Information of Radha Gokulananda Temple, Vrindavan, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh

Radha Gokulananda Temple is an ancient temple which is situated between the Kashi Ghat and Radha Raman Temple of Vrindavan. It was perceived and created by Lokenath Gosvami with the assistance from Viswanath Cakravarti. This delightful temple houses small idols of Lokenath Gosvami and large idols of Vijaya Govinda. Apart from that, there are idols of Radha Vinoda, Radha Gokulananda and lord Chaitanya. Traditionally these idols were worshipped in their respective shrines. However, it was the dream of Vishwanath Cakravati who transported these idols to be worshipped together under one singe temple which is known as Radha Gokulananda Temple.

Radha Gokulananda Temple Religious Significance

The key idols of Radha Gokulananda Temple are Radha Vinodawhich is worshipable deities of Thakur Vishvanath Chakraborty. Devotees from all over India, pay a visit in order to observe the deities resided in Radha Gokulananda Temple. It is believed that Thakur Vishvanath Chakraborty who arrived as successive disciple of Lokenath Gosvami, established the worship of Radha Gokulananda in Vrindavan. In this temple, Radha Vinoda and Thakur Vishvanath Chakraborty had spent considerable amount of time by worshipping Radha Vinida. Later this wonderful temple was created for the honour or Lord Radha Krishna. The idol of guru Chaitanya which is situated in Radha Gokulananda Temple was personally worshipped by Thakur Narottam Das. Furthermore, there is a Govardhan Shila in this temple which was captivated with guru Chaitanya's own fingerprint, which he individually gave to Lokenath Gosvami.It was considered that the shila was saturated with the tears of lord Chaitanya.

Radha Gokulananda Temple Mythology & History

Legend says that when Lokenath Gosvami was living at Kishori Kund, a Brahman appearedbefore him and gave him a bag as a donation. When he opened the bag, there was beautiful idols of Radha Vinoda. On that time, he was astonished to see them. Afterwards, in a dream, the idols told Lokenath Gosvami that they were hungry and hence he should make nice preparationsfor offering bhog in a regular manner. Hence, Lokenath Goswami started to serve and worship Radha Vinoda with great sincerity and dedication. In later phase, in response with the invitation of Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami, Lokenath Gosvami shifted to Vrindavan with his idols and created the Radha Gokulananda Temple.

According to Hindu mythology when the original temple of Radha Vinoda destroyed, Viswanath Cakravati created another temple named Radha Gokulananda Temple. In this temple, both the idols of Gokulananda and Radha Vinoda are worshipped. Originally, there was no idol of Radharani in Radha Gokulananda Temple. Later, Jahnava Devi created an idol of goddess Radha and installed next to the idol of Radha Vinoda in Jagannath Temple of Puri. The temple where the idol of Radha Vinoda was installed ultimately fell apart. At present, the idol is existed in Radha Gokulananda Temple. This original idol of Radha Vinoda is also worshipped in Jaipur city. This idol was shifted to Jaipur in order to safeguard it from the assault of Muslims in Vrindavan. Radha Gokulananda Temple also contains replica of the original deities of Radha Vinoda. It is believed that there is no difference in effectiveness between the original deity and the replica of Radha Vinoda.

Radha Gokulananda Temple Architectural Significance

Radha Gokulananda Temple was created on the basis of Hindu architectural style. The key attraction of the temple is idol of Radha Vinoda. Below the Radha Vinoda idol, there is the idol of Radha Gokulananda. In the right side of Radha Gokulananda's idol, there is another idol of Radha Vijay Govinda. The temple also houses govardhan shila which is a sacred stone of direct manifestation of lord Krishna. Overall, Radha Gokulananda Temple is a quite religious place having rich mythology.