Nidhivan: Mysterious Land of Lord Krishna's Raslila

      Nidhivan is located between Shahji Temple and Loi Bazaar in Vrindavan. Nidhivan is also a grove, similar to Seva Kunj. It is believed that many centuries ago both, Seva Kunj and Nidhivan, were part of one big grove. That explains the similarity between the two places. Nidhivan means the 'forest where invaluable gems are found'. During the era of Lord Krishna, this part of Brij Bhoomi was probably a dense forest, hence the name Nidhivan. However, due to deforestation, Nidhivan is today only a small patch of land with a few trees and thorny shrubs. I could see many modern buildings surrounding this beautiful place. This is the venue for the famous Ras Lila, where Krishna and His consort Radha, along with the gopis, danced. Radha and Krishna also rested here on numerous occasions. Like Seva Kunj, Nidhivan is also locked up at night. Here too, the monkeys leave, as dusk approaches.

Nidhivan

      As in the case of Seva Kunj, this place was also swarming with monkeys. Most of them were quite fearless and aggressive. They are ready to snatch any article that we carried - handbags, cameras, flower garlands. During my first visit, a tourist who was standing beside me, offered chickpeas to a monkey. Seeing this, a herd of monkeys arrived from nowhere. They attacked the tourist who was carrying the bag of chickpeas. In no time, his bag was snatched by these monkeys. They also looked at my hands. Since I was not carrying any food for them, they got upset and chased me away! A few days later, after gathering sufficient courage, I made my second visit.

      There were a few muddy pathways between the shrubs and also near the walls surrounding Nidhivan. A walk on the pathway along the wall in an anti-clockwise manner led me to the samadhi of the poet saint, Swami Haridas. The inscription on the samadhi reads Swami Sri Haridasji Ki Jai. Swami Haridas, born in 1535, was a great Krishna devotee, belonging to the Nimbarka sect. He was well known for his bhajans. He was also the Guru (teacher) of the famous musician Tansen, who sang in the court of the Moghul emperor Akbar.

      Behind the samadhi is an idol of a lady playing the musical instrument Veena. This lady is Lalitha, one among the ashia sakhis (eight friends) of Radha. It is believed that Lalitha was later reborn as Swami Haridas.

      As I walked along the wall of Nidhivan and went past the samadhi of Swami Haridas, I came across a temple which had three deities. At the centre was the idol of Radha, flanked by Her friends, Lalitha and Vishaka. One unusual feature is that it is not Krishna but Radha who is playing the flute.

      As I walked along the muddy path, I came across a small temple, known as Rang Mahal. Next to it was an open courtyard, known as Ras Sthal (location of Ras dance). It is believed that Krishna had performed Ras Lila at this very place with Radha and the gopis of Vrindavan. I could still hear the musical sounds of their dancing feet.

      Rang Mahal is also known as the Sleeping Temple because Radha and Krishna used to rest here after the Ras Lila. This temple has a bed and the people of Vrindavan believe that Radha and Krishna come here every night and rest. The Rang Mahal has numerous pictures of Radha and Krishna. The walls are decorated with colourful pieces of glass.

      The devotees keep flowers and kumkum here every day. It is believed that Radha and Krishna perform Ras Lila in the groves every night and then they come and relax on this bed. They also believe that Krishna decorates Radha with the flowers and kumkum that are kept here by the devotees. When the caretakers open the door of the Rang Mahal each morning, they find that the flowers and the kumkum, kept on the bed by the devotees during the day, would have been used.

      As I walked further down the path, I came to the spot where Swami Haridas found the famous Banke Bihari idol. It was originally worshipped here and later moved to Banke Bihari Temple, when the temple was built in 1864.

      As I walked further along the walls of Nidhivan, I reached Vishaka Kund. Krishna had created this kund using His flute, to quench the thirst of Radha's friend, Vishaka. This kand is quite deep and there are steps leading down to the water source. The kund cannot be seen even while one is standing close to it since a major part of it is below ground level.