Vrindavan Trip – Day 3

Day 2 of Vrindavan trip can be found here

We started our day with the Mangala Aarti at Radha Vrindavan Chandroday Mandir. Then, we participated in the group chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra followed by the Guru puja and the Srimad Bhagavatam class.

An auto rickshaw was booked for the whole day to visit Mathura and Raval.

The moment the autorickshaw started, prabhujis began singing the bhajan of the Lord Narasimha. This was the norm through out our journey, whenever we move from one place to the other. Sometimes, it was followed by Hare Krishna kirtan as well. We slowly learned the lyrics and participated actively in the bhajans within 3 to 4 days into the trip.

Mathura is around 15 kilometers away from Vrindavan. 

I still remember, even after 7 years, how I felt while we walked into the temple premises in Mathura. The devotional bhav was enhanced by a mellifluous Hare Krishna kirtan issuing from somewhere around. Mathura is the birth place of Lord Krishna and inside the temple, there are many paintings depicting the leelas of the Lord. 

Later, we went to the place, where lord Krishna uprooted two trees (Manigriva and Nalakuvera, the sons of Kubera) with a mortar, which was tied to his belly. There was a small temple consisting of a small piece of stone which was believed to be a minor portion of the original mortar dragged by lord Krishna. 

“What is the proof that these leelas happened at exactly these particular places?” questioned one of our group members to me during our trip. I gave him the text book answer at that moment, later when I contemplated I gave myself the following answer: Firstly, the leelas have definitely happened within the braj, which comprises of an area of around 84 kros or 2500 km². The second and the most important thing is these places give us an opportunity to recollect the divine leelas of Lord Krishna. Please feel free to either agree or disagree with my viewpoint. 

In the evening, we reached Raval, which is the birthplace of Maa Radha Rani. You can witness the diety of Ma Radha Rani in the form of a beautiful baby (1 year old). 

Pic credits : RVC

I am grateful to Srila Prabhupad ji, prabhujis of HKM for this beautiful experience.

Hare Krishna.

Hari bolll….  \o/

PS: Please forgive me for any typo errors as I am typing from my mobile. 

Keep smiling often 🤗🤗🤗. Take care…