Vrindavan is a town of literally thousands of Krishna temples, some small and mostly unnoticed, some popular and festive. Many date back hundreds or even thousands of years and new ones are always springing up. Among the most visited is the Krishna Balaram Mandir (temple) which was personally established by Sri Bhaktivedanta Swami in 1975. The temple is situated in Raman Reti, Vrindavan, where it is said that Lord Sri Krishna displayed His lilas 5,000 years ago. Sri Krishna and his brother Balaram would herd their cows at Raman Reti near the Yamuna River.
Approaching the temple, one passes under a grand marble archway connecting the samadhi (sacred tomb) of Sri Bhaktivedanta Swami, with a matching structure used for greeting and feeding guests. Next, one descends a few steps to enter through the temples large ornate doorway and, passing over the checkered marble floor, one comes to a sunken, open courtyard which provides a charming space for celebrating festivals or for simply resting and taking in the divine atmosphere. Past the courtyard, one steps into the temple itself where kirtan is held and scripture is discussed at the foot of the three magnificent alters dedicated to, on the left, Sri Caitanya and Nityananda, in the center Sri Krishna and Balaram, and on the right Sri Sri Radha Shyamasundara (Radha and Krishna).
Around the courtyard are large panels which serve as frames for murals depicting, on the left, the lilas of Sri Krishna and, on the right, the lilas of Sri Chaitanya. Other murals are squeezed into corners or fill open spaces. Collected here are photos of just some of the murals, to give the viewer an idea of the temples beauty and spirit of devotion. The photos are by Gitapriya dasi and unfortunately I don’t know the identity of the artists who painted the murals. If any viewer has information about the artists please feel free to leave a comment. I’ve included verses, relating to the lilas depicted in the murals, as captions.
For more photos and video of the Krishna Balaram Temple one can follow the links below.
Kaustubha das
Photos of the Krishna Balaram Temple
Video of the Krishna Balaram Temple
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Comments
3 responses to “Murals of the Krishna Balaram Temple”
Beautiful.
Haribol Kaustabha Prabhu,
As far as I know, nothing bult ‘by the hands’ of man existed in Vrindavan b4, the holy sites of the Lord’s pastimes were excavated/revealed by the six Goswami’s (on the instructions of Lord Chaitanya?). This would have been only 500+ yrs ago. Whether there still exists, to this day, structires that date back to ‘thousands’ of years, is of course not important. Thanks for ur wonderful website. It inspires me.
Hi Chandra,
Thank you for your encouraging words. Regarding the dates of temples: whether the actual structures still exist, there were certainly temples in Vrindavan long before the Goswamis, temples where the seva continues today. Sri Chaitanya visited some of them himself. For instance, the Harideva Temple near Manasi Ganga is believed to have been established by Krishna’s great grandson Vajranabha, 4800 years ago.