The Shrinathji Temple In Nathdwara

A famous and ancient temple dedicated to the child form of Lord Shri Krishna is present in Nathdwara, Rajasthan. Read on...

- Srikant

There is a beautiful temple dedicated to the child Shri Krishna in a small town called Nathdwara, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Nathdwara is located at about 48 Kms from the City of Udaipur and is famous for its ‘Pichhwai’ paintings. There is a temple located on the banks of the Banas River.Shri Krishna is worshipped as ‘Lord Shrinathji’ in this temple.

The term ‘Nathdwara’ implies ‘Gate of the Lord’. Lord Shrinathji represents the child form of Sri Krishna, who once lifted the mighty Govardhana mountain with his little finger and protected the cowherds and innocent people of Vrindavan from the incessant downpour of rain caused by Indra, the king of Devas. Lord Shrinathji is also worshipped as ‘Govardhana Giridhari’ in this temple at Nathdwara.

As per the temple mythology, the idol of Lord Shrinathji was originally enshrined at ‘Vraja Bhoomi’at Mount Govardhanain Vrindavan, near Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. In the 17th century A.D, this image of Lord Shrinathji was secretly brought by Rajput Kings to Mewar in Rajasthan to protect it from Aurangazeb, the evil minded Mughal Emperor. The chariot carrying the image of Lord Shrinathji stopped moving and got stuck at Nathdwara. The priests and Hindu religious leaders of that region considered it as the will of Lord Shrinathji. A temple was built by Goswami priests in 1672 A.D in this holy place, with the approval of Maharana Raj Singh of Mewar.