ART-0509 Jaipur: The Pink City and Residence of Radha Govindaji

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Jaipur is a holy place for worshippers of Krishna.

 Jaipur Deities and Temple

The great-grandson of Krishna, Vajranabha, had three deities of Krishna carved. He never saw Krishna, so the deities were carved according to the description given by Uttara, the mother of Maharaja Pariksit, who succeeded Maharaja Yudhisthira. However none of the three different deities carved were perfect:

Govindaji resembled Krishna’s lotus face; Madana Mohana resembled Krishna from the navel down to the lotus feet, and Gopinath resembled Krishna from the navel up to the neck. Govindaji and Gopinath are in Jaipur and Madana Mohana is in Karoli.

Radha Govinda Temple

The beautiful black marble deity of Shri Govindaji was originally installed 5000 years ago by Vajranabha. However, over time the deity was lost until it appeared in a dream to Shrila Rupa Goswami 500 years ago and revealed to him where it lay buried. Later Shri Govindaji was installed and worshipped by Rupa Goswami in Vrindavan. Around 1728 Shri Govindaji was brought to Jaipur to keep the deity from being destroyed by the Moghul invaders.

The devotees of Govindaji rush eagerly to mangala-arati at 5am. The ceremony draws 5000 people every morning!

Radha Gopinath Temple

These are the deities that were worshipped by Madhu Pandit Goswami and discovered at Vamsivata in Vrindavana by Paramananda Bhattacharya, the disciple of Gadadhara Pandit. This temple has beautiful carved silver doors and beautiful paintings on the wall. The ceiling is adorned with paintings of rasa-lila, a dance performed by Krishna with the gopis (cow-herd girls).

There are many other temples in Jaipur, housing beautiful deities of significant historical significance.

Jaipur is also famous for its beautiful pink buildings constructed under the direction of King Jai Singh. His palace still stands opposite the temple of Radha Govindaji, so that he could easily ‘take darshan’. The king also constructed an astronomical observatory that is still open to visitors. The city was built on ancient architectural principles. Its name means ‘the city of victory’.

Jaipur is located 200 miles from New Delhi and is directly west from Mathura and Vrindavana. Together with Delhi and Agra it forms what is called ‘the golden triangle’.