GOVIND DEVJI TEMPLE

The temple of Govind Dev Ji is one of the most sacred and famous tourist destinations in India. It is located in the City Palace complex, in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The deity, Govind Dev Ji, is none other than Lord Shri Krishna himself. It is believed that the image in this temple looks exactly how Lord Krishna looked during his incarnation on earth. The idol was originally kept in the temple of Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh and was later brought to Jaipur by Raja Sawai Jai Singh, a staunch devotee of Lord Krishna.

History
The idol of Lord Govind Dev Ji was brought by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II from Vrindavan to his own palace, Surya Mahal. The king was inspired by a dream, in which Lord Krishna told him to install the idol in his palace, to save it from being destroyed by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Later, he built his new palace, Chandra Mahal, which became his residence.

Legend
According to mythology, the idol of Lord Govind Dev Ji was sculpted by the great grandson of Lord Krishna, Bajranabh. Approximately, 5000 years back, when Bajranabh was just 13 years old, he asked his grandmother as to how Lord Krishna looked like. After getting the description, Bajranabh created an image of Lord Krishna. However, his grandmother said that only the feet of the image looked like those of Lord Krishna. He made a second image of him and was told that only its chest resembled Lord Krishna. Finally, he created a third image, about which his grandmother said, it was completely like Lord Krishna. This image was named 'Bajrakrit', meaning 'created by Bajra'.

The first one was called with the name Lord "Madan Mohanji". The second one got recognition as the Lord "Gopi Nathji ". And then third one was given the name as it was divine majestic holy image is LORD "GOVIND DEVJI".The beautiful and magnificent images of Radha-Krishna don’t allow the devotees to take off their eyes from the lovely view of the God and Goddess. Very unique 'Aartis' and 'Bhog' are offered to the deity daily at seven different times of the day. Every time when the Radha-Krishna Idols are revealed to the devotees, they are clothed in and decorated in a different manner. The Devotees visiting this sacred and auspicious place get the glance or 'Darshan' of the deities, reverberates the temple with the pious phrase "Jai Govind".

The idol of the Lord Govind Devji is taken out seven times everyday for 'Aarties' and 'Bhogs' which is mostly offered in the silver wares, containing mostly of sweets. Radha Krishna's idols are dressed in different styles and every time for the 'Aarti ‘in the day and the procession where a lot of followers or 'Bhakt' gather around the courtyard for the Darshan of Govind Devji Temple.

In this scared Land of Lord Krishna, the Cow holds a sacred position and is rightly being called as "Gau Mata" ( The Mother Cow ). As Cow plays a significant role in the lives of people and the economy of this Nation; the management of the Temple is committed itself to the security, service and betterment of the Cow and motivates the people at large to this benevolent and pious cause.

Thousands of devotees thronged the temple, especially during Janmashtami, to commemorate the birth of Lord Krishna. It has been said that Emperor Akbar donated red sandstone meant for building Red Fort at Agra for construction of this Govind Devji temple. The architectural style of temple is built in a pleasing amalgamation of Western, Hindu and Muslim architectural traits.

The number of Devotees to the Temple daily runs to thousands and to lakhs on Festive Days. Large numbers of people of Vaishnava Discipline who worship the Lord Vishnu avatar from Bengal, Bihar, and Manipur and Assam come here to pay homage and take a dive into this Celestial Stream of Boons and Blessings.

The Govind dev ji temple of Lord Radha-Krishna is surrounded by beautiful gardens and places, this garden specially has a name Talkatora; in this garden there are many attractions available for children and youngsters.

This temple over the year has become important and a popular temple in Jaipur. Today the Satsang hall developed in this temple is a Guinness Record also.

Time to Visit

The Govind Devji Temple of Radha Krishna in Jaipur is open Monday to Sunday From 05:00 AM To 09:00 PM

Timings and Daily Schedule of Worship, Aarti and “Bhog”:

• Mangala 5:00 am - 6:00 am
• Dhoop 8:30 am - 9:45 am
• Shringar 10:30 am - 11:15 am
• Rajbhog 11:45 am - 12:15 noon
• Gwal 5:30 pm - 6:00 pm
• Sandhya 6:30 pm - 7:45 pm
• Shayan 8:30 pm - 9:00 pm

It is believed that the image of the deity is brought from Vrindavan and Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh installed the idol here. Daily poojas includes aarties, which are conducted seven times a day. The temple premises always has large gathering during the Janmashtami festival. Janamashtami, the birth anniversary of Lord Shri Krishna celebrated with a very large scale in the temple.The festival falls on the Ashtami Tithi of Krishna Paksh of Bhadrapad month as per Hindu calendar, which is approximately mid of August.

Time to Visit

The Timing of the Askhardham Temple for Dharshan is 9 AM - 9 PM (Tuesday-Sunday). Closed on Monday. Murti Darshan: 9 AM to 7 PM, Exhibitions: 9 AM to 6 PM, Musical Fountain Show: 6.45 PM, Premvati Food Court: 11 AM to 10 PM from October to March, Murti Darshan and Exhibitions close one hour earlier.

How to Reach the Temple

Jaipur can be reached by trains from Delhi, Agra and Mumbai. Jaipur jointly facilitates with Delhi by National highway-8 and Jaipur is 259 KM far from Delhi in the south west direction.

One can reach the Govind Devji Temple after reaching Jaipur heading towards the temple through different ways like through local buses, Richshaws and taxis.