters of

Mathura district, also called Mathura

Mandala or Braj Bhoomi, is considered the

heart of Indian culture. Krishna was born

here and hence it is also popularly known as

'Krishna janmabhoomi' ("Krishna's birth

This article is a researched article and

borrows heavily from printed and

electronic encyclopedias as well as

material provided by our panel of

research scholars, astrologers,

academics and pundits

MATHURA

“In the Kali Yuga, when hypocrisy dominates, all good paths have been lost and heresy is

rampant : At such a time, Krishna alone is My Way.

The Malechchhas (non-Hindus) have surrounded all the holy places with the result that

they have become infected with evil. Besides, the holy people are full of sorrow. At such a

time, Krishna alone is My Way.

… The learned people have become mad with pride: they follow the path of sin and are

only bent upon personal gain and reputation: At such a time, Krishna alone is My Way.”………..From The Shrinathji Cult

Lord Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple Mathura


Like Kashi, Mathura is an ancient human

settlement. The Greek scholar Ptolemy

mentions it as an important city and both Fa-

hsien and Hiuen Tsang visited it during their

travels. Mathura has been a centre of

religion and scholarship for Hindus,

Buddhists and Jains. The Buddha is said to

have visited Mathura and established a

monastery here. The Chinese travelers

mention the presence of many Buddhists

viharas and stupas but, unfortunately, none

survive today. Though archaeologists

speculate that the mounds that still exist in

and around the city may contain remains of

stupas no excavation has been undertaken

so far to prove the point.

Mathura was the capital of the Kushan kings

in the first century AD . There is a mention of

twenty Buddhist monasteries where three

thousand monks lived. Two of the Jain

teachers and saints, the tirthankaras

Mallinath and Neminath were born here and

so Mathura became a place for Jain

pilgrimage, with many Jain temples and

monasteries.

From the 3rd century BC, during the reign of

the Mauryas, Mathura became famous as a

centre for stone carving. What is amazing is

that a great school of sculpture managed to

survive here for nearly a thousand years.

Some of the finest Buddha images to be

found at Sarnath are the creation of the

sculptors of Mathura. The artisans used the

typical stone available in this region-a red

sandstone with beige spots. Akbar later

used this sandstone for his palaces in

Fatehpur Sikri.

It was in Mathura that the first images of

deities were carved in India. In the first

century AD, during the rule of the Kushans,

the first icons, that of the Buddha, were

created here. Then images Hindu deities

and Jain tirthankaras also began to be

made. Every image of every religion was

created with the same meticulous attention

to detail and complete devotion. As a centre

of stone carving, ancient Mathura must

have had many magnificent temples but

none have survived. The Mathura museum

has an excellent collection of the art of the

region, going back to the Mauryan, Parthian

and Greek period of sculpture.

Mathura’s dark days began in the 11th

century with the invasion by Mahmud of

Ghazni who entered India with the sole aim

of destroying its temples and looting their

treasures. Just as Somnath fell to the sword

of jihad, so did the Hindu temples and

Buddhist monasteries of Mathura. The

temples would rise again but Buddhism

vanished from the region. Mathura’s history

is just an endless tale of plunder and

sacrilege stretching from Iltutmish in 12th

century to Sikander Lodi in the 16th century

to Ahmed Shah Abdali in the 18th century.

Mathura’s fate was sealed once the Muslim

kings established their kingdom in the

Delhi-Agra region. Brajbhoomi and its many

temples lay between these two cities and

felt easy prey to the Muslim armies…

Brajbhoomi, Ayodhya, Kashi have all paid a

heavy price for being such sanctified lands.

There was a small period of respite during

the reigns of Akbar and Jahangir when the

Hindu nobility at the Mughal was allowed to

rebuild some of the destroyed temples. But

the days of peace were not to last for long.

Jahangir’s grandson Aurangzeb sent his

armies into Mathura-Vrindavan to demolish

everything that had been built. The final

desecration was the attack by the Afghan

invader Ahmad Shah Abdali who torched

Mathura in 1757. It is because of this history

of plunder and pillage that in spite of being

an ancient tirtha like Kashi, Mathura-


Vrindavan has no surviving temple that is

older than a couple of centuries.

In the Steps of the Pilgrim

Pilgrims enter Mathura through the Holi

Gate and head for the site where Krishna

was born and the Keshav Dev Temple now

stands. This site is also called Krishna

Janmasthan, Krishna’s birthplace and is

said to mark the spot where the prison cell,

where he was born, once stood.

Krishna Janamasthan Temple: The history

of the Krishna Janamasthan echoes the

tumultuous and conflict ridden history of

Brajbhoomi. Once Krishna had faced

eighteen attacks by King Jarasandha of

Magadh and it seems as if Mathura has

known few years of peace since then. The

first temple to mark the site of Krishna’s birth

was built here by his great-grandson

Vajranabha, who also built many temples in

Vrindavan and Dwarka. Then in the years of

the rise of Buddhism, during the rule of the

Mauryas and the Kushans, viharas and

stupas replaced many of the temples.

The next temple built at the Janmasthana

was during the reign of the Gupta king

Chandragupta Vikramaditya in the 5th

century AD. Legends say it was by far the

most magnificent temple in the region and it

survived till the 11th century AD, when it was

destroyed by the Muslim invader, Mahmud

of Ghazni. The next temple built in the 13th

century by Raja Vijay Pal was visited by the


Vrindavan-Manadal Yatris



Shiva temple called Rangeshwar Mahadev

where Kansa worshipped the god before his

fatal wrestling match with Krishna.

Ghats: The Yamuna River flows to the south

of Mathura and the banks are lined by the

stepped Ghats where the pilgrims bathe.

Among them the most sacred is the

Vishranti Ghat, where a tired Krishna rested

after his battle with Kansa. It is said that

Lord Varaha, the boar avatar of Vishnu also

rested here after slaying the demon

Hiranyakshap.

There are a number of temples above the

ghat and among them is one dedicated to

the river goddess Yamuna and her brother

Yama, the god of death.

Baldeva Tempel: Outside Mathura is the

Baldeva Temple dedicated to Krishna’s

brother Balarama. It is said that this deity

was also created by Vajranabha and is the

only one that still remains in Brajbhoomi,

The two meter high black stone image has

the right hand raised in the abhaymudra, a

gesture of reassurance, and the left hand

holds a cup of Varuni, the wine that

Balarama loved to drink. The image was lost

for a long time and was then found in the

tank behind the temple called Shiv Nagara.

The local people call this temple Dauji

Mandir, as Balarama was Krishna’s dauji,

his elder brother.

The Shivalingam here is called Sri

Keshaveshwar. In the nearby shrines of

Bhagavat Bhavan and Geeta Mandir ,the

walls are inscribed with the sayings and with

paintings from the Puranas.

Dwarkadhish Temple: In the 19th century a

Gwalior businessman, Seth Gokuldas built

the Dwarkadhish Temple in Mathura. Here,

Krishna as the Lord of Dwarka, is a

resplendent kingly figure, bejeweled and

clad in golden silks. Around the garbha

g r i h a t h e r e a r e o t h e r s h r i n e s t o

Mathuranath, Lakshmi Narayan and Murli

Manohar. Pilgrims also visit the remains of

Kansa’s fortress, that has become a small

hill, called Kansa Tila. This temple stands at

the site where Krishna killed Kansa and

crowned Ugrasen as the king. Nearby is a

bhakti saint Chaitanaya Mahaprbhu but

was demolished in the 16th century by

armies of Sikandar Lodi. Another great

Janmasthan temple was built during the

reign of Jahangir by the Raja of Orchha, Vir

Singh Bundela. However this temple did not

last long, being demolished and replaced by

a mosque by Jahangir ’s grandson

Aurangzeb. Today only the basement of this

temple has survived.

The present day temple at the Krishna

Janmasthan, called the Keshav Dev Temple,

was built after India’s independence, with the

deities consecrated in the garbha grih in 1958.

The images in the sanctum are those of Radha

and of Krishna as the long haired and

handsome Keshav. Tradition says that the

original deity installed here by Vajaranabha

was called by that name. During medieval

times, the original deity was moved out of

Mathura for safety and is now installed in a

temple near Kanpur. Next to the temple is a

small room that resembles a prison cell where

Krishna is said to have been born, as the

prisons within the fortress of Kansa were

located here.

There are shrines to a number of deities

around the sanctum in the Keshav Dev

Temple. There is an altar to Jagannatha,

Balarama and Subhadra, with the figure of

Sri Chaitnya worshipping them as he used

to do in the Jagannath Temple at Puri. Other

shrines have the images of Sita, Ram and

Laxman, Hanuman and Durga.


Vrindavan Potara kund where baby Krishnas clothes were washed

Vrindavan is famous for its Holi celebration


A pilgrim to Brajbhoomi cannot leave

without visiting Vrindavan. Tradition says

that the name Vrindavan comes from the

groves of tulsi plants that are sacred to

Krishan. Another tradition talks of a princess

named Vrinda who planted gardens and

forests and then got a promise from Krishna

that he and Radha would always be present

in them. For the Vaishnava pilgrim,

Vrindavan is full of memories of the

childhood and youth of Krishna. This is

where Radha and Krishna’s immortal love

story still colours the imagination of the

people. It is here, in the forests of Vindavan

that the sound of Krishna’s flute called the

gopikas to dance the raaslila with him.

When all the gopis wanted to dance with

him, Krishna, the supreme romantic, took

the form of many Krishna and every gopika

thought was dancing only with her. Many of

the episodes of his l i fe have been

commemorated with temples and ghats

around Vrindavan. He stole the clothes of

the bathing women here at Chi Ghat, where

people make a wish after tying a piece of

cloth to a tree. He protected the prople

under the Goverdhan mountain and the

mark of his feet can be seen at the

Goverdhan Shila. Pilgrims circle the hill

during their walk thorough the villages of

Vrindavan called the Chaunsath Kos Yatra.

Krishna defeated the snake demon Kaliya

where the Kaliya Mardan Temple now

stands.

Govind Devji Temple: Vrindavan is a town

filled with temples and pilgrims first head for

the oldest temple of Govind Devji, built in

1590. The original image was taken away to

jaipur when Aurangzeb tried to demolish the

temple. The red sandstone temple was built

by Raja Man Singh at the request of his guru

Rupa Goswami. It was seven stories high

with altars of gold and silver. The temple is

shaped like a cross with carved vaulted

ceilings and is profusely decorated with

carvings. A giant marble lotus was placed in

the main mandapa.

A bright lamp used to burn on the top storey

and this angered Aurangzeb so much that

he ordered that the temple be demolished.

However after two storeys had destroyed

there was an earthquake and the soldiers

thinking it was the wrath of god all ran away.

So the remaining five storeys of the temple

still stand but as the temple was damaged

by Aurangzeb’s army, the worship of the

deities is conducted in another shrine

behind the temple. The image of Krishna is

called Govind Devji and he has the figures

of Chaitanya and Nityanand on his sides.

The image of Radha Rani that stands

beside Govind Devji was sent from Puri to

Vrindavan by Purushottam, the son of King

Prataparudra of Orissa.

Madam Mohan Temple: This temple was

built in 1580 by a merchant named Ram

Das. It is said that his boat, laden with

goods, ran aground in the Yamuna. When it

could not be moved, he prayed to Madan

Mohan to free it. Once the boat was saved

and he had made a big profit from the

goods, he built the temple as an act of

thanksgiving. Lord Madan Mohan was

worshipped daily here by Sant Goswami

and his Samadhi stands at the back of the

temple. The original deity was sent to

Rajasthan for safety during the reign of

Aurangzeb and it is now in the town of

Karoli, near Jaipur. As the old temple was

desecrated by the army of Aurangzeb, a

new temple was built at the bottom of the hill

called Aditya Tila by Nanda Kumar Bose of

Bengal and the daily worship is performed

here.

Krishna Balarama Temple: This sparkling

new temple that has been built by ISKON,

the sect of Krishna Consciousness. The

pretty marble temple has three altars in the

garbha griha. In the centre are the figures of

the brother Krishna and Balarama. To the

left are images of the poet-saints Gaur and

Nitai and to the right of Radha and

Shyamsundar. The temple also has a shrine

to Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, the founder

of the sect.

Ranganathji Temple: This temple was built

in 1851 by Seth Govind Das in a mix of north

and south Indian styles. Parts of it, like the

image in the sanctum and the pyramidal

gopuram gateway, are copies of the Sri

Rangam Temple of the South. Here the

image in the garbha griha is not of Krishna

but of a reclining Vishnu as Anantasayana.

He is lying on the coils of the serpent

Sheshnaga floating on the Ananta Ocean.

The main mandapa has a marb le

colonnade and there are shrines to

Lakshmi, Brahma and Lord Balaji of Tirpati.

The entrance is through an elaborately

carved torana and before it is the gold

plated pillar of the Garuda Sthambha that

people call the golden palm tree.

Visitors often notice that the entrance to the

Ranganathji temple is through a smaller

gateway, instead of the more majestic one.

There is a traditional story to explain this

odd layout of the temple. It is said that the

sage Namdev used to come to the

Ranganathji Temple and sing to dthe deity

everyday. Namdev was a poor man and he

was always worried that someone would

steal his only pair of sandals. So he would

tie them around his waist with his dhoti. One

dy the priests at the temple spotted the

sandals and threw Namdev out of the

temple. Namdev then went to the back of

the temple and began to sing there and the

image of Ranganathji turned to face him.

Among the other temples popular with

pilgrims is the Radha Damodara Temple

built by Raja Man singh.This temple has the

Goverdhan shila, the stone with the mark of

Krishna’s feet. At the Radha raman Temple,

the fire in the Kitchen to cook the

mahaorasad is said to have been burning

for four centuries. Other important temples

are the Radha Gokulanand, Radha

Gopinath and the Radha Shyamsundar.

The ancient Gopishwar Mahadev is one of

the few Shiva temples in the city and

Vajranabha is said to have established the

Shivalingam in the sanctum. Banke Bihari

Temple: There are many sacred groves of

trees and gardens around Vrindavan that

are connected with the life of Krishna and

Radha. in the garden of Seva Kunj, Krishna

massaged Radha’s feet and decorated her

hair with flowers. In the Nidhivana they restd

at night. Haridas Swami found the image of

Banke Bihari in Nidhivana and established it

in a temple. The Banke Bihari Temple is very

popular for the unusual manner in which the

deities are shown to the devotees. In a ritual

called Janki Darshan, a curtain across the



Vrindavan

The most famous and amusing Holi is

played at Radha’s village of Barsana. It is

called “Latthamar Holi”, a Holi with sticks.

Tradition has it that Krishna and his

cowherd friends from Nandgaon used to

sneak into Barsana with colour and the

women used to chase them away with

sticks. So on thes day the women of

Barsana pick up sticks and hit the men with

great enthusiasm and the men run and take

shelter under large baskets. The main

celebration at Barsana takes place at the

Ladliji Temple dedicated to Radha. The day

after, the people of Barsana go to

Nandgaon to play Holi with each other.

Vrindavan’s chariot festival takes place in

March/April. During the Rath Mela, the

decorated chariot starts its journey from the

Ranganathji Temple. The procession is led

by dancers and musicians and it moves

through the town accompanied by huge

crowds. The Phool Dola and Hindola

festivals are celebrated at the temples for a

whole month in July/August. Mathura and

Vrndavan also have a tradition of inviting

performing artistes to present their art at its

temples and some of the greatest classical

musicians and dancers perform here before

large crowds.

These performances can be enjoyed during

the Rang Gulal Festival in March/April in

Mathura and the Vrindavan Sharadotsav in

October.

Krishna Paksh or the eighth day of the dark

fortnight of the month of Bhadra. Temples

and homes are decorated with tableaux

using dolls and fairy lights showing the main

episodes of Krishna’s ife. Called jhankis,

these displays show the scenes of his birth,

Vasudev carrying his infant son to safety,

episodes from Krishna’s childhood in Gokul,

his dancing with the gopikas and his

romance with Radha.

The folk theatre of Brajbhoomi, the

Raasleela, are exciting presentations with

songs and dances, with the actors wearing

gorgeous costumes. As people watch with

bated breath, Krishna’s life is enacted by

actors with a rustic verve and passion. The

audience may be familiar with every nuance

of the play but they still away with the mood

of the scene, laughing and crying with

Krishna. On Janamashtami, all the temples

have special pujas at midnight when

Krishna was born and the biggest puja is at

the Dwarkadhish Temple.

Krishna played Holi with the gopikas,

spraying them with colours and dancing the

Raasleela with them. Holi also heralds the

arriving of spring and it is celebrated with

the spectacular festival of colours. In the

rest of India, Holi is celebrated for a day but

Brajbhoomi sways with colours and music

for a week on each other with gay abandon.

The men in turbans, carrying drums and

flutes, wander dwn the streets singing the

special songs of Holi called Rasiya.

altar is periodically opened for the people to

get a glimpse of the deity and then shut

again.

Out into the countryside of Brajbhoomi are

the two sacred tanks of Radhika Kund and

Shyama Kund. Krishna killed the demon

Aristasura here when he attacked him in the

form of a bull. As the killing of a bull was a

sin, the gopikas insisted that Krishna should

bathe in the waters of all the holy rivers of

the land. Krishna struck the ground with his

heel and a pond was created with the

sacred waters. Pilgrims come here on

Bahula Ashtami to bathe in the two tanks.

Around the tank there are the replicas of the

important temples of Vrindavan like Radha

Damodar, Radha Gopinath and Radha

Gokulanand.

All the villages where Krishna lived are also

places of pilgrimage. He lived in Gokul till he

was seven years old. Here he stole butter

and killed the demoness Putana. He lived at

Nandgaon from his eighth to his sixteenth

year. Pi lgr ims c i rcumambulate the

Goverdhan Hill that he picked up so that the

people of Nandgaon could shelter under it

when Indra sent down a deluge of rain. The

village of Barsana is the home of Radha.

Then there are the forests where he

wandered, like Madhuvana, Talavana,

Kumudvana, Bilvavana and Lohavana.

Rituals, Festivals & Fairs

Brajbhoomi celebrates Krishna with a

touching adoration during the festivals.

Krishna an Radha are still a vibrant

presence in Brajbhoomi and you realize this

the most during the festivals. Mathura-

Vrindavan celebrates all the main episodes

of Krishna’s life and the most colourful

fes t i va l a re those o f h is b i r th on

Janamashtami and his playing with colours

with the gopikas during Holi. Festivals in

Brajbhoomi are a joyous time when a

carnival atmosphere prevails, as Krishna is

remembered by his adorning devotees

through dance and music, folk theatre and

prayers.

Janamashtami, Krishna’s birthday is

ce leb ra ted i n monsoon mon th o f

August/September, on the Ashtami of



Rang Ji Temple Vrindavan, Mathura


Shri Braj Chaurasi (84) Kos Yatra

Like a flowering creeper in the forest wilderness,Seeking Krishna in his many haunts.The god of love increased her ordeal,Tormenting her with fevered thoughts,

And her friend sang to heighten the mood.”

from Barbara Stoler Miller's translation – “Love Song of the Dark

Lord” a translation of the the 12th century Sanskrit devotional epic

poem “Gita Govinda” composed by Jayadeva Goswami, the most

celebrated Vaishnava Hindu poets of India As a masterpiece of

Vaishnava literature, Gita Govinda is dedicated to Lord Krishna and

recounting his love affairs, separation and union with the Radha.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534), was so fond of the Gita

Govinda that he heard its recital every day, and its music (kirtans)

became the favorites of the masses of Bengal and Orissa.

It is generally thought that the Shri Braj Chaurasi (84) Kos Yatra

revolves around 84 mandirs; this is not so. In ancient times Kos was

used to measure the distance and not the current kilometers. 84 Kos

means 252 kilometers in total. The pilgrimage comprises Vrindavan,

with its 12 vanas (forests), 24 upvanas (groves), the sacred hill

Govardhan, the divine River Yamuna, numerous holy places along

its banks and Mathura (birth place of Lord Krishna), Mahavan,

Baldeo, Kusum Sarovar, Barsana & Nandgaon is undertaken

annually by lakhs of devotees from faraway places.

This Yatra is known as 84 Kos as it depicts the entire life journey of

Lord Krishna, the places where Lord Krishna born and brought up,

his dalliances with Radha, his Lelas etc. Also famous by the name of

char dham Yatra as once Nand ji and Yashodha maiya (his foster

parents) told Lord Krishna that they wanted to go for char dham

yatra. Lord Krishna for their convenience called all the char dhams in

the sacred bhumi of 84 Kos.

Basically, Vraja is the land of Krishna. If you really want to

understand the pastimes of Krishna, you have to know Vraja. And if

you want to know the significance of Vraja, you have to understand

Krishna’s pastimes. Krishna was born in Mathura 5,000 years ago

but lived in Gokula for three years, then moved to Chatikara and

Vrindavan for three years, then lived in Nandagram for three years,

and from age 10 to 28 He lived in Mathura. After this He moved to the

western coast of India where He lived in Dwaraka for over 96 years.

Thus, He stayed in this world for 125 years, but some of His sweetest

and most attractive pastimes were performed in Vraja.

Shri Braj Chaurasi (84) Kos Yatra , Vrindavan is the site of an ancient

forest which is the region where, according to the Mahabharata, the

Supreme Lord Krishna spent his childhood days. The town is about

10 km away from Mathura, the city of Lord Krishna's birthplace, near

the Agra-Delhi highway. It 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.

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 Dev 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 Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In the year 1515,

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited Vrindavana, with purpose of locating

the lost holy places associated with Lord Sri Krishna's transcendent

pastimes. Chaitanya wandered through the different sacred forests

of Vrindavana in a spiritual trance of divine love. It was believed that

by His divine spiritual power, He was able locate all the important

places of Krishna's pastimes in and around Vrindavana.

In the last 250 years, the extensive forests of Vrindavan have been

subjected to urbanization, 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

peacocks, cows, monkeys and a variety of bird species has been

eliminated or are close to it. A few peacocks are left in the city but

monkeys and cows can be seen almost everywhere.


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