"Govardhana, the Hill that Fulfils all Desires" is a virtual guide to this most holy place of pilgrimage for devotees of Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna appeared on earth more than five thousand years ago and enacted intimate pastimes with His dearmost devotees who were hankering intensely for it. Govardhana Hill provided the most suitable atmosphere by which all the desires of the Lord were fulfilled in His intimate loving dealings with the devotees. Govardhana provided shelter to the devotees in Vrindavan when they were in distress having being tormented by the incessant torrents of rains being sent by the king of demigods, Indra. In order to further proclaim the glories of this greatest of hills, Govardhana, Lord Krishna Himself assumed the form of Govardhana in order to accept the offerings of His devotees in Vrindavan. One of the great disciples of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Rupa Goswami had written thus about Govardhana Hill: "The holy place known as Mathurā is spiritually superior to Vaikuṇṭha, the transcendental world, because the Lord appeared there. Superior to Mathurā-Purī is the transcendental forest of Vṛndāvana because of Kṛṣṇa's rāsa-līlā pastimes. And superior to the forest of Vṛndāvana is Govardhana Hill, for it was raised by the divine hand of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and was the site of His various loving pastimes. And, above all, the superexcellent Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa stands supreme, for it is overflooded with the ambrosial nectarean prema of the Lord of Gokula, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Where, then, is that intelligent Person who is unwilling to serve this divine Rādhā-kuṇḍa, which is situated at the foot of Govardhana Hill?" Simply put, Govardhana Hill is the shelter prayed for by the devotees to attain loving devotional service to Lord Krishna. A single visit to this king of the mountains assures one of liberation from the material existence, but more so guarrantees one entrance into loving relationships with Lord Krishna. Bhakti Caitanya Swami and his crew spent tireless days and nights photographing all the places on and around Govardhana Hill. All the temples, shrines, lakes, Deities and often the most difficult ones were caught on camera and presented in this book that took more than three years in the making. Bhakti Caitanya Maharaja then accompanied each photos with vivid descriptions of the places and pastimes performed by the Lord with His devotees, thus assuring us of being intimately absorbed as we flip through the pages. There are also a large accompaniement of arts that were drawn especially for this book.
THIS BOOK IS A TRUE COLLECTOR'S ITEM AND MAKE A PERFECT GIFT.
Contents Introduction The History of Govardhana Hill . 9 Govardhana Hill: The Lord and the Best of the Lord’s Devotees . 12 The Performance of Govardhana Parikramā ..14 1. Mānasī-gaṅgā and Dāna-ghāṭī 1a. Mānasī-gaṅgā .. 22 1aa. The Appearance of Mānasī-gaṅgā ... 22 1ab. Mānasī-gaṅgā revealed to the Vrajavāsīs . 25 1ac. Boating Pastimes on Mānasī-gaṅgā . 28 1ad. Other Pastimes at Mānasī-gaṅgā .....31 1b. Mānasī-devī .. 35 1c. Brahmā-kuṇḍa .. 36 1d. Harideva .. 37 1e. Dāna-keli-kaumudī — Tax Collecting Pastimes near Mānasī-gaṅgā ... 40 1f. Rina-mocana-kuṇḍa ...43 1g. Through Govardhana Town .. 44 1h. Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa Temple .... 44 1i. Dāna-ghāṭī .....47 1j. ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Āśrama .. 53 1k. Dāna-nivartana-kuṇḍa .. 57 2. From Annakuta-kṣetra to Āniyora 2a. Entering Annakuta-kṣetra .... 62 2b. Annakuta-kṣetra ..... 67 2c. Āniyora-līlā .... 68 2d. Balarāma Temple, Āniyora . 72 2e. Saṅkarṣaṇa-kuṇḍa ...75 2f. Gopāla Prakaṭa-sthālī ... 81 2g. Mādhavendra Purī discovers Gopāla ....81 2h. Sakṣi Gopāla Temple .. 84 3. From Āniyora to Puncari 3a. Indra becomes Offensive to Kṛṣṇa ...... 86 3b. Great Storm over Govardhana Hill .... 88 3c. Indra Surrenders to Kṛṣṇa ... 98 3d. Surabhīvana .. 101 3e. Madana-mohana Temple ... 103 3f. Nīpa-kuṇḍa ....103 3g. Govinda-kuṇḍa ....104 3h. Rādhā-Govinda Temple .....113 3i. Rādhā-Gopīnātha Temple..... 113 3j. Jagannātha Temple .....113 3k. Rādhā-Śyāmasundara Temple .... 114 3l. Vallabhācārya’s Sitting Place.. 114 3m. Gopāla Temple .... 114 3n. Mukhāravinda Shrine ... 116 3o. Indra Tila ... 118 3p. Gandharva-kuṇḍa ... 118 3q. Dauka Dauji Temple and Balarāma Mukut-śilā .... 126 3r. Forestry Station .... 130 3s. Apsarāvana .... 132 4. From Puncari to Kadambavana 4a. Puncari .... 140 4b. Nṛsiṁha Temple ....146 4c. Naval-kuṇḍa .....147 4d. Apsarā-kuṇḍa .... 151 4e. Which Route to Take? ....152 4f. Lotha Baba Temple .....152 4g. Other Temples .... 155 4h. Sutalavana .... 157 4i. Maṇi-kandalī .....161 4j Śrīnivāsa Ācārya and Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura at Govardhana .... 162 4k. From Maṇi-kandalī to Indra-kuṇḍa, and the Blue Cows of Govardhana Hill ...166 4l. Indra-kuṇḍa ....174 4m. Airāvata-śilā ......174 4n. Kadambavana .......176 4o. Surabhī-kuṇḍa .....177 4p. Airāvata-kuṇḍa ...177 5. Jatipur Area ... 180 5a. Harjiu-kuṇḍa .... 180 5b. Rudra-kuṇḍa . 180 5c. Jatipur ....180 5d. Mukhāravinda ....183 5e. Vallabhācārya’s Baiṭhāka (Sitting Place).184 5f. The Samādhis of Vallabhācārya and Viṭṭhala .....185 5g. Daṇḍavati-śilā ..... 187 5h. Leaving Jatipur .... 187 5i. The Road to Govardhana Town .... 187 6. From Govardhana Town to Rādhā-kuṇḍa 6a. Sakhīsthalī .....194 6b. Cakra-tīrtha....196 6c. Lord Nityānanda at Cakra-tīrtha .....199 6d. Lord Nityānanda meets Abhirāma Ṭhākura ......201 6e. From Govardhana Town ....203 6f. Uddhava-kuṇḍa .....203 6g. From Uddhava-kuṇḍa to Rādhā-kuṇḍa .... 211 6h. Rādhā-kuṇḍa Town.212 7. From Rādhā-kuṇḍa to Mānasī-gaṅgā 7a. Kusum Sarovara .... 220 7b. The Sanji Festival .... 232 7c. Uddhava Temple ....237 7d. Banbihari Temple ...237 7e. Lord Caitanya has His first Darśana of Govardhana Hill ... 242 7f. Śyāmavana and Ratna-kuṇḍa ... 244 7g. Gvāla Pokhara .... 246 7h. Hanumān lifts Govardhana Hill .......248 7i. Puṣpa-samādhi of Tribhuvanātha dāsa ... 251 7j. Pañca-tīrtha-kuṇḍa ....251 7k. Mukhāravinda Temple ....251 8. The Long Parikramā ............. 254 8a. Pāpa-mocana-kuṇḍa .... 254 8b. Indra-dhvaja-tila ..... 256 8c. Parāsauli and Candra Sarovara ....... 256 8d. Petha ... 259 8e. Petha-līlā in Jagannātha Purī ............262 8f. Gaurī-tīrtha .... 263 8g. Śyāmadhak .... 268 8h. Gāṅṭhuli and Gulāla-kuṇḍa ... 270 8i. Bichua-kuṇḍa .......272 8j. Nimgaon ......274 8k. Pali or Pāṭalgrāma .......276 8l. Kuñjera/Navagaon .... 278 8m. Surya-kuṇḍa ...... 280 8n. From Surya-kuṇḍa to Rādhā-kuṇḍa ... 284 8o. Mukharāi .. 284 8p. Nārada-kuṇḍa ... 287 8q. Yugala-kuṇḍa .... 288 8r. Kilola-kuṇḍa ..... 288 Epilogue ... 290
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