Goverdhana –The Hill that Fulfill all desires

Description

Govardhana, the Hill that Fulfils all Desires” is a virtual guide to this most holy place of pilgrimage for devotees of Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna appeared on earth more than five thousand years ago and enacted intimate pastimes with His dear most devotees who were hankering intensely for it. Govardhana Hill provided the most suitable atmosphere by which all the desires of the Lord were fulfilled in His intimate loving dealings with the devotees. Govardhana provided shelter to the devotees in Vrindavan when they were in distress having being tormented by the incessant torrents of rains being sent by the king of demigods, Indra. In order to further proclaim the glories of this greatest of hills, Govardhana, Lord Krishna Himself assumed the form of Govardhana in order to accept the offerings of His devotees in Vrindavan. One of the great disciples of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Rupa Goswami had written thus about Govardhana Hill:

“The holy place known as Mathurā is spiritually superior to Vaikuṇṭha, the transcendental world, because the Lord appeared there. Superior to Mathurā-Purī is the transcendental forest of Vṛndāvana because of Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa-līlā pastimes. And superior to the forest of Vṛndāvana is Govardhana Hill, for it was raised by the divine hand of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and was the site of His various loving pastimes. And, above all, the super excellent Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa stands supreme, for it is over flooded with the ambrosial nectarean prema of the Lord of Gokula, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Where, then, is that intelligent Person who is unwilling to serve this divine Rādhā-kuṇḍa, which is situated at the foot of Govardhana Hill?”

Simply put, Govardhana Hill is the shelter prayed for by the devotees to attain loving devotional service to Lord Krishna. A single visit to this king of the mountains assures one of liberation from the material existence, but more so guarantees one entrance into loving relationships with Lord Krishna. 

Bhakti Caitanya Swami and his crew spent tireless days and nights photographing all the places on and around Govardhana Hill. All the temples, shrines, lakes, Deities and often the most difficult ones were caught on camera and presented in this book that took more than three years in the making. Bhakti Caitanya Maharaja then accompanied each photos with vivid descriptions of the places and pastimes performed by the Lord with His devotees, thus assuring us of being intimately absorbed as we flip through the pages. There are also a large accompaniement of arts that were drawn especially for this book.

THIS BOOK IS A TRUE COLLECTOR’S ITEM AND MAKE A PERFECT GIFT.

Contents

Introduction

The History of Govardhana Hill . 9

Govardhana Hill: The Lord and the Best of the Lord’s Devotees . 12

The Performance of Govardhana Parikramā ..14

1.     Mānasī-gaṅgā and Dāna-ghāṭī
       1a. Mānasī-gaṅgā ..22
       1aa. The Appearance of Mānasī-gaṅgā … 22
       1ab. Mānasī-gaṅgā revealed to the Vrajavāsīs .  25
       1ac. Boating Pastimes on Mānasī-gaṅgā .28
       1ad. Other Pastimes at Mānasī-gaṅgā …..31
       1b. Mānasī-devī ..35
       1c. Brahmā-kuṇḍa ..36
       1d.Harideva ..37
       1e.Dāna-keli-kaumudī — Tax Collecting Pastimes near Mānasī-gaṅgā … 40
       1f.Rina-mocana-kuṇḍa …43
       1g. Through Govardhana Town ..44
       1h. Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa Temple ….44
       1i. Dāna-ghāṭī …..47
       1j. ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Āśrama ..53
        1k. Dāna-nivartana-kuṇḍa .. 57

2.   From Annakuta-kṣetra to Āniyora
     2a. Entering Annakuta-kṣetra ….62
     2b. Annakuta-kṣetra …..67
     2c. Āniyora-līlā ….68
     2d. Balarāma Temple, Āniyora .72
     2e.Saṅkarṣaṇa-kuṇḍa …75
     2f.Gopāla Prakaṭa-sthālī … 81
     2g. Mādhavendra Purī discovers Gopāla ….81
     2h. Sakṣi Gopāla Temple .. 84

3.   From Āniyora to Puncari
     3a. Indra becomes Offensive to Kṛṣṇa …… 86
     3b. Great Storm over Govardhana Hill ….88
     3c. Indra Surrenders to Kṛṣṇa … 98
     3d. Surabhīvana ..101
     3e.Madana-mohana Temple … 103
     3f.Nīpa-kuṇḍa ….103
     3g.Govinda-kuṇḍa ….104
     3h. Rādhā-Govinda Temple …..113
     3i. Rādhā-Gopīnātha Temple….. 113
     3j. Jagannātha Temple …..113
     3k. Rādhā-Śyāmasundara Temple ….114
     3l. Vallabhācārya’s Sitting Place..114
     3m. Gopāla Temple ….114
     3n.Mukhāravinda Shrine … 116
     3o.Indra Tila … 118
     3p.Gandharva-kuṇḍa … 118
     3q. Dauka Dauji Temple and Balarāma Mukut-śilā ….126
     3r. Forestry Station ….130
     3s.Apsarāvana …. 132

4.   From Puncari to Kadambavana
     4a. Puncari ….140
     4b.Nṛsiṁha Temple ….146
     4c. Naval-kuṇḍa …..147
     4d. Apsarā-kuṇḍa ….151
     4e. Which Route to Take? ….152
     4f. Lotha Baba Temple …..152
     4g. Other Temples ….155
     4h.Sutalavana ….157
     4i. Maṇi-kandalī …..161
     4j Śrīnivāsa Ācārya and Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura at Govardhana ….162
     4k.From Maṇi-kandalī to Indra-kuṇḍa, and the Blue Cows of         Govardhana Hill …166
     4l.Indra-kuṇḍa ….174
     4m.Airāvata-śilā ……174
     4n.Kadambavana …….176
     4o. Surabhī-kuṇḍa …..177
     4p.Airāvata-kuṇḍa …177
     5.Jatipur Area … 180
     5a. Harjiu-kuṇḍa ….180
     5b. Rudra-kuṇḍa .180
     5c.Jatipur ….180
     5d.Mukhāravinda ….183
     5e.Vallabhācārya’s Baiṭhāka (Sitting Place).184
     5f. The Samādhis of Vallabhācārya and Viṭṭhala …..185
     5g. Daṇḍavati-śilā …..187
     5h. Leaving Jatipur ….187
     5i. The Road to Govardhana Town …. 187

6.   From Govardhana Town to Rādhā-kuṇḍa
     6a. Sakhīsthalī …..194
     6b.Cakra-tīrtha….196
     6c. Lord Nityānanda at Cakra-tīrtha …..199
     6d. Lord Nityānanda meets Abhirāma Ṭhākura ……201
     6e. From Govardhana Town ….203
     6f. Uddhava-kuṇḍa …..203
     6g. From Uddhava-kuṇḍa to Rādhā-kuṇḍa ….211
     6h. Rādhā-kuṇḍa Town.212

7. From Rādhā-kuṇḍa to Mānasī-gaṅgā
     7a. Kusum Sarovara ….220
     7b. The Sanji Festival ….232
     7c.Uddhava Temple ….237
     7d.Banbihari Temple …237
     7e. Lord Caitanya has His first Darśana of Govardhana Hill … 242
     7f. Śyāmavana and Ratna-kuṇḍa … 244
     7g. Gvāla Pokhara ….246
     7h. Hanumān lifts Govardhana Hill …….248
     7i. Puṣpa-samādhi of Tribhuvanātha dāsa … 251
     7j.Pañca-tīrtha-kuṇḍa ….251
     7k. Mukhāravinda Temple ….251

8.   The Long Parikramā …………. 254
     8a. Pāpa-mocana-kuṇḍa ….254
     8b. Indra-dhvaja-tila …..256
     8c.Parāsauli and Candra Sarovara ……. 256
     8d.Petha … 259
     8e.Petha-līlā in Jagannātha Purī …………262
     8f. Gaurī-tīrtha ….263
     8g.Śyāmadhak ….268
     8h.Gāṅṭhuli and Gulāla-kuṇḍa … 270
     8i.Bichua-kuṇḍa …….272
     8j.Nimgaon ……274
     8k.Pali or Pāṭalgrāma …….276
     8l. Kuñjera/Navagaon ….278
     8m.Surya-kuṇḍa …… 280
     8n. From Surya-kuṇḍa to  Rādhā-kuṇḍa … 284
     8o. Mukharāi ..284
     8p.Nārada-kuṇḍa … 287
     8q. Yugala-kuṇḍa ….288
     8r. Kilola-kuṇḍa ….. 288

Epilogue ..