The Radha Gokulananda Temple in Vrindavan is the one of seven ancient temples (Sapt devalayas), established by the Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu & holds much significance for devotees.
Vrindavan, often hailed as the city of temples, boasts countless sacred sites, each with its unique story. However, certain temples stand as icon, deeply connected with the very identity of this holy city. The Radha Gokulananda Temple in Vrindavan is definitely one such iconic shrine. Revered as the oldest temple in Vrindavan.
You can have a glimpse of the temple here.
History
The temple is located between Kesi Ghat and the Radha-Raman Temple. Shri Loknath Swami built Radha Gokulanand Temple. Also, this temple was a place where Shri Loknath Swami, a great follower of Lord Krishna and friend of Sri Advaita Acharya, would sing and pray. People believe Shri Loknath Swami was like “Leela Manjari” in Krishna’s pastimes.
When Shri Loknath Swami was young, he went to Sri Navadwip Dham and asked Lord Chaitanya for help. Lord Chaitanya told him, “Go to Vrindavan and wait for me there.” But when Lord Chaitanya finally reached Vrindavan, he found out that Shri Loknath Swami had already left for Prayag after staying in Vrindavan for two months. Hearing this, Lokanath Goswami fainted.
When he woke up, he decided to go to Prayag the next morning. However, that night, Lord Chaitanya appeared in his dream and said, “Vrindavan is where I have all my fun stories. I want you to stay in Vrindavan and never leave. Vrindavan is just like me. Soon, Rupa Goswami, Sanatana Goswami, Raghunatha Bhatt Goswami, Raghunatha Das Goswami, Gopal Bhatt Goswami, and Jiva Goswami will all come to Vrindavan. I want you to live with them. Stay in Vrindavan, and you will always feel I am with you.”
Temple deities
In this temple, you can see the small Radha-Vinoda Deities of Lokanatha Gosvami. Besides them, there are the bigger Vijaya Govinda Deities of Baladeva Vidyabhusana, and the Radha Gokulananda Deities of Viswanath Cakravarti. Furthermore, the small statue of Krishna in front of Gokulananda and the statue of Caitanya Mahaprabhu were worshiped by Narottama Dasa Thakur.
Viswanath Cakravarti made arrangements to build this temple. Before this, all the statues in this temple were worshiped separately in their own small temples. Originally, Viswanath Cakravarti worshiped the Gokulananda Deity at Radha Kunda. Then, he moved to Vrindavan and lived with Lokanatha Gosvami. The place where this temple is now is where Lokanatha Gosvami used to pray. When the first temple of Radha-Vinoda fell apart, Viswanath Cakravarti built another temple and called it the Gokulananda Temple. Both his Gokulananda Deity and Radha-Vinoda were worshiped here.
Timings
Morning – 5:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Evening – 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Timings may slightly vary as per seasons.
