Shri Bankey Bihari Temple: Mandir info, History, Timing, Photos, Location

About

Shri Bankey Bihari Temple is one of the most popular Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Krishna, in the holy city of Vrindavan in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated near Shri Radha Vallabha Temple.

History and Architecture

The Bankey Bihari Mandir was constructed in 1864 with the contribution of Goswamis. After the construction of the temple, Goswamis transferred the idol to this temple. Bankey Bihariji is worshiped and looked after as a child by Swami Haridas was the reincarnation of Lalita, of the inner consortium of Lord Krishna. By tradition, the Sewa is performed by descendants of Jagannath Goswami to date. The temple is an architectural beauty in itself and follows the contemporary Rajasthani style. There are no bells or conch in the temple because Bankey Bihari does not like the sound of bells or conch.

Puja and Festivals

It is said that in Brij Mandal you have more festivals than the number of days in a year. Phoolon ki Holi(Holi with Flowers) is an awe-inspiring one-day festival celebrated some days before Holi in Bankey Bihari Temple. Some major festivals observed in this temple are Holika Dahan, Hariyali Teej, Krishna Janmashtami, Radha Ashtami, Guru Purnima, Roop Chaturdashi, Annakoot and Bihar Panchami.

How To Reach

By Road: Vrindavan is situated on Delhi-Agra NH- 2 and the various buses run between the Agra and Delhi. Temple is 7 km. away from National Highway. Getting to Temple is very easy as there are frequent tempos and rickshaw available throughout the day. Mathura is just 12 km away. Frequent buses, tempos, and taxies run between Mathura and Vrindavan.

By Train: The major railway station nearby is Mathura on the Delhi-Chennai and Delhi-Mumbai main line. Several express and passenger trains connect Mathura from other major cities of India like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Calcutta, Gwalior, Dehradun, Indore, and Agra. Though Vrindavan itself is a railway station. A railbus runs between Vrindavan and Mathura 5 rounds in a day.

By Air: The nearest airport is Agra just 67 km away from Vrindavan. The nearest international airport is Delhi, which is connected to almost every important city in the world with major airlines. There are regular flights to other important tourist destinations of India such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai, etc.

History

Inside the temple premise, the image of Bihariji installed is the one granted to Swami Haridas by the celestial couple Shyama -Shyam themselves. Devotees say the Lord himself appeared in person with his divine consort and left back a black charming image before disappearing.

Legends say Swami Haridas ji was born to Shri Ashudhir and his wife Smt Gangadevi on the day of Radha Ashtami . Radha- Ashtami was famed as the eighth day of second (bright) fortnight of Bhadrapad month of the year 1535 Vikrami. As per the mythology he was born in a small village which is now known as Haridaspur, near Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. The linage of the family can be dated back to Shri Gargacharya. Shri Gargachrya was the kulguru (family guru) of Yadavs and visited Brij for conducting the Namkaran Samskar (naming ceremony) of young Krishna and Balram on the request of Sri Vasudev. And then the branch of the family shifted to Multan which is now in Pakistan.