Mansarovar is a 30-minute drive from Vrindavan, on the outskirts of the town. This place is serene, unlike the other temples of Vrindavan that are in the middle of busy streets. It was quite tough to locate this place. I asked the locals for directions and everyone would say, please go another couple of kilometres from here'. I was amazed at how everyone told us it was only a couple of kilometres' away, even though we eventually travelled more than 10 km! We had to drive on muddy roads and cut across green fields to reach this place. It was a miracle that none of the farmers came chasing after us. Just when I was getting a bit pessimistic about locating this place, we found it. Mathuresh, my guide, did an excellent job of a navigator and managed to cut across several sunflower fields and canals to find this place out of nowhere.
To me, Mansarovar is the most serene and tranquil place in the whole of Vrindavan. No commercialisation, no gift shops, no tea stalls, no unruly crowds. I could have stayed here forever. Since this place does not find a mentioned in most of the tourist books and is quite far away from town, I saw very few people here. Most of the people who come here are serious visitors who have heard the legend of this place and want to see it. Thete are no tourist buses stopping here with hordes of tourists pouring out all over the place.
As I got off the car, I saw a lake to my right and the temple was on the left. The lake was clean and well-maintained. It is home to many birds and can be a serious contender to the famous Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary which is just a couple of hours from here. Thankfully, there are no residences nearby, so this is an ideal place for meditation.
The temple near the lake of Mansarovar in Vrindavan is made of white marble. The inner courtyard is circular with black marble pillars. When I stood in the inner courtyard, I saw a strange sight. The altar has only Radha's idol. This is to depict the incident when Krishna left Radha alone for a few minutes during Ras Lila in order to rid Her of Her arrogance. It is also believed that when Radha cried, unable to bear the pangs of separation from Her beloved Krishna, her tears formed the lake, Mansarovar.
Since Krishna had left Radha and She was alone here, there is no idol of Krishna, unlike the other temples in Vrindavan that always have Radha and Krishna together. In the serene ambiance, I could hear the melodious chants of Radhe Radhe Jai Radhe Radhe fill the air. This lent a musical note to the air in an otherwise quiet place.
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