Brindavan

(“tulsi forest”) Small town in the
Mathura district of the state of Uttar
Pradesh, which is the town in which the
god Krishna is supposed to have lived
during his childhood. Although every
place in Brindavan is associated with the
life of Krishna and is full of temples dedicated to him, one particularly important
place is the Chir Ghat, at which Krishna
stole the gopis’ clothes as they were
bathing (snana) in the Yamuna River.
(The gopis were female cowherds who
were companions to Krishna during his
youth.) An interesting architectural site
is the Gobind Deo Mandir, built in 1590,
which has a vaulted ceiling. This latter
temple is also notable for its lack of exterior ornamentation, perhaps to avoid
antagonizing the nearby Moghuls. For a
description of the sacred life in
Brindavan, see John Stratton Hawley, At
Play with Krishna, 1981. See also
Moghul dynasty.