Nathdwar Sri Nathji Temple

This small town is famous as the home of Sri Nathji, one of the most popular Deities of Lord Krishna in India. The name of the town means “Doorway to Nathji.” Nathdwar is very crowded on Janmasthami and during Govardhan Puja.

Nathdwar is located 48km northeast of Udaipur, in Rajasthan, on the right bank of the Banas River.

Sri Nathji Temple
Sri Nathji is a beautiful black marble Deity of Lord Krishna, standing with his left hand upraised lifting Govardhan Hill. The Deity appears in a large black stone from which his form emerges in bas-relief. The stone around the Deity bears several marks: two cows, a snake, a lion, two peacocks, a parrot by the Lord’s head, two sages seated on his right side and a third on his left, and below the sages is another snake. Around the Lord’s neck is a flower garland, resembling a black snake.

The same Deity (known then as Gopal) was worshiped by Madhavendra Puri in Vrindavan. Rana Raj Singh of Mewar brought Sri Nathji to Nathdwar in the 17th century. The temple of Sri

Nathji is said to be the second richest temple in India, the first being the Balaji Temple in Tirupati.
Architecturally, the temple is simple, but the devotees’ enthusiasm is among the greatest in India. Every day Sri Gopal is offered large quantities of opulent foodstuffs cooked in ghee. The maha-prasada is excellent and can be easily purchased at stalls outside the temple.

Mangala-arati begins at 5 am. Darshan continues after the arati. During darshan the mukhiyajis, as the priests here are called, close and open the curtain in front of the Deity several times.

The Lord wears a large diamond beneath his lips, which is said to have been a gift from the Muslim emperor, Akbar. There is a story that Sri Nathji once tore his garment while rushing back to the temple to be on time for darshan. From that day on, it has been a custom to blow the conch and then wait several minutes before opening the altar doors.

The temple priests are all followers of Vallabhacarya, who was born in 1479. His son Sri Vitthalanathji raised the worship of Sri Nathji to a very high standard. The temple is under the management of the main acharya (spiritual leader) of the Vallabha-sampradaya, called the Tilakayata. He is the head of the temple.

Once, when Sri Vallabhacarya defeated a large group of impersonalist scholars at Vidyanagar, King Krishnadeva Raya presented him with a gift of many gold coins. Sri Vallabhacarya gave most of these to the local Brahmins and kept only seven. Those seven coins were then made into an ornament for Sri Nathji. The Deity still wears it today.

The temple owns over 500 cows. One of the cows is called “Sri Nathji’s cow,” and she comes from a lineage that has served the Deity for generations. The milk from this cow is offered only to Sri Nathji to drink.

Many people attend each arati. The temple room is extremely crowded and pilgrims have to constantly move on by the force of the crowds. The pushing is unlike other situations in which you are pushed in India. It is actually pleasurable to experience the devotees’ extreme desire to see Sri Nathji.

Mangala-arati is at 5 am in the winter and 6 am in the summer. The last arati is 6.30 pm in the winter and 7 pm in the summer. The temple is closed in the afternoon until 3.15 pm in the winter and 3.45 pm in the summer.

Non-Hindus are technically not allowed to enter the temple. If you are a foreigner and wish to enter, the guards may ask you to sign a piece of paper at the main entrance, which is written in Hindi. I believe it says that you believe in Hinduism. You are then permitted to enter the temple.

Deity Story
Vajranabha, Lord Krishna’s great-grandson, installed this Deity 5,000 years ago. Five hundred years ago Madhavendra Puri found the Deity in some bushes next to Govardhan Hill near Vrindavan. Madhavendra Puri then established the worship of Sri Gopal in a temple on Govardhan Hill. Madhavendra Puri handed the service of the Deity to the son of Vallabhacarya, Vitthala.

The town of Nathdwar was built in the seventeenth century for Lord Nathji, after the Deity was brought to Rajasthan to protect him from the destructive reign of the Muslim ruler Aurangzeb, who terrorized the Vrindavan area in 1665. For almost six months, the Deity stayed in Agra. Then he was moved to Mewar. Nathaji was moved to Nathdwar around 1669.

Other Places
In Nathdwar there are also temples dedicated to Madana-Mohan and Naveet Priya, which are connected to the main temple of Sri Nathji. Naveet mean “butter” and priya means “dear,” so Naveet Priya means “one who is fond of butter.” The Naveet Priya Temple is visited by most of the people who visit the Sri Nathji Temple.

Vitthalnath Temple is just opposite the entrance of the Sri Nathji Temple. This Deity used to be located at Gokula, in Vrindavan. The Banamali Temple is a Krishna temple located to the right of the main entrance of the Sri Nathji Temple.
About 15km away in Kankroli there is a Deity of Lord Krishna known as Dwarkadhish. The Deity was brought there from Mathura in 1676.

Festivals
The largest festival is known as Annakuta, commemorating the pastime in which the people of Vrindavan worshiped Govardhan Hill. Thousands of people attend and all the guest houses are full. As part of the celebration, a 2500-kilo hill of rice is offered to the Lord. Diwali is also an important festival. It precedes the Annakuta festival by one day.

At the end of the summer is Ratha-yatra. The Lord is taken around on a silver chariot and 100,000 mangoes are offered to him. The swing festival, Jhulana-yatra, takes place in June/July. Janmasthami (Aug/Sept), the appearance day of Lord Krishna, is also a major festival.

Where to Stay
There are a few large dharamshalas about a five-minute walk straight down the road from the temple. Vallabh Bhavan is a large place with double rooms for Rs 125.
Hotel Rajshee, right next to the bus stand, has decent rooms with common bath for Rs 150.
Krishna Guest House, a minute from the bus stand down a side road, is a nicer place having double rooms with bath for Rs 175.
Vandana Hotel (02953/2162), a little further down the road, is a nice place with rooms for Rs 400 and Rs 600 with A/C.
Hotel Vrinda (02953/2218), down a side road near the Sri Nathji Temple, has double rooms for Rs 350 up to Rs 600 for a room with A/C. It is often full.
Hotel Vallabh Darshan (02953/30038), down a side road about a two-minute walk from the temple, has double rooms for Rs 700 up to Rs 900. 9 am checkout.
RTDC Gokul Tourist Bungalow, which is inconveniently located 3km outside of town, has rooms for Rs 400/450. Dorm beds are Rs 75.
Hotel Utsav (2277), National Highway No 8, 1km from the downtown, has rooms for Rs 700/1100 and Rs 850/1250 with A/C. It is the best place in town.

Where to Eat
Outside the temple you can purchase excellent Lord Nathji maha-prasada. There are many different preparations, both sweet and salty. There is unlimited Sri Nathji maha-prasada, which is one of the things for which Nathdwar is famous.
The Hotel Vallabh Darshan has a vegetarian restaurant.

Travel
Air The nearest airport is in Udaipur, 48km south.

Train If you are coming from Gujarat or Maharashtra, you can get a train to Udaipur and from there take a bus to Nathdwar. About a five-minute walk straight down the road from the Nathji Temple there is a train reservation office where you can reserve a train to Delhi and some other places. Nathdwar is 13km from the Nathdwar railway station.

Bus The bus stand is a 15-minute walk from the temple. From Udaipur there are two express buses daily as well as many other buses that take about two hours to reach Nathdwar. There are express private buses to Ahmedabad, Pushkar, Ajmer, Jaipur, and Delhi, which can be reserved with the travel agencies next to the bus stand.

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