Govardhan
Encyclopedia
- For the hill, see Govardhan hillGovardhan hillGovardhan is a hill located near the town of Vrindavan, in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It considered as sacred by a number of traditions within Hinduism....
Govardhan is a town and a nagar panchayat
Nagar Panchayat
A nagar palika or nagar panchayat is a form of an urban political unit in India comparable to a municipality.An urban centre with more than 30,000 and less than 100,000 inhabitants is classified as a nagar panchayat....
in Mathura district
Mathura District
Mathura District is a district of Uttar Pradesh state of northern India. The historic town of Mathura is the district headquarters.The district is bounded on the northeast by Aligarh District, on the southeast by Hathras District, on the south by Agra District, and on the west by Rajasthan and...
in the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
.
Geography
Govardhan is located at 27.5°N 77.47°E. It has an average elevation of 179 metres (587 feet).Demographics
India censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, Govardhan had a population of 18,512. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Govardhan has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 70%, and female literacy is 52%. In Govardhan, 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Overview
Daan-Ghati
Daan-Ghati is one of the two main temple structures in Goverdhan, near Mathura, India. The other temple structure is called Dasvisa.Daan Ghati is a temple where the deity is actually in the form of a rock. The deity is said to be going down in earth by a few millimeters every year...
Mandir and Mukharbind. The temple god is another form of Lord Krishna. The town is also famous for its 21 kilometre long Parikrama
Parikrama (Sanskrit)
Parikrama is also referred to as Pradakshina. Both are Sanskrit words: Parikrama literally means "the path surrounding something" and Pradakshina literally means: to the right representing circumambulation...
of the a very old hill called Govardhan. The parikrama procession is held in very high religious belief. Its said that Lord Krishna held Govardhan Hill
Govardhan hill
Govardhan is a hill located near the town of Vrindavan, in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It considered as sacred by a number of traditions within Hinduism....
on his little finger to save the town from wrath of the god of rains Indra
Indra
' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...
.
The town also houses Manasi-Ganga, a close ended lake. This is another pious place for the devotees visiting this town. On the banks of this lake, there are quite a few temples, one side of the lake shore now houses a regular marketplace. Being close-ended, pollution problem is rampant for the lake.
One of the most important day in Goverdhan is Guru Poornima (Also called "Mudia Poono"). On this day, Millions of devotees come to Goverdhan for parikrama.
Deeg
Deeg is a city and a municipality in Bharatpur district in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is situated in the north of Bharatpur at a distance of 32 km, and North of Agra....
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See also
- Govardhana silaGovardhana silaA Govardhana Shila is the representation of God by an aniconic symbol rather than an image. Indian art overwhelmingly prefers the iconic image, but some aniconism does occur in folk worship, early Buddhism, Shiva's Banalinga, Vishnu's Saligrama Sila ), etc . They have solar significance, and their...
- Goverdhan Parikrama highlights