Krishna ExperienceThe story
Advaita Acharya, a close associate of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, is said to have found the deity of Madan Mohan at the foot of an old banyan tree. It passed to a Mathura brahmin, Purushottam Chaube, and then to Sanatana Goswami, the eldest of the six Goswamis, who carried it to a hill beside the Yamuna, Dvadashaditya Tila, and worshipped it in a simple hut.
One day a merchant from Multan, Kapur Ram Das, found his boat stuck on a sandbank below the hill. He climbed up, met Sanatana, prayed to Madan Mohan, and the boat floated free. In gratitude he built the temple, around 1580. It is regarded as the oldest surviving temple in Vrindavan.
Where is the original deity?
In the late 17th century, when Aurangzeb's armies threatened Braj, the deity of Madan Mohan was taken to Rajasthan for safety, first to the Jaipur region and later to Karauli, where Raja Gopal Singh built a temple for it. It is still worshipped there. Vrindavan's Madan Mohan temple, rebuilt at the foot of the hill in the 19th century, worships a later image.
See it on the ParikramaMadan Mohan is stop 4 on the Vrindavan Parikrama, where the monkeys are boldest.Visiting
- Climb the steps to the old tower for the view over the old riverbed; the Yamuna has moved away from this bank over the centuries.
- Sanatana Goswami's samadhi and his bhajan kutir (place of worship) are beside the temple.
- Monkeys: this is where they are boldest. Put spectacles and phones away before climbing.
- Temple hours follow the usual Vrindavan pattern of morning and evening darshan with an afternoon closure; we have not found a reliable published schedule, so ask at the gate.
Questions people ask
Is Madan Mohan the oldest temple in Vrindavan?
It is generally regarded as the oldest surviving temple, built around 1580 under Sanatana Goswami’s guidance.
Where is the original Madan Mohan deity?
In the Madan Mohan temple at Karauli, Rajasthan, where it was taken for safety in the late 17th century.