Jaipur Temple or Madhava Radha Temple in Vrindavan

      Is this a palace? Or is it a fort? No. This is the Jaipur Temple! This is known as Jaipur Temple because it was built by Sawai Madhav Singh, Maharaja of Jaipur in 1917 AD. It is also known as Madhava Radha Temple. This temple, with its rich architecture, is one of the most beautiful and aesthetically built temples in the temple town of Vrindavan. Its opulence makes it look more like the palace of a Rajput king, than a temple.

      The entire temple is built of sandstone. As I passed through the gigantic gate, I came across a huge courtyard, flanked by well-maintained gardens on either side. The outer courtyard has magnificent arches on all sides, reminiscent of the Moghul style of architecture. An exquisitely carved pot-like structure containing a Tulsi plant is kept at one end of the outer courtyard. A walk towards the other end took me to another gate that led me to the inner courtyard. The inner courtyard too had beautiful pillars and arches with exquisite carvings. These pillars and arches were handcrafted by the artisans of that era.

      The sanctum sanctorum had a wall of Italian marble. It was well decorated with beautiful paintings. The temple had three altars. The altar in the middle had a black idol of Madhava (another name for Krishna) and a golden idol of Radha. Both were surrounded by Ashta-sakhis (eight of Radha's gopi-friends). On the right altar, there was an identical pair of idols of Radha and Krishna, but smaller in size. They were flanked by Lalitha and Vishaka, gopi-friends of Radha. On the left altar, there was an idol of Lord Krishna in his Hamsa Avatar (Swan Form). To the left of this idol were four small black idols representing the four Kumara sons of Lord Brahma. It is believed that Lord Krishna assumed the Hamsa Avatar before He began teaching the four Kumara sons of Lord Brahma. This altar also has a Swami Nimbakacharya idol.