Sri Sri Radha Raman Temple:

   Constructed at the request of Gopala Bhatta Goswami in the sixteenth century, Radha Raman temple is one of the most exquisitely crafted and revered temples of Vrindavan  ”Radha Ramana” means “one who gives pleasure to Radha”, and Radha Ramana is one of the few original deities still left in Vrindavan. The cooking fire in the temple kitchen have been burning continuously since the Deity was installed over 460 years ago and the cooking still follows cookbooks from that time.

       When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was touring South India, He spent the four months during the rainy season called Caturmasya in Shri Rangam at the house of Vyenkata Bhatta, the chief priest of the Ranganatha Temple. His son, Shri Gopal Bhatta, was then able to serve the Lord to his heart’s content. Being pleased by his devotion, Shri Caitanya gave him initiation and ordered him to go to Vrindavana after the disappearance of his parents. There he should remain with Rupa and Sanatana doing bhajana and writing books. At an age of thirty, after the death of his parents, Gopala Bhatta, left for Vrindavana. When Lord Caitanya heard that Gopala Bhatta Goswami had arrived in Vrindavana and had met Shri Rupa and Sanatana Goswami, He was very pleased. At that time Mahaprabhu had already visited Vrindavana. Although Rupa and Sanatana had gone to visit him in Puri, Gopala Bhatta never received any invitation to go. Understanding his disappointment, Shri Caitanya sent His personal asana and cloth to him through Rupa and Sanatana, which can still be seen on special festivals in Radharamana Temple.

       Later when Gopala Bhatta heard of the disappearance of Mahaprabhu, he felt intense separation from the Lord, having associated with him only in his childhood.

       One night Lord Caitanya appeared in a dream and told him, “If you want my darshana, make a pilgrimage to Nepal.” In Nepal, Gopala Bhatta visited the river Gandaki. After taking bath, he filled his water pot and was surprised to see that some Shalagrama-shilas had entered it. Emptying his pot, he filled it again, only to find the shilas had re-entered his water pot. Again he emptied his pot, and when he filled it for a third time he found that now twelve Shalagrama-shilas were there. Thinking this must be the mercy of the Lord, he decided to bring those shilas with him to Vrindavana. One day after returning to Vrindavana, a wealthy devotee approached Gopala Bhatta Goswami with dresses and ornaments for his Deity. Gopala Bhatta told him that as he was only worshiping a shalagrama-shila, it would be better to give to someone else who was worshiping a Deity and could use them. It happened to be Narasimha-caturdasi and thinking deeply on this incident Gopala Bhatta remembered how Lord Narasimha deva had manifested from a stone pillar. He then began to pray to the Lord, “O Lord, you are very merciful and fulfill the desires of your devotees. I wish to serve you in your full form.” In ecstasy he read the chapters of Shrimad Bhagvatam about Lord Narasimha deva’s pastimes, and then took rest. In the morning when he awoke, he found that one of the twelve Shalagramas, the Damodara-shila, had manifested as Shri Radharamana.

       He immediately called Rupa and Sanatana and all the other devotees. They were all astounded by the beauty of Shri Radharamanaji. They remarked that from the feet to the waist He had the form of Shri Madana-Mohanaji, His chest was like that of Shri Gopinathaji and He had the moonlike face of Shri Govindadeva. Then with the blessing of all the Vaishnavas, he began the worship of Shri Radharamanaji.

Sri Sri Radha Raman:

ananga-manjari yasit sadya gopala-bhattakah

bhatta-gosvaminam kecit ahuh sri-guna-manjari

      She who was formerly Ananga Manjari who has appeared to enrich Mahaprabhu’s pastimes as Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami. Some say that Gopal Bhatta is actually Guna Manjari. (Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika 184)

        Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami appeared in 1500 AD (though, according to some authorities, he was born in 1503) as the son of Venkata Bhatta in the town of Srirangam in South India. Their residence was in a village not far from Srirangam called Belagundi.

       According to Narahari sarkar in the Bhakti-ratnakara, Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami was given a vision in a dream by Mahaprabhu in which he was fortunate enough to witness all the Lord’s Nabadwip pastimes. An eternal associate of Krishna, he appeared in a faraway place in order to participate in Lord Gauranga’s pastimes. Even so, he was able to know long before he even saw him that the Lord had appeared and taken sannyas. Gopal Bhatta did not particularly like the Lord’s appearance as a sannyasi. He was distressed and crying alone when the Lord appeared to him and gave him the dream vision of his Nabadwip lila. In this vision, the Lord was overwhelmed by ecstatic love, embraced him and drenched him in his tears.

       Having said this to Gopal, the Lord embraced him and drenched him in his tears. He then told him to keep all these experiences secret, and Gopal felt great joy in his mind. (Bhakti-ratnakara 1.123-4)

       Through the power of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s merciful association, Venkata Bhatta, his brother Prabodhananda Saraswati, his son Gopal Bhatta Goswami, and all the other members of his family, were inspired to be engaged in the exclusive devotional service of Radha and Krishna. Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami took initiation from his uncle, Tridandi Yati Srimat Prabodhananda Saraswati. Proof of this is found in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa:

bhakter vilasams cinute prabodha-

nandasya sisyo bhagavat-priyasya

gopala-bhatto raghunatha-dasam

santosayan rupa-sanatanau ca

       Gopal Bhatta, the disciple of Prabodhananda who is dear to the Lord, has collected these devotional activities to satisfy Raghunath Das, Rupa and Sanatan Goswamis. (Hbv 1.2)

       Gopal’s parents were very fortunate, for they surrendered themselves, life and soul, to the feet of Lord Chaitanya. They ordered their son to go to Vrindavan before they left this world, absorbed in meditating on the Lord. Gopal travelled directly to Vrindavan where he met with Rupa and Sanatan. (Bhakti-ratnakara 1.163-5)

       When Gopal arrived in Vrindavan, Rupa and Sanatan wrote to Mahaprabhu to tell him. The Lord was overjoyed and immediately wrote back telling them to affectionately take care of him as though he were their own younger brother. Srila Sanatan Goswami compiled the Hari-bhakti-vilasa and published it in Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami’s name. Rupa Goswami considered Gopal to be as dear to him as his own life and engaged him in the deity worship of Radha Raman.

       Sri Gopal Bhatt Goswami became one of the Six Goswamis, but he always kept an attitude of meekness and humility. Thus, when Krishnadas Kaviraj approached him for permission to write the Chaitanya Charitamrita, he granted it, but under the condition that he not write about him. Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami could not go against the order of Gopal Bhatta and thus did nothing more than mention his name. Sri Jiva Goswami writes in the introduction to the Sat-sandarbha that he wrote it on the basis of an earlier text by Gopal Bhatta. Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami also wrote a book called the Sat-kriya-sara-dipika (“Light on the essential sacraments for the Vaishnavas”). Thus his contribution to Gaudiya Vaishnava literature was in editing the Hari-bhakti-vilasa, preparing the notes for Jiva’s Sat-sandarbha and in compiling the Sat-kriya-sara-dipika. He also gave great joy to the community of devotees by writing a commentary on Bilvamangala’s Krishna-karnamrta.

       Amongst his disciples were Srinivas Acharya and Sri Gopinath Das Goswami.

       Srimad Gopala Bhatta Goswami lived within this world for 75 years. In the Christian year of 1578 on the sixth day of the dark moon, Sri Gopala Bhatta Goswami left this world behind and entered into the eternal pastimes of the Lord.

       Timings:

       Summer – Mangala Arati 4:00am

       Darshan – 08:00am -12:30pm

       (look out for the green light when you first enter the Gosai compound, up on the left)

       (If it is red then darshan is over)

       Evening Darshan:  – 6pm – 8pm (18:00 – 20:00 hrs)

       Winter – Mangala Arati 05:30am

       Darshan – 08:00am – 12:30pm

       Evening – 6pm – 8pm (18:00 – 20:00 hrs)

Gopal Bhatta Goswami’s samadhi is to the left after you enter the first gate from the street into the temple compound. Gopal Bhatta Goswami was the son of Vyenkatta Bhatta, a brahmana priest of Srirangam temple in Tamil Nadu. His uncle Prabhodananda Sarasvati also became his spiritual master. In 1511 Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited Srirangam and danced in ecstasy before Lord Ranganath.

The appearance place of Sri Radharaman Deity is next to the temple besides Gopal Bhatta’s samadhi.

Sri Sri Radha Syamasundara Temple

Sri Sri Radha Shyamasundar:
This is one of the most important temples for Gaudiya Vaishnavas. Established by Sri Syamananda Pandit the deity itself was gifted to him by Srimati Radharani, the consort of Lord Krishna, who had manifested it from her heart. Sri Sri Radha Shyamasundar;

Among the seven main temples of Gaudiya Vaishnava sect in Sri Vrindavan Dham, the temple of Sri Sri Radha Shyamsundar has carved a special place for itself in the hearts of all the Vaishnavas because it houses the most beautiful and unique Deity of Sri Shyamsundar, that manifested from Srimati Radharani’s heart.All the prominent acharyas of Gaudiya Vaishnava cult used to visit this divine temple to have darshan of His Lordship, Sri Shyamsundar.

Sri Shyamasundar:
Srila Raghunath Dasa Goswami and Srila Krishna Dasa Kaviraja Goswami, who would otherwise never leave Sri Radha Kunda, also started visiting Vrindavan for the darshan of Sri Shyamsundar, despite their old age and physical problems. Srila Baladeva Vidya Bhushana spent most of his time in Vrindavan in the service of the Deity.

Sri Sri Radha Shyamasundar Temple:

Deity History

Srila Shyamananda Prabhu’s childhood name was Dukhi. From his very childhood, Dukhi’s heart was imbibed with devotion to Lord Krishna. By listening to the pastimes of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu and Their associates, he used to become ecstatic, weep and moisten his clothes by the tears gliding down his cheeks. Due to deep love for Krishna he would usually show the symptoms of ecstasy such as crying, laughing and dancing. In the month of Phalgun in 1553 A.D. at the age of 18, he left home for Ambika near Navadvip Dham without informing anyone, to take shelter under the lotus feet of his would be spiritual master. On the way he braved many rivers, rivulets, hillocks and dense forests full of beasts. On Phalguni Purnima of 1554 A.D., he took initiation from Sri Hridaya Caitanya Adhikari Thakur, a disciple of Sri Gauri Dasa Pandit (Subal Sakha of Vraja). At initiation he received the name Dukhi Krishna Dasa.

On the instructions of his spiritual master he set out on pilgrimage to all the holy places in India including Sri Vrindavan Dham. After the pilgrimage, he returned to his village in 1562 A.D. and married Gaurangi Dasi as per his parent’s wish. But due to the utmost attraction for Vraja he could not stay in his village for long and returned to Sri Vrindavan Dham in the year 1566 A.D. He experienced that the land of Vrindavan was adorned with desire trees and was made of touchstones. Everywhere the fragrant aroma of the divine love of Sri Sri Radha Shyamsundar pervaded the air. Therefore he glorified Sri Vrindavan Dham as the topmost abode in the universe.

 He reached Nandagram and after seeing the palace of Nanda Maharaja where Shyamsundar performed many pastimes, he wept bitterly and started paying obeisances to this transcendental village again and again. Dukhi Krishna Dasa then visited the place of King Vrishabhanu known as Barsana. After visiting the pleasure dome of Srimati Radharani, he experienced transcendental joy. Soon after he sojourned Govardhana Hill and after seeing the sacred mountain, memories of Krishna’s pastimes started sprouting in his heart. He started dancing and glorifying Govardhana Hill with choked voice. While circumambulating Govardhana Hill, he had darshan of Sri Radha Kunda and Sri Shyama Kunda. They were full of sweet water and surrounded by beautiful lotus flowers and groves. He felt excited after touching the scintillating water and offered his due respect to the sacred ponds.

 Sri Dukhi Krishna Dasa then went to Yavat and returned to Vrindavan. Having darshan of Sri Radha Govinda, Sri Radha Gopinath and Sri Radha Madana-mohan, he lost his senses due to ecstasy and thereupon whenever he saw Krishna, he saw Radharani also because one cannot have a glimpse of the moon without it’s light.

 During his meeting with Srila Raghunath Dasa Goswami and Srila Krishna Dasa Kaviraj Goswami at Radha Kunda, Srila Raghunath Dasa Goswami sent him to meet Srila Jiva Goswami. As soon as Dukhi Krishna Dasa met Jiva Goswami and paid his obeisances at his lotus feet, the latter felt a wave of ecstasy passing through him and it occurred to him that his wait for the arrival of a desired personality had come to an end. Sri Srinivasa Acharya (embodiment of Caitanya’s love), Sri Narottama Dasa Thakura (embodiment of Nityananda’s love) were already with him. Now the embodiment of Advaita Acharya’s love also reached there. Srila Jiva Goswami got busy to draw plans to spread Krishna Conscious literature to other parts of the world with the help of this confluence of three Bhakti streams.

Due to his extraordinary personality, his spirituality, humility, virtuousness and devotion, people loved Krishna Dasa very much. For Srinivasa Acharya and Narottama Dasa Thakura he was the wealth of their heart and for Jiva Goswami, he was the apple of his eye. Jiva Goswami advised Krishna Dasa to study books written by the six goswamis, listen to Krishna Katha and chant Hare Krishna but Krishna Dasa requested for some more transcendental service to the Lord.        Srila Jiva Goswami also granted him the rare opportunity of cleaning the sacred groves of Seva-kunj. In this way he rendered service for twelve years and progressed in devotional service to Lord Krishna.

 One day, while sitting in his bhajan-kutir, he was deeply immersed in remembering the sweet and nectarean pastimes of Radha and Krishna. He felt that Shyamsundar was dancing and singing with the beautiful damsels of Vraja in the grove. Srimati Radharani and the gopis had formed a circle around Shyamsundar by holding each other’s hand and it appeared like the moon encircled by the stars. Some gopis were dancing and others were singing melodious songs. At the same time Srimati Radharani started dancing attractively to give more joy and pleasure to Sri Shyamsundar and it also made Him drown in this ocean of ecstasy. During the dance, a golden anklet named Manjughosha which was studded with precious gems, slipped from the left foot of Srimati Radharani and fell in the dancing arena unnoticed. When the dance was over the divine couple went to sleep on a well decorated bed in the grove. By looking at the united couple all the gopis also became serene in their mind. In the morning the couple felt ashamed when they were awakened by all the gopis and everyone proceeded towards their respective houses.

 Even Dukhi Krishna Dasa woke up and as usual left for cleaning the groves. On reaching the place of the pastime, he noticed more signs of merry making as compared to previous days. The creepers laid scattered here and there. Despite that all the trees and creepers were full of fragrance emitting flowers. On the inner side of the grove foot-prints of Radha and Krishna and the gopis could be seen. Charged with ecstasy and love of Godhead Dukhi Krishna Dasa started rolling on the sacred ground. Somehow or the other he controlled himself and started cleaning the groves. Suddenly he saw a glittering object under a pomegranate tree illuminating every nook and corner of the grove. He ran towards that spot. He became wonderstruck on finding a transcendental anklet studded with precious stones called Indraneel mani.

 Immediately there was a prophecy from the sky to guard the anklet. He lifted the anklet and touched it to his forehead. A wave of high devotion passed through his head. Tears started rolling down his cheeks and symptoms of ecstasy appeared in his body and he started dancing uttering the names of Srimati Radharani. With great effort he hid the anklet under his garment and continued his work of cleaning and beautifying the dancing arena and groves of Seva-kunj.

During this time Srimati Radharani came to that place in disguise with Her associates in search of the anklet. She hid behind a creeper and asked Lalita sakhi to look for the anklet. Sri Lalita sakhi, in the disguise of a poor old Brahmin lady, approached Krishna Dasa and told him that the previous night her newly married daughter-in-law had come to that place to pluck flowers, but having seen a lion (Krishna) standing next to Her, She left the place in fear. At that time, an anklet from Her left foot had slipped and fell on the ground unnoticed in Nidhivan. She inquired from him whether he had found it. Hearing these words from Sri Lalita sakhi, Krishna Dasa felt satisfied but showered a list of questions out of anxiety such as “Who was she? And where did she live?”         “Kindly give her introduction to my complete satisfaction,” he requested.

 Lalita sakhi said, “She is a ‘Kanya-kubja Brahmin lady’ and belongs to a village near Yavat of Mathura and Her name is Radha Dasi.”  She further said, “Since you clean the groves everyday, I have come to enquire about the anklet.”

Krishna Dasa with great humility answered, “Your guess is true. I did find a wonderful anklet studded with Indraneel mani. As soon as I touched the anklet, I was charged with divinity, felt happiness and was also over-whelmed with love for Srimati Radharani.”         In a doubt he further added, “This anklet surely does not belong to an ordinary lady. There is some mystery behind this. Wise people say that wonderful things are possessed only by deserving people and not by ordinary persons.”

 “Since your daughter-in-law is an inhabitant of this material world, the transcendental anklet cannot belong to her,” he said. In a view of confirming the situation he further told Lalita sakhi, “You belong to this material world, therefore my mind does not feel satisfied to part away with the anklet in your favor as you are just like the material entity and the transcendental ornament cannot belong to you.”

 Pointing at her ordinary dress he said, “Your ordinary garments speak of your poverty. An anklet embedded with Indraneel mani cannot belong to the daughter-in-law of a poverty-stricken lady under any circumstances.” He thought for a while and agreed on one condition, “However if your daughter-in-law comes before me to show the similar anklet on Her right foot, I will return the anklet in the presence of the villagers.”

 Srimati Radharani, the daughter of Sri Vrishabhanu who with Her companions was listening to the conversation of Sri Lalita sakhi and Sri Krishna Dasa from behind a creeper, felt that Lalita sakhi was no match to Sri Krishna Dasa as far as cleverness was concerned. Srimati Radharani came out and said, “O saintly person! You said that this transcendental anklet does not deserve to be given to any person of this material world, but don’t you know that all the objects of Vrindavan are transcendental? Does any ordinary person of this material world have the right to enter Vrindavan?”

 Cleverly Sri Krishna Dasa replied, “Your words that all the objects of Sri Vrindavan Dham are transcendental are absolutely true but those objects are not visible to the materially naked eyes. This land as known by the shastras and wise people looks earthly although it has touchstones and is filled only with desire trees.”

 Listening to the very clever answer of Sri Krishna Dasa, Lalita sakhi laughed mildly but keeping in mind the execution of her task, she said to Krishna Dasa, “Your observation is perfectly right. The anklet found by you is absolutely transcendental and it’s owner is also extremely transcendental in Her beauty, Her nature, Her dress, Her characteristics and above all in Her virtues.”

 Krishna Dasa felt little perplexed and pointing towards the old lady who was using mysterious phrases, he said, “I am unable to understand you as I lack wisdom. Moreover how can I know what you want me to do? Kindly explain to me in plain words what can I do for you?” Then Lalita sakhi disclosed their identity and with confidence said, “This lady standing to my right is the owner of this transcendental anklet. She is Srimati Radharani, the daughter of King Vrishabhanu. She is the resident of Yavat and the sweet heart of the King of Gokula.”

 This introduction of Srimati Radharani was enough for Krishna Dasa to be surprised and his body was charged with symptoms of ecstasy. He became dumbfounded and entered into a trance for some time. But after a while he regained his senses and with hesitation said: “I am afflicted with pain and fail to understand how the anklet of Srimati Radharani fell on the ground in the dancing arena. I want to know the complete event as my heart is feeling uneasy and restless.”

 Sri Lalita sakhi said, “You are the right person to know about this and thus I will reveal the whole story as it is to you.” Sri Lalita sakhi then narrated as follows:        When the night approached, at that very moment the moon, the Lord of the stars, appeared in the sky displaying its most beautiful features. When the full moon rose in the east, it tinged everything with a reddish color. With the rising of the moon, the whole sky appeared smeared by red kumkuma. The forests were filled with fragrant flowers. The atmosphere was cooling and festive.

Sri Shyamsundar was immersed in performing rasa lila. During the dance, a golden anklet named Manjugosha slipped from Radharani’s left foot and fell in the dancing arena. A  female parrot and a female monkey Samyagya uttered that the night was about to end and the sun was soon to rise. They warned that Jatila may soon come to know about the meeting between Radharani and Shyamsundar. Hearing the name Jatila from their mouths, Radha and Krishna decided to return to Their homes. Since Srimati Radharani left the place in a hurry, she did not notice the loss of Her anklet. She found the anklet missing only on Her arrival at Her home and was restless. The anklet had been gifted to Her by Her mother-in–law out of deep affection, the previous night. She expressed that either it had fallen somewhere on the way home or in the grove at the dancing arena. She advised the gopis to consult each other and decide the future course of action accordingly.

 At this, one of Her sakhis guessed that the anklet could have slipped and fallen on Her way back home. The other sakhi expressed the view that the anklet could have fallen somewhere in the grove. While this discussion was going on, wise Vrinda-devi appeared and consoled Srimati Radharani telling her that she had heard from the parrot named Vichakshan that a very fortunate person had found the anklet in the dancing arena. She advised that they go to the dancing arena to bring back the anklet from that person. She further advised that they would go with Radharani for that purpose. On hearing these words of Vrinda, all the sakhis told Radharani to go to the grove to get the anklet.

 Unveiling the purpose of their visit Lalita sakhi said, “Please return the anklet so that we can go back soon before the short-tempered mother-in-law of Srimati Radharani, Jatila, wakes up. You can have anything from us in exchange for this anklet.”        Hearing all this Krishna Dasa felt delighted and fell on the feet of Lalita sakhi. He took out the anklet from his upper garment, touched it to his head and gave it to Lalita sakhi. With folded hands he expressed his desire as follows:

 “Can I have darshan of your divine form?”

Affectionately Lalita sakhi said, “It is difficult, rather impossible, for you to have my darshan with the help of these material eyes.”

   Krishna Dasa replied, “I will be definitely able to have your darshan if you are kind enough to shower your mercy on me. Again I request you to kindly fulfill this desire of mine.”

 Lalita sakhi then empowered him with transcendental vision and showed to him her divine form. Having her darshan, Krishna Dasa trembled with ecstatic waves of love and fell unconscious on the ground, Sri Lalita sakhi touched him and he recovered.        Regaining his senses he requested her, “Please give me an opportunity to serve Sri Radha Shyamsundar in Goloka Vrindavana.”        But Lalita sakhi denied and said, “This can only be possible after you leave the material world. Kindly ask for something else.”         He then requested to have darshan of Srimati Radharani’s lotus feet. At this Lalita sakhi became worried but on hearing the humble request of Krishna Dasa, Srimati Radharani told Lalita sakhi as follows:

   “Give him My mantra and make him take bath in Radha Kunda. He will then take the form of a ‘Manjari’ and will be able to have My darshan. Please do not delay as Krishna Dasa is extremely dear to Me.”

 As per the directions of Srimati Radharani, as soon as Sri Krishna Dasa took bath in Radha Kunda after chanting the mantra, he attained the transcendental form of a ‘manjari’. Whoever saw him in that form, was perplexed. His body resembled molten gold, his waist was like that of a lion’s and his beautiful eyebrows were shaped like a bow to shake even Cupid. He wore fine silken clothes. Placing the anklet on his head, he entered the temple of Srimati Radharani. Presenting him at the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani, Sri Lalita sakhi requested, “Please place Your lotus feet on his head to consider him Your own follower.”

 Srimati Radharani gravely said, “In your previous birth you were Krishna-priya and was my companion. Because of this I will show My special favor on you by placing you among My own followers.”

 “Give the sign of My anklet on his forehead,” Srimati Radharani directed Lalita sakhi.

 As soon as Lalita sakhi touched his forehead with the anklet, his Harimandir tilak was converted into transcendental tilak of the shape of Srimati Radharani’s foot. Srimati Radharani took kumkum, sandal and camphor adorning Her body, mixed them with honey and rubbed them on a stone known as chandrakant. With the help of the front part of the anklet, She drew a bright round mark in between the Noopur Tilak on the forehead of Krishna Dasa.

 Lalita sakhi on seeing the round mark said to Radharani, “This new tilak adorning the forehead of Krishna Dasa will be known as ‘Shyam Mohan Tilak’. This sakhi (Krishna Dasa) upon whom Srimati Radharani has showered Her blessings has delighted Her very much. In view of this he will be known as Shyamananda from now onwards.”

   Vishakha sakhi seeing his new form addressed him as ‘Kanak Manjari’.

Srimati Radharani said to Kanak Manjari, “You are very dear to Me like Lalita and Vishakha because you have pleased Lord Krishna and has given pleasure to My own eyes.”

Sri Lalita and Vishakha sakhi while deeply appreciating these words spoken by Srimati Radharani, praised him and said, “Kanak Manjari has become glorious by Your grace. Having found Your anklet under a pomegranate tree in the grove, Kanak Manjari has attained a special status among Your companions. Saci, Savitri and other godly women will always long to sit near her feet because You have recognized her among Your distinguished companions.”

 Addressing Krishna Dasa Srimati Radharani said, “With all My associates you have given Me great pleasure. Now you go back to the material world to complete the assigned work and with My grace the remembrance of this event will go on giving you unlimited pleasure.”        Hearing these words Kanak Manjari started weeping in distress and with tears in his eyes said in the chocked voice to Srimati Radharani, “You had been very kind to bring me here to serve Your lotus feet. Please do not send me to the material world again. Please let me serve Your lotus feet only.”

 Hearing the most painful request of Kanak Manjari, Srimati Radharani felt deeply afflicted and fondling her head, She expressed, “You are My eternal companion yet you have been sent to the material world for a specific purpose. After your assignment of liberating the conditioned souls is completed, you will be called back to serve Me. Since your separation from Me is causing distress and you are experiencing unbearable pangs of separation, I am giving you a Deity which is very dear to Me. By serving Him with extreme love and devotion, you will be able to forget My separation and the desires of all the human beings will also be fulfilled by serving and seeing this Deity.”

 Saying this Srimati Radharani manifested the most beautiful and unique Deity of Sri Shyamsundar from Her lotus heart and gave to Kanak Manjari through Lalita sakhi. While delivering the Deity to Shyamananda Prabhu, She said, “O Shyamananda! The living entities affected by Kali-yuga are short lived and bereft of the Lord’s devotion. I am giving this Deity as a simple means of liberation of those living entities.”

 Srimati Radharani further instructed Shyamananda prabhu, “O Shyamananda! Beloved of Sri Krishna, I am giving you this Deity for the welfare of the world. You should yourself engage in His service and worship Him till your stay in the material world for the well being and liberation of the conditioned souls. After that you will come back to us for our eternal service.”

 Sri Lalita sakhi advised him, “O Shyamananda!! Do not narrate this pastime to anyone except Srila Jiva Goswami. If you dare to make it public, you will have to embrace death and you will be deprived of the service to Srimati Radharani.”

Sri Lalita sakhi assured him, “Whenever you are in trouble, you will have my darshan on chanting the divine Radha Mantra given to you by me.”        Srimati Radharani then disappeared with Lalita and Vishakha sakhis after bestowing Her grace upon him.

 After that Sri Krishna Dasa regained his past form and went out of the grove. His iron scraper had been converted into a golden scraper after having the touch of the anklet. With tears in his eyes and overwhelmed with ecstasy, Krishna Dasa presented himself before Srila Jiva Goswami in his hut bearing the Noopur Tilak on his forehead, Shyamananda written on his chest, the golden scraper under his armpit and the unique Deity on his head. Seeing Krishna Dasa Jiva Goswami was surprised. He noticed that the fair complexioned Krishna Dasa was now having a body with golden hue. His Harimandir tilak was changed to a new Noopur Tilak of the shape of Srimati Radharani’s lotus foot with a radiant round mark within it. The iron scraper had been converted into a golden one. Above these he was in possession of a wonderful, transcendental and marvelous Deity of Krishna.

  He asked, “O Krishna Dasa! Where had you been all this time? How has your complexion changed? You should tell everything to me sincerely. I think you have been definitely blessed either by Krishna or Srimati Radharani.” As a highly realized soul, Srila Jiva Goswami observed that something mysterious had occurred.

 Krishna Dasa took Jiva Goswami in a solitary place and narrated the whole story word by word in a chocked voice, with the clear warning of Lalita sakhi desiring him not to disclose anything to anyone except Jiva Goswami. Hearing about the transcendental favor bestowed upon Krishna Dasa by Srimati Radharani, he became mad with love of Krishna, felt delighted and started dancing. He started shedding tears out of deep love and embracing Krishna Dasa said, “You are the fortunate to be blessed one in this world as Srimati Radharani has  bestowed Her blessings to you. Just by touching you I am also feeling blessed by Her. In Vaishnava sect you will be known as Shyamananda, one who gave pleasure to Srimati Radharani and your tilak will earn fame as Shyamanandee tilak. The unique and transcendental Deity gifted to you by Srimati Radharani will be famous as Shyamsundar and He will continue to give darshan and liberate the conditioned souls. O Kanak Manjari! I once again say that you are the only blessed one in this whole world. ”

This Deity of Shyamsundar continues to give darshan even today in Sri Vrindavan Dham.

 Sri Sri Radha Shyamasundar:   

The temple is situated at Seva-kunj near Loi Bazaar in Sri Vrindavan Dham on the same road as the Radha Damodar temple.

Postal Address:

Sri Sri Radha Shyamsundar Mandir

Seva Kunj

Sri Vrindavan Dham – 281121

Mathura

Uttar Pradesh

India

Sri Sri Radha Damodar Temple:

Established in 1542 by Jiva Goswami this temple is located at Seva Kunj. The founder acharya of International society for Krishna Consciousness, Srila Prabhupada, spent his time here meditating on his mission and doing bhajans before establishing the society.

Sri Sri Radha Damodar:

 Established by Srila Jiva Goswami in 1542 in the holy dham of Vrndavan, the Deities of Sri Sri Radha Damodar were given to Srila Jiva Goswami by his guru, Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhupada and have been worshiped here since then. The bhajan kutir and samadhi of Srila Rupa Goswami as well as the samadhis of Srila Jiva Goswami, Krsnadasa Kaviraja Goswami, Bhugarbha Goswami and the bhajan kutir of Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada are present here also on the temple premises. Presiding Deities are Sri Radha Damodar, worshipped by Srila Jiva Goswami, Sri Radha Vrndavan Chandra, worshiped by Srila Krishna Dasa Kaviraja Goswami, Sri Radha Madhava, worshipped by Srila Jayadeva Goswami, Sri Radha Chalacikan, worshipped by Srila Bhugarbha Goswami, and Govardhan Sila, worshipped by Srila Sanatana Goswami.

Sri Sri Radha Damodar:

In 1516, a year after Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited Vrindavana-dhama, Srila Rupa Goswami and Srila Sanatana Goswami arrived there upon the order of the Lord to uncover the various lila-sthanas (pastime places) of Sri Krishna. They frequently traversed the entire land of Vraja and lived austerely, immersed in loving sentiments for the Divine Couple. During this time there was not a Temple in Vrindavana, only dense forests, so the Goswamis would live under the trees, under a thorn bush or in a vacant crocodile-hole. They remained for short periods to perform bhajana in Ter Kadamba, Varsana, Radha-kunda and the Radha Damodar temple area. Some years later, they were joined by their young nephew Sri Jiva, who took diksa from Srila Rupa Goswami and performed service at his lotus feet. According to Sri Radha-Krsna Goswami’s Sadhana-dipika, Sri Rupa was expert in drawing and preparing Deities. So it was that in 1542 he obtained a piece of black marble from the Vindya Mountains and in the sacred month of Damodar (Karttika), he personally carved, installed and offered a Deity of Lord Damodar to his intimate disciple Srila Jiva Goswami. Srila Jiva Goswami officially purchased land at Seva-kunja for thirty rupees in order to worship his beloved Lord. After the disappearance of Rupa and Sanatana, Jiva Goswami became the head of the Gaudiya sampradaya and the Radha Damodar Temple became famous as a seat of learning due to its vast library of rare books and manuscripts of the Goswamis. Some devotees are under the impression that the Deities of Radhadamodar in the Radhadamodar Temple in Vrndavan are not the original Deities of Srila Jiva Goswami. Some think that the original Deities now reside in Jaipur. However, this is not a fact. In 1670, when the Muslim fanatic Aurangazeb invaded Sri Vrndavana, he planned to destroy many temples and deface the Deities there. For this reason the principle Deities of Vraja were moved to the safe confines of the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan under the auspices of the Rajput kings. Most of the Deities remained there, such as Govindadeva, Gopinatha and Madana-mohana. The Radhadamodar Deities however returned to Vrndavana and have been worshiped there ever since. The Deities that replaced the originals in the temples of Govinda, Gopinatha and Madana-mohana are known as pratibhu-murtis which were installed and worshipped as substitute Deities by the Goswamis of those temples. All pratibhu-murtis are smaller in size than the original Deities installed by the acaryas, but it is worth noting that the Deity of Damodarji in Jaipur is smaller than the Deity in Vrndavana, thus further confirming that the original Deity of Sri Damodarji is in Vrndavana, whereas the pratibhu-murti is being worshipped in Jaipur today.

Sri Sri Radha Damodar Temple:

Before Sri Jiva’s disappearance in 1596, he left his Deities and library in the care of his successor Sri Krishna Dasa, the head pujari. The present sevaites are directly coming in line from his descendants.

…Other Deities worshiped here are the Radha Vrindavan-candra Deities worshipped by Krisnadas Kaviraj Goswami, the Radha-Madhava Deities of Jayadev Goswami, and the Radha-Chalacikana Deities of Bhugarbha Goswami. The original Deities were all moved to Jaipur… Original Radha Damodar Deities made by Rupa Goswami for Jiva (Jaipur)

Original Radha Damodar Deities made by Rupa Goswami for Jiva (Jaipur)

There is a Govardhan-sila in this temple that was worshiped by Sanatana Goswami. It has Lord Krisna’s footprint on it, and it was given to Sanatana Goswami by Krisna Himself. Sanatan was getting old and couldn’t circumambulate whole Govardhan any more (21 km)…

…Lord Krisna gave him this sila and told him that circumambulating this sila is as good as circumambulating the whole Govardhan Hill. For a small donation the pujari will show you this sila. You can see the imprints of Krisna’s footprint, walking stick, flute, and the hoof-print of a calf imbedded in the sila.

Samadhi of Jiva Goswami. Turning to the left entrance from the temple room, one goes into another courtyard. There one can find samadhi of Srila Jiva Goswami. In Gaura-gandodesa-dipika it is stated that he was actually Vilas Manjari. He was very found of Srimad-Bhagavatam even from his childhood and went to Navadvip to study Sanskrit. Nityananda Prabhu was his guide during Navadvip-parikram. After further studies in Benares he went to Vrindavan to help Rupa and Sanatan…

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.After their departure he was adviser and acarya of all devotees. Jiva Goswami consolidated the works of his uncles Rupa and Sanatana Goswamis and compiled twenty five books of over 400 000 verses. Srila Prabhupada writes: “To understand Lord Caitanya, one has to follow the direst descendants of Lord Caitanya – the Six Goswamis – and especially the path chalked out by Srila Jiva Goswami.” Later he sent the next generation of Vaisnavas (Srinivas, Narottam and Syamanada) to preach to Bengal with a cart full of books written by Goswamis.

Jiva Goswami consolidated the works of his uncles Rupa and Sanatana Goswamis and compiled twenty five books of over 400 000 verses. Srila Prabhupada writes: “To understand Lord Caitanya, one has to follow the direst descendants of Lord Caitanya – the Six Goswamis – and especially the path chalked out by Srila Jiva Goswami.”

Samadhi of Jiva Goswami (left) and Krisnadas Kaviraj Goswami (right). Samadhi of Krisnadas Kaviraj Goswami Krisnadas Kaviraj Goswami is the author of celebrated classic Sri Caitanya-caritamrita. Once, Sri Nityananda appeared to him in a dream and told him to go to Vrindavan. He became disciple of Raghunath das Goswami and lived near his spiritual master at Radha-kund. In 1581 he completed Caitanya-caritamrita and one year later he entered samadhi. Krisnadas Kaviraj Goswami is and incarnation of Kasturi Manjari, Radharani’s maidservant.

There are whole roads of different shrines and samadhis…

Puspa-samadhi of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati..

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.and puspa-samadhi of the king Birhambir who became Srinivasa’s disciple and transformed his kingdom into Vaisnava state and other vaisnava saints.

Samadhi of Srila Rupa Goswami is on another courtyard right to the altar.

In Gaura-gandodesa-dipika Sri Rupa Goswami is described as gopi named Rupa-manjari – young personal maidservant of Srimati Radharani. On the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Rupa Goswami wrote many books about the Vaisnava philosophy. Possibly the most famous of them is Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, translated into English as “Nectar of Devotion”. Rupa Goswami is protector and leader of devotees and his followers call themselves “rupanugas”. We can pray at his samadhi for his mercy so that at least little bit of transcendental glory of Vrindavan will be revealed to us.

This is his Samadhi

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Inside the samadhi

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Bhajan-kutir of Srila Rupa Goswami is just next to his samadhi

Between them there is sacred tamal tree. Tamal trees are very rare, hardly growing anywhere expect Vrindavan area. Their blackish bark resembles dark complexion of Lord Krisna. Gopis in time of intense fear or separation from their Lord began to embrace Tamal trees to get feeling of safety and His closeness

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Inside bhajan-kutir is small humble altar. In his last days Rupa Goswami gave all the manuscripts to Jiva Goswami, requesting him to write the commentaries. In 1564, on Sravan-dvadasi-pavitra, Sri Rupa Goswami entered samadhi. Jiva Goswami placed his transcendental body to his samadhi mandir, where it stands now

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In his last days Rupa Goswami gave all the manuscripts to Jiva Goswami, requesting him to write the commentaries. In 1564, on Sravan-dvadasi-pavitra, Sri Rupa Goswami entered samadhi. Jiva Goswami placed his transcendental body to his samadhi mandir, where it stands now…

..On that most holy day, the Goswamis, Raghunath Bhatta, Gopal Bhatta, Raghunath das and all the Vaisnavas in attendance proclaimed to Jiva Goswami: “From this day on, you are our master, and our leader.”

Shortly after Rupa’s disappearance, Jiva Goswami established a “Visva Vaisnava Raja Sabha”, a type of school or formal assembly to tech Sanskrit based on his own Hari-nama Vyakarana and the bhakti granthas of the Goswamis Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu (Rupa Goswami), Brihad-bhagavatamrita (Sanatan Goswami) ad Ujjvala-nilamani. Jiva Goswami was the most systematic preacher, and was soon acclaimed as the greatest philosopher in all of India.

Although Radha-Damodar temple was not large and ornate, it was once famous for its vast library, where Jiva Goswami neatly stored all the original manuscripts of the Goswamis.

Although Radha-Damodar temple was not large and ornate, it was once famous for its vast library, where Jiva Goswami neatly stored all the original manuscripts of the Goswamis.

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In 1670 demoniac Moghul Emperor Aurangzeb ruthlessly attacked Vrindavan Temples. Raiders, mistaking it for the private residence, didn’t defile the simple designed Radha-Damodar temple. But the Deities were moved to Jaipur before that. The temple priests implored the Jaipur king to return Deity and after a sixty-nine years in Jaipur, Radha-Damodar came home to Vrindavan. The Lord did not stay long, however, because a determined Maharaja Jai Singh prevailed upon Damodar’s priests to allow the Deity to move back to Jaipur, where He remains today

Prabhupada’s rooms
On the right side of the temple courtyard there are two rooms where Srila Prabhupada lived before his departure to America.

 

His small kitchen has a window (on the white wall behind) overlooking the samadhi of Srila Rupa Goswam

Srila Prabhupada often said he received great inspiration from Rupa Goswami

Simple living place of “Swami who is always writing”, how local people started to call him.

The worship in those rooms is carried out by Prabhupada’s disciples.

Srila Prabhupada lived here for nearly 6 years. He wrote and traveled to Delhi to publisher.

He was finishing the commentary to the first canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. This part was published in India before his departure.

 

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“I eternally reside in my rooms at the Radha-Damodar Temple,” said Srila Prabhupad many times

“When Krisna descended on the earth, He appeared in Vrindavan. Although I am presently living in America, my residence is in Vrindavan, because I am always thinking of Krisna. Although I may be in a New York apartment, my consciousness is there, and this is as good as living there.” Path of perfection, p.128

Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan Temple This 60 foot high temple was opened in 1580 on a 50 foot hill called Dvadasaditya Tila, next to the Yamuna. Built by Ram Das Kapur at the request of Sanatana Goswami this was the first temple to be built in Vrindavan, which at that time was just a forest. The deity of Krishna (Madana Mohana) was discovered by Sanatana Goswami. Worshiped along with Madana Mohana are Radharani and Lalita Sakhi.

 Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan;

Madanmohan means “one who can even enchant Cupid.” The Deity of Madanmohan (formerly Madan-Gopal) was made for Krisna’s great grandson Vajranabha and for many years it was lost. Advaita Acarya discovered the original Deity of Madanmohan (Krishna) in Mahavan-Gokul and served Him here at the base of an old “vat” tree. Before His departure for Navadvip He entrusted the Deity to brahmana Chaube in Mathura. Years later Caitanya Mahaprabhu sent Sanatana Goswami to Vrindavan to discover lost places of Krishna’s pastimes and write books about devotional service. Advaita Acarya used to performed his bhajana here at Advaita-vat at the base of the hill. Sanatan used to beg in nearby Mathura and one day came to doors of the brahman Chaube. He saw brahmana’s children playing with the Deity as if Madanmohan was one of them. Horrified Sanatan chastised Chaubha and taught him proper ways of Deity worship. Both Sanatan and brahman had a dream that night. Madanmohan appeared to Sanatan and told him, that he liked to be treated as one of the brahmana’s children and since Sanatan introduced so many rules, He don’t like it any more.

Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan

To Chaube, Madanmohan said that he is like one of his children. He told him that he had many children and he should give Him to Sanatan. Next morning both devotees wanted to apologize, but at the end Madanmohan went with Sanatan. But not before, the deity promised to Sanatan that He would be satisfied with whatever he will be able to offer. Sanatan, being traveling mendicant could not give much luxury to his Deity. Sanatana was practicing madhukari (begging from doors to doors) and he could offer to the Deity just dry bread balls. Madan-Mohan asked him, if he could give Him at least little salt. Sanatan replied he would like to but being dedicated to his bhajan couldn’t afford such a “luxury”. Shortly afterwards down the Dvadasaditya Hill, the merchant’s boat went aground in the Yamuna river. The owner Krisnadas Kapoor was worried about his goods and didn’t know what to do. Madan-Mohan took the form of small cowherd boy and led him upwards to Sanatana. Merchant described what happened, but Sanatan replied he couldn’t do anything about it, being just a sannyasi. But he told him to pray to Madan-Mohan Deity he had kept just humbly roofed nearby. The merchant did what Sanatan advised and few moments later his boat was released by rising of Yamuna’s waters. Sailing down to Agra and making big profit, he later under Sanatana’s direction began to construct temple for Madan-Mohan which became one of the symbols and dominant features of Vrindavan. Worshiped along with Madan-Mohan are Radharani and Lalita. They were sent to Vrindavan by Purusottam Sen, a disciple of Maharaja Prapatarudra. The original Madan-Mohan Deity was moved from Vrindavan to Jaipur when the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s soldiers attacked Vrindavan in 1670. That Deity is now in Karoli, which is southeast of Jaipur in Rajasthan.

Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan Temple 

Bhajan kutir of Sanatana Goswami

Sanatana Goswami was born into sarasvata-brahmana community in Bengal but was ostracized due to his acceptance of a ministerial post in the government of Hussain Sah. He served in the Muslim government and was high-ranking officer, but after meeting with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu he quit his post and for this he was imprisoned by the Nawab. With the help of some money left by his brother Srila Rupa Goswami, he was freed from jail and fled from the country. Sanatana Goswami later met Sri Caitanya in Banares and was instructed by Him in the science of devotional service, bhakti-yoga. Sri Caitanya told him to go to Vrindavan, write books about devotional service and rediscover the lost places of Krisna’s pastimes. Before Goswamis came to Vrindavan, it was just lost forest. Vrindavan’s glory was regained by the effort of great devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and especially by “Six Goswamis from Vrindavan”. Sri Sanatana Goswami is described in the Gaura-gandodesa-dipika (181). He was formerly known as Rati-manjari or sometimes as Lavanga-manjari. Manjaris are small girls – intimate maidservants of Srimati Radharani. Samadhi of Sanatana Goswami There are several places throughout the Vraja area where Srila Sanatana Goswami performed his bhajana, but the last days of his life he spent at Govardhan Hill. He departed from this world on Guru Purnima, while residing at Govardhan.’ .His body was brought to Vrindavan and placed in samadhi behind the Radha Madanmohan Mandir. Some of the books compiled by Sanatan Goswami were Hari-bhakti-vilasa, Brihad-bhagavatamrita, Dasama-tippani and Dasama-carita.