Radha Damodar Temple, Vrindavan

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Shri Radha Damodar Temple
Radha Damodar Temple.JPG
Radha Krishna murtis at center along with their other forms.
Religion
Affiliation Hinduism
District Mathura
Deity Radha Damodar
Festival Janmashtami, Radhashtami, Holi, Sharad Purnima, Kartik Purnima
Location
Location Vrindavan
State Uttar Pradesh
Country India
India Uttar Pradesh location map.svg
Om symbol.svg
Location in Uttar Pradesh
Geographic coordinates 27°35′01″N77°41′45″E / 27.5836°N 77.695743°E / 27.5836; 77.695743
Architecture
Founder Jiva Goswami
Completed1542 CE
Website
https://www.radhadamodarmandir.com/

Shri Radha Damodar Temple is a Hindu temple, dedicated to Hindu deities Radha and Krishna. The temple is situated in Vrindavan of Indian state Uttar Pradesh. In the temple, Krishna is worshiped in the form of Damodar with his consort Radha. It is one of the main seven Goswami temples of Vrindavan. The temple belongs to Gaudiya Vaishnavism tradition and was founded by Jiva Goswami in 1542 CE. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

History

Radha Damodar temple in Vrindavan Radha Damodar temple in Vrindavan.jpg
Radha Damodar temple in Vrindavan

Shri Radha Damodar Temple was first established by Jiva Goswami in the year 1542 C.E. and was located at Seva Kunj of Vrindavan. Later, In 1670, when the Muslim emperor Aurangazeb invaded Vrindavana, [4] the original deities Radha Damodar were shifted to Jaipur for some time and when the social conditions became favourable, deities were brought back to Vrindavan in the year 1739 C.E. The deities Radha Damodar have been served in Vrindavan since then. [5] [6] Before the disappearance of Jiva Goswami in 1596, he left the deities in the care of his successor Krishna Dasa, the head priest. Presently, the descendants of Krishna Dasa are serving the deities. [2]

Significance

Giriraj Shila inside Radha Damodar temple. Banke bihari (456).JPG
Giriraj Shila inside Radha Damodar temple.

The temple is one of the ancient temples of Vrindavan. It is among the seven significant temples of Vrindavan which includes Radha Madan Mohan temple, Radha Gokulnanda temple, Radha Raman temple, Radha Govinda temple, Radha Gopinath temple and Radha Shyamsundar temple. [7] The temple also houses the Giriraj Shila having the footprints of Krishna which was believed to be given to Sanatana Goswami by Krishna himself. [3] According to popular belief, four parikramas (circumambulation) of the Radha Damodar Temple is equal to one circumambulation of Govardhana Hill. [8] There are also samadhis of many Gaudiya saints including Rupa Goswami, Jiva Goswami and Krishnadasa Kaviraja [9] inside the premises of the temple. Founder of ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada also stayed in this temple for six years before heading to the United States of America to preach about Krishna. [2]

Temple deities

Deities of Radha Damodar Temple Banke bihari (454).JPG
Deities of Radha Damodar Temple

Along with Shri Radha Damodar ji and Giriraj Shila, the other deities worshiped in the temple are - Shri Radha Vrindavanchandra Ji, Shri Radha Madhav Ji, Shri Gaur Nitai and Shri Jagannath Dev Ji. [2]

Temple timings

The time zone (UTC+05:30) observed through India by the priest [3] -

Morning - 4:30 AM to 1:00 PM

Evening - 4:30 PM to 9:00 PM

See also

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References

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  8. "Radhadamodar Govardhan sila". www.salagram.net. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  9. .Samadhi of Shri Krishna Das Kaviraj at Shri Radha Damodar Temple, Vrindavan.