MATHURA...d city of Lord Krishna

In Hinduism, d Sapta puri or 7 cities hv been considered most sacred & Mathura is 1of dm. Mathura is d birth place of Lord Krishna whr he had killed d cruel king & his maternal uncle Kansa. In India, birth festival of Shri Krishna is celebrated as "Janmashtmi". According to d Hindu calendar, d festival is celebrated in d month of Bhadrapada (Aug-Sep) on d 8th day of d Krishna paksha (Dark fortnight). Although thousands of Krishna devotees frm around d globe arrive in Mathura daily bt ds figure hikes to Millions during d Janmotsav & fortunately i m also d lucky one to hv experienced celebrating Janmashtmi at d birthplace of Shri Krishna.

So my holy journey starts frm my city Indore by a direct Sleeper bus to Mathura via Gwalior & Agra. Don't be panic, Railway connectivity is also available b/w d two cities bt since my tour ws not pre-planned dts y i had to choose d former. There r a no of Bus operators available on ds route out of wch u can book any1 after reviewing their ratings & facilities on RedBus app. My personal suggestion for all d travellers is to travel by Bus if u haven't been in Gwalior & Agra before bcz ds Bus journey gives u a golden chance to view d historical fort of Gwalior & of course d beautiful Taj mahal in Agra. I know dt right now many of u r thinking dt it wud be only an unclear glimpse of Taj wch i saw bt it's not like dt; trust me i was able to not only view it clearly bt i'd photographed it as well frm d window of my Bus. I think d Bus operator must include sm extra charge of sightseeing in d fare. D Bus ws running with full speed on d Yamuna expressway; since d final stoppage of my Bus ws going to be in Delhi hence d Driver instructed all d passengers going to Mathura to get off dere beside d road at sm point called "Vrindawan cut".

Now here comes d dark side of my journey, after stepping out frm d Bus i saw dt dere ws nothing like a Bus stop & i ws confused whr to go & how to go as dere were no sign-boards. Dn sm locals passing by dere pointed towards a Pagdandi heading downwards to a ground wch ws covered with dust & garbage. So now v had to cross ds dirty ground as dere ws no other option available to us. On d way, i'd crossed a Railway line along with several other people & d line ws functional without any barriers/gates. Then finally v hv reached to smwhr looking like a Bus stop frm whr Buses were going to d nearby villages & Auto rickshaw were going to d Mathura city. So after waiting dere for almost half an hour for a vacant auto as all d Autos coming dere were too overloaded, v finally got d empty one dt dropped us to sm point in d city & thus we entered in Mathura. Bt still we had not reached to our stay as d Autos were prohibited to enter into d city due to d Janmotsav. So nw v had to book a Cycle rickshaw; i saw a very old man ws driving dt Rickshaw who ws not even able to pull d Rickshaw on d climb bt he ws trying hard. Due to his condition we had decided to get off frm d Rickshaw approx half km away frm our destination bt i'd paid him d complete amt. Dn after walking for a while v'd finally reached to our room in d noon almost after 3hrs since our arrival at Vrindawan cut. There r a no of Hotels, Lodge, Dharamshalas & Ashrams available here for accomadation.

After having a bath, now i cud feel d hungry mice jumping in my stomach so i went outside in search of a good Restaurant bt unfortunately i cudn't find any. Dn i googled & found dt dere is an architectural gate named d "Holy gate"& i can find sm quality Restaurants dere. So without wasting more time i decided to go dere to explore eating possibilities. Bt dere ws no conveyance available direct to Holy gate due to d barricading done by traffic police as dere ws huge rush in d city bcz of Janmotsav. If u r new to ds place dn u need to ask people for d right way dn smbody told me to go to another historical entrance gate dt is called "Deeg gate" & to book a cycle rickshaw frm dere directly to d Holy gate. So i followed d instructions & reached at d Holy gate. It ws an ancient gate surrounded by d local crowded market & finally here my search ended at a Restaurant named Shankar Foods. It ws a small Restaurant bt very neat & clean with decent staff & obviously with a tasty food.

By dn more dn a half day ws already gone so i'd decided to visit Vrindavan first rather dn d main temple of Shri Krishna Janmbhoomi temple in Mathura. Vrindavan is d place whr Lord Krishna spent his childhood & teenage years. The distance b/w Mathura & Vrindavan is approx 14km & dere were several Auto available for d conveyance. Most of d people arriving frm d local villages prefer to do only "Pad yatra" to cover d distance & due to d festival of Janmashtmi various group of such pedestrians cud be seen throughout my way to Vrindavan. Dn i'd reached to Vrindavan wch ws looking more developed & managed dn Mathura. Unlike Mathura, dere were a no of local food stalls & Restaurants available in Vrindavan. As per my observation, Vrindavan is far more better to stay rather dn Mathura. Here our next destination ws d famous Banke bihari temple & Nidhi van. Here a local pandit cum guide took us to d temple frm a short cut way passing through d narrow dark streets of Vrindavan & smhow v cud see d statue of Banke bihari as d temple ws literally flooded with d pilgrims & people were tangled up with each other without any space to move. After dt d pandit led us to d mysterious Nidhivan meanwhile describing abt d place in Brij language. D area of Nidhivan is covered with a plenty of Short length trees of Tulsi. I'd called ds place mysterious as d believers say dt Lord Krishna not only visits ds place bt he also conducts his Ras leela every single night here and deze trees convert to Gopis in d night & participate in d Ras leela. D locals believe dt nobody cud ever see ds Ras leela & those who hv attempted to do so hv lost their sight, speech or mental soundness. Here one thing i forgot to warn u abt & dt is d Monkeys who hv scattered in all over d area of Mathura-Vrindavan so pl be cautious while walking on d roads as dey can drag ur bag or evn pull off ur spects/goggles & break dm.

D very next day ws d festival of Janmashtmi & i ws d fortunate one to avail darshan labh of BalGopal roop of Lord Krishna at Shri Krishna Janmbhoomi temple on ds holy day at Mathura. As expected dere ws a huge crowd in d temple bcz everyone just wanted to get d blessings of Bhagwan Vasudev on his birthday. According to historians, d prison cell, popularly known as "Garbh griha" in d temple premise is d exact place whr Bhagwan Krishna took avatar or divine birth. D same day in d evening we again went to Vrindavan to visit Prem mandir & Iskcon temple. Prem mandir is dedicated to Radha Krishna as well as Sita Ram. This newly constructed temple is made out of white marble & is d most beautiful temple in d entire Brij area. Statues of Shri Krishna & his admirers, portraying essential occasions & scenes frm d Lord's life hv been depicted on d periphery of d temple. D lighting of d temple further enhances its look, especially during d night. Dn in d late evening i went to d Iskcon temple whr many of d foreigners along with other devotees were doing Keertan. On d auspicious day of Janmashtmi dere were several Prasad distribution counters running by d locals in all over Mathura & Vrindavan.

Next ws d key attraction of my journey for wch i'd come so far i.e. d grand celebration of d birth of Lord Krishna, for dt i'd chosen d beautiful Dwarkadheesh temple whr i planned to attend d Janmotsav at Midnight. I ws so excited to see dt event dt i'd reached d temple 2hrs before at 10:00PM. On d way to ds temple i'd enjoyed d taste of delicious Rabdi. Situated on d river Yamuna banks, Dwarkadheesh temple is d 2nd most visited temple in Mathura after d Janmsthan. D main attraction of d temple is d beautiful deity of Lord Krishna made up of black marble & deity of Radharani made up of white marble. D temple is having a good large premise built in Rajasthani architecture. D temple complex is very beautiful & attractive. Don't forget to buy Peda frm d adjacent market, since temple is very close to d Yamuna river so u can enjoy d boat ride followed by visit as temple opens at specific time intervals only.  

However, we were sitting in Mandir verandah & eagerly waiting for d midnight event of Lord's birth. D place ws getting crowdy bt still i ws feeling peaceful. Dere were sm Policemen appointed for d security inside & outside d temple  Shri Krishna ws born at midnight so d celebrations lead up to dt time after wch various pooja-path & rituals tk place in d temple. Approx half an hour prior to midnight, d priests start d preparations; dey close d curtains & provide bathe to d deity with milk & curd followed by changing d clothes. Meanwhile d Police & temple staff had managed d people in queues under d barricades. Everyone ws continuously staring at d curtains without blinking d eyes bcz noone wanted to miss ds opportunity to capture d very first image of their god after his incarnation. D bells had been ringing & d Bhakts r chanting prayers & cheering up with religious slogans. Now d much-awaited moment hs come at 00:00hrs, d curtains were opened with d roaring sound of Shankh & d mesmerizing image of Lord Krishna appeared in front of us. Dt moment ws so overwhelming dt i can't describe in words. Eyerybody ws filled with an unmatched zeal dt dey cudn't be able to bound themselves in any boundary like d queue. D people were not able to control their emotions & dey just want to break all d barriers b/w them & their god. Sm of d young guys in d crowd removed d barricades & came forward bcz dey just wanted to see their god frm d distance as much close as possible.

D celebrations dt happen in Mathura-Vrindavan r unique & people frm all over d world gather here to see d rituals & tk part in d celebrations. Most devotees like us spend d day in Vrindavan & go to Mathura in d evening to witness d birth of d lord himself. Although i feel bad to say dt management & basic facilities like water, transportation & cleanliness in such sacred shrine is not upto d mark, bt it can be tolerated for d sake of Krishna bhakti.           RADHE KRISHNA....