Radha Gopinath Temple in Vrindavan

      Radha Gopinath Temple in Vrindavan is located quite close to the Radha Raman Temple. It is a red-coloured sandstone building. As I passed through the main door and walked towards the courtyard, I saw the old temple to my right. The new temple is on the left, beyond the courtyard. The old temple was partly destroyed by Aurangzeb, hence a new temple has been built adjacent to it.

      Lord Krishna's great-grandson, Vajranabha installed the original idol of Gopinathji. The idol was lost for many years and later found by Paramananda Goswami in the Vamsi Vata area. He handed it to Paramananda Bhattacharya, who later passed them on to Madhu Pandita Goswami. Madhu Pandita Goswami began to worship Lord Gopinath. Later, these idols were moved out because of frequent attacks by Aurangzeb.

Sri Radha Gopinath Temple

      The temple has an outer and an inner courtyard. The outer courtyard has a black and white marble tiled floor. It is surrounded by huge white arches that are reminiscent of Mughal architecture. On one of the walls, there is a huge painting depicting the famous Ras Lila of Krishna with Radha and the gopis.

      The sanctum sanctorum has five deities, all of them dressed in green coloured silk robes. At the centre is the idol of Lord Krishna, Gopinathji. This is a black idol, holding a flute. In front of this idol, there are idols of two of Radha's friends, Lalitha on the left, and Vishaka on the right. Behind the idol of Lord Krishna are two more idols. The one in the left corner of the altar is Radha and the one in the right corner is Her younger sister, Ananga Manjari. The placement of the deities is quite unusual because, in all the Radha Krishna Temples in Vrindavan, Radha stands to Krishna's left, this is the only temple where Radha stands to the right of Krishna.

      It is believed that Ananga Manjari, the younger sister of Radha, was later reborn as Jahnava Devi and she became the wife of Nityananda. It is believed that Jahnava Devi used to visit the temple frequently and pray to Lord Gopinath. One day, Lord Gopinath, touched by His devotee's prayers, came down from the altar and took her away into the altar. In order to symbolise this event, an idol of Ananga Manjari (Jahnava Devi) is kept on the altar.