Seva Kunj in Vrindavan - Another Place of Raslila

      Seva Kunj, like Nidhivan, is the place where Lord Krishna engaged in Ras Lila with Radha and the gopis of Vrindavan. The terrain of Seva Kunj is completely different from the nearby areas. This place is covered with trees and thick shrubs. All the walls have inscriptions in Sanskrit and Bengali. The samadhi of Haridas Swami is located here. The place is swarming with monkeys, most of them quite mischievous and ferocious. They snatch any item that you hold loosely in your hands, like hand-bags or purses. Some of them even snatch away the devotees' spectacles!

      It is believed that every night, Radha and Krishna come to Seva Kunj and perform Ras Lila. After the Ras Lila, Seva Kunj they rest in the Rang Mahal. No one is allowed to watch this divine spectacle, hence the gates of Seva Kunj are locked in the evenings. Even the monkeys, that are present here in large numbers throughout the day, voluntarily leave the place after dark. It is also believed that if anyone stays back and watches the Ras Lila being performed, he will invariably die.

Seva Kunj

      There are small pathways, a few close to the walls bordering Seva Kunj and a few in the middle of the shrubs. I walked along the pathway near the wall of Seva Kunj to reach the far end. Rang Mahal, the famous temple of Seva Kunj is located here. The sanctum sanctorum of this temple has a multi-step podium that is normally seen at homes during the Navaratri season. It also resembles a bed to indicate that Seva Kunj is the 'resting place' for Radha and Krishna. There is a picture of Radha and Krishna at the top of the altar.

      All the walls have beautiful paintings of Radha, Krishna, and the gopis. Each painting depicts a different aspect of Radha and Krishna. One painting depicts Krishna decorating Radha's hair with flowers. There is another beautiful painting that has Krishna playing His flute and enthralling Radha. There is one more that depicts Them playing Holi and sprinkling coloured water on each other. Another depicts Lord Krishna massaging Radha's tired legs. This shows that the Merciful Lord can perform any act to reciprocate the love of His devotee. Just watching these paintings took me back in time. All of a sudden, I heard the sound of the anklets of the gopis and the dancing feet of Krishna and Radha.

      Outside this temple is a pair of footprints. The white footprints are believed to be those of Radha's and the black ones are Krishna's.

      A walk further away from Rang Mahal towards the entrance of Seva Kunj brought me to Lalitha Kund. Krishna created this kund using His flute, to quench the thirst of Radha's friend, Lalitha. This is about 50 metres from the entrance of Seva Kunj. It is quite deep and there are steps going down to reach the water. I was surprised to see a water source in the middle of a small forest. The Lalitha Kund is much bigger and spacious than the Vishaka Kund at Nidhivan. A walk further along the pathway took me to the main gate of Seva Kunj.