Vrindavan

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Situated just 15 kilometers away from Mathura and 60 kilometers away from Delhi, Vrindavan is a sacred destination of the Hindus and is valued for its association with the life of Lord Krishna. There are as many as 4,000 temples in Vrindavan, most of them devoted to Lord Krishna.

Vrindavan is also connected to the life and times of Krishna. In fact, Vrindavan boasts of the largest cluster of temples in the Braj region. Most of these temples are very old and can be easily classified as 'Ancient Temple'. The place had a huge Jungle in the days of Krishna. The city includes many hundreds of temples dedicated to the worship of Radha and Krishna and is considered sacred by a number of spiritual traditions such as Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Vaishnavism, and Hinduism in general.

Vrindavan is famous as the place where Krishna indulges in adolescent pranks like flirting with milkmaids and stealing their clothes while they bathed in the river. Krishna, his brother Balarama and his cowherd friends stole butter, engaged in childhood pranks and fought with demons. Besides these activities, Krishna is also described as meeting Radha.

Today, Vrindavan is renowned for its numerous temples. The massive red sandstone Gobind Dev Temple is the most inspiring building in Vrindavan. The name means in Hindi, 'Divine Cowherd' or Krishna. Architecturally Gobind Dev Temple is one of the most striking Hindu temples in northern India. It was constructed in the year 1590 by Raja Man Singh of Amber. Other major significant temples in Vrindavan include Madan Mohan Temple built by Kapoor Ram Das of Multan, Banke-Bihari Temple, built in 1864, Radha Vallabh Temple set up by the Radha - Vallabh Sampradaya, Shah Ji Temple, built by Shah Kundan Lal of Lucknow and Ranga Ji Temple, built in 1851.