Raval: Pilgrimage Travelogue of A Devotee

"On taking such a birth, he regains the divine spiritualism of his previous birth and through that he tries to make further progress to achieve perfection Oh! Son of Kuru dynasty." (Bhagavad Gita 6.43)

      Raval is around 10 km to the south-east of Mathura, one kilometre off the main road. This is also on the eastern side of the Yamuna. This small place is very famous since it is the birthplace of Lord Krishna's divine consort, Radha. There are some who think that Radha was born and brought up in Barsana. There are others who believe that She was born in Raval, but spent Her childhood in Barsana. Raval is a small town, much smaller than Mahavan and Gokul. The visitors to this town primarily come to visit the Radha Rani Janmasthan Temple.

Raval

RADHA RANI JANMASTHAN TEMPLE

      The most famous place in Raval is the Radha Rani Janmasthan Temple. The temple is in an isolated place, away from the hustle and bustle of the small dusty village. There are lots of trees near the temple. The shade from these trees provides respite from the scorching heat of the afternoon sun. It is believed that the palace of Vrishabhanu stood at this location.

      The Radha Rani Temple is a huge temple made of white marble. The entire courtyard is also made of pure white marble. The wooden doorway is decorated with silver plated arches. This temple has two pairs of idols of Radha and Krishna, kept on a raised podium. The bigger pair of idols are behind the smaller pair. Krishna, in his style so typical of Brij Bhoomi, is playing His flute.

      The priest there was an educated person who had served in the Indian Army for many years before he had retired. He welcomed me warmly and performed the Mangala Arati of the idols. After the Mangala Arati, he took a saffron cloth and put it on the idols of Radha and Krishna. I felt blessed when he placed the cloth on my shoulder. He also gifted us a huge plate of sweets.

      From the terrace of the first floor, I could see a huge pond nearby. This was the same pond where Vrishabhanu found Radha sitting on a lotus.

      On the opposite side of the temple is a huge garden. This garden is believed to be 5000 years old and was originally the garden of Radha Rani. As I entered this garden, I saw a beige-coloured temple at the centre. This had idols of Radha and Krishna, sitting on a swing. To the left of this temple was a strange sight. There were two trees, completely entwined! One tree was black, representing Krishna and the other tree was white, representing Radha. These are popularly known as Radha-Krishna trees.