{"id":724,"date":"2008-12-22T13:58:04","date_gmt":"2008-12-22T18:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/?p=724"},"modified":"2008-12-22T13:58:04","modified_gmt":"2008-12-22T18:58:04","slug":"radha-govinda-temple-photos-by-robert-stoetzel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/2008\/12\/22\/radha-govinda-temple-photos-by-robert-stoetzel\/","title":{"rendered":"Radha Govinda Temple \/ Photos by Robert Stoetzel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n\n

divyad-vrndaranya-kalpa-drumadah
\nsrimad-ratnagara-simhasana-sthau
\nsri-sri-radha-srila-govinda-devau
\npresthalibhih sevyamanau smarami<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a temple of jewels in Vrndavana, underneath a desire tree, Sri Sri Radha Govinda, served by Their most confidential associates, sit upon an effulgent throne. I offer my humble obeisances unto Them. [Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 1.16]<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Radha Govinda Temple is seen as one of the most impressive examples of North Indian architecture. It sits in the middle of the Yogapitha<\/em>, the sacred place where Radha and Krishna would meet.<\/p>\n

The deity of Govinda, believed to have been established thousands of years ago by Krishna\u2019s grandson Vajranaba, was rediscovered by Srila Rupa Goswami<\/a> in the 16th century. The construction of the temple was begun under the direction of Raghunath Bhatta Goswami<\/a> and his disciples, headed by Raja Man Singh (a general in the Army of Emperor Akbar) and was completed in 1590. Jiva Goswami<\/a> praised Emperor Akbar in his Govindam Mandir Astakam<\/em> (Eight Prayers in Glorification of the Govinda Temple), which is carved into the temple\u2019s stone. The inscription reads \u201cEmperor Akbar<\/a> is a very kind-hearted person and a Vaishnava<\/a>. I give my blessings to Emperor Akbar. In his kingdom all the Vaishnavas are living very peacefully.\u201d<\/p>\n

Less than 100 years later Emperor Aurangzeb<\/a> ordered the temple\u2019s destruction. Before his soldiers arrived the deities of Radha and Govinda were moved. They now reside in the grand Govindaji temple in Jaipur.<\/p>\n

Before its destruction the temple stood seven stories high. Just two stories remain. Still, the Radha Govinda Temple remains a towering monument to Lord Govinda and a place where one can feel a connection to the great saints of the past and the history of Krishna devotion in Vrindavan.<\/p>\n

Kaustubha das<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robert Stoetzel is a New York based photographer traveling and photographing in India trough March 2009.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Related Posts<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"SLIDESHOW:<\/strong> Striking photos of Vrindavan’s Radha Govinda Temple by Robert Stoetzel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[13,46,51,52],"class_list":["post-724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-collected","category-photoslideshow","tag-art","tag-rupa-goswami","tag-sixgoswamis","tag-slideshow"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/724\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bhakticollective.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}