Nidhivana (Nidhuvana)
Vrndavan, Braj Mandal, Uttar Pradesh (UP) India

This Site to Close on January 1, 2006 Appeal for Help
Regrettably if I do not receive any financial support to help maintain this site in the coming year from sincere souls such as you, I will have to cancel this site on January 1, 2006 or at least stop updating it. READ MORE

Natural Nirvana Company Policies and Reason for Being.

This is a small grove similar to Seva Kunja. Radha and Krishna are said to have taken rest here, after dancing and other conjugal affairs. There is a small temple here known as the “sleeping temple,” which has a bed, where Radha and Krishna are said to take rest in, after enjoying their pastimes here. Nidhi means “the place where invaluable gems are found.” It is mentioned in the Padma Purana and Govinda Lilamrita that Radha and Krishna would take rest here after their pastimes together.

Within this garden is Visakha Kunda. It is said that Krishna pierced the ground with His flute, after the rasa dance, to satisfy the thirst of Visakha Devi.
The Samadhi of Haridasa Swami is near the entrance of Nidhivana. He was a contemporary of the six Gosvamis, and he discovered the Banke Bihari Deity here. He was born in 1535 in Haridaspur (Kol-Aligah). His father married the daughter of a brahmana from the village of Raipur, which is near Vrindavana. When he was 25 he took sannyasa.

It is said that at one time Radharani in a playful mood took Krishna’s flute. To glorify this pastime there is a temple here where there is a Deity of Radharani playing a flute along with the gopis Lalita and Visakha.

Tansen the famous court musician of Emperor Akbar, in the 16th century, was a favorite student of Haridas. It is said that one day Haridasa was singing on the bank of the Yamuna. Akbar was passing by and heard him singing. He had the boat stopped and he approached Haridas to become his court musician. Haridas refused, but with Haridasa’s permission he took his disciple, Ramtanu Mishra, with him to Delhi. Ramtanu later became famous as Mian Tansen.

Emperor Akbar, in 1573, came to visit the Gosvamis of Vrindavana. It is believed that he met Jiva Gosvami at this time. He was taken to meet them in Nidhivana. Akbar was brought here to show him the sanctity of the place. During the days of Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami, this area of Vrindavana, including Nidhivana, Seva Kunja and Nikunjavana was all one continuous forest. There was no town here, like there is today.
There are many monkeys here and they can be a bit aggressive. It could be a good idea to purchase a few packages of dry chick peas (channa) and to give some to the monkeys, so they will leave you alone.

Getting Around When you enter the entrance to Nidhivana, the good sized building in front of you, to the right, is the samadhi of Haridasa Swami. Next to Haridasa Swami’s samadhi is the Rasa Stali, which is said to be the place where the rasa dance took place. From the entrance of Nidhivana, the “Sleeping Temple is in the far left hand corner of Nidhivana. This temple is small.

Between the entrance of Nidhivana and the “sleeping temple” is Visakha Kunda. This kunda is fairly large, but you cannot see it until you are right next to it. This kunda was dung very deeply and you have to walk down some stairs to reach it. There is an elevated path, right next to the wall, that goes around Nidhivana.

How To Get Here The entrance to Nidhivana is close to the Shahji (Sahaji) temple. It is between the Shahji temple and Loi Bazaar. You walk past the large walls around Nidhivana when you go to the Radha-Raman temple. If you are at the bottom end of Loi Bazaar, near Ganga Prasad Cloth Shop, you make a left and walk about 30 seconds. The entrance to Nidhivana is on the right hand side, down a small alley about 50m (150 ft) from the main road. The entrance is almost directly across from the entrance to the Shahji temple.

Timings This garden is open from 7.30 am to 12 pm and 3 to 7 pm in the summer, and 8.30 am to 12 noon and 2 to 6.30 pm in the winter.

Copyright ©2001 John Howley and Spiritual Guides