Goverdhan is a small town located around a famous and loved hill called Goverdhan. Located 26 km west of Mathrua, it is one of the favorite places of Lord Krishna where he used to go, play and take his cow herd to graze. It is one of the places where I feel like going again and again. You end up being nostalgic whenever you visit this place.
The Place
Goverdhan hill which is affectionately called “Giriraj ji” (King of mountains) is the only hill that can be seen at this location. It seems to be strange to find a hill in an area with plain topography. It is the hill that was lifted by the Lord Krishna on his little finger when the place went through a cataclysmic rainfall. The whole place is covered with greenery, beautiful lakes and magnificent temples. Almost every stretch of this place, specially the hill is associated with some or the other stories and legends associated with the Lord Krishna. The place is visited by millions every year who come here to feel the closeness with the Lord Krishna as one can find his presence all over.
Legends Associated with this Place
Goverdhan hill is said to be born through the chest of Lord Krishna in his supreme abode Golok. Lord Krishna gifted Goverdhan to Vindhyachal Mountain as his son. There was a sage called Pulatsya who used to reside in Varanasi or Kashi that is situated on the banks of River Ganga. He learnt about Goverdhan’s birth and wished to bring such a pious hill to Kashi. He went to Vindhyachal and asked him to allow him to take the hill to Kashi. Goverdhan reluctantly allowed him but Goverdhan was not very eager to go with the sage. He asked the sage how will he take the huge hill so far away, Pulatsya assured him that through the yogic powers he has, he will take the hill on his hand and will fly away till Kashi. Goverdhan agreed to sages requests on a condition that he will not put him on the ground until he reach Kashi else Goverdhan will get settled wherever the sage put him.
The sage agreed and lifted him. He effortlessly held the hill on his hand and flew away. On the way they crossed the Brajbhoomi where Lord Krishna was to be born in the future and Goverdhan didn’t wanted to go anywhere else. He started becoming heavy. The sage felt tired and decided to rest a while. He placed the hill on the ground to rest a little. After resting for a while, the sage tried lifting the hill. He couldn’t. He utilized all the divine and yogic powers he had but he couldn’t budge the hill from that location. He requested Goverdhan to cooperate but the hill reminded him of his condition of not putting him down. Sage got enraged and cursed the hill that everyday it will keep on eroding till a day when it will completely flatten. Goverdhan used to be a tall mountain then and today it is left just 25 meters high.
When lord Krishna took birth, he used to visit this place quite often and when the Braj faced catastrophic rainfall, the lord lift the mountain as a giant umbrella and helped the people survive.
How to Reach
There are various routes through which one can reach Goverdhan.
1) Through Kosi Kalan, a small town between Delhi and Mathura. It takes about 2 hours approx on the local tempo etc plying on this route. You pass through Nandgaon and Barsaana while taking this route.
2) Through Mathura/Vrindavan which takes about 45 minutes to reach.
Parikrama ( Circumambulation)
One who does a Goverdhan Parikrama is said to get moksha. The Parikrama is 21 Km long and is divided into two parts, larger and smaller Parikrama. The larger one which is a Parikrama around the hill is approx 11 km and the other one around Radha Kund is approx 10 km long. The circumambulation starts either at Jaitpur or at Mansi Ganga or at Dan Ghati and can be completed in 6 to 8 hours. Manasi Ganga is a close ended lake which is considered to be a presence of River Ganga itself. In the temple that is built here there are stones that carry the handprints of Lord Krishna and Radha. Also the Peacock feather crown is engraved on a rock that is prayed as Lord Krishna and Giriraj Ji. Not only here, there are several places where the hand and foot prints of the god can be seen and recognized engraved on the rocks. When lord played his flute, the melody used to be so magical and sweet that to listen to it Yamuna used to stop flowing, the air used to become fragrant and cool, and the hill used to melt and flow. The molten rocks retained the prints of the God’s presence after solidifying.
On the way, one comes across a beautiful lake called Govind Kund which reminds one of some lake coming out of mythological stories. Full of swan, birds, greenery, herds of cows, temples on the bank and the mystical Goverdhan on the one end. I don’t wish to go anywhere after reaching this place and feel like playing my flute the whole day. You can listen to the importance of this place by the sages dwelling around it in their ashrams. On following the old Parikrama path you can come across the place where the God lifted the hill. There is a temple built on the summit to mark the location. The old Parikrama path is full of lush greenery and pretty wild life. You can see wild bucks, deer; peacocks etc making the place look as untouched as it used to be 5000 years ago. The hill no longer have much of the green cover left any more that seems to be painful.
While returning one gets a feel of getting away from some known or accomplice who would be missed for a long time to come.