The three towns that get a mention when one talks about the birth and early life of Lord Krishna is concerned are Mathura, Vrindavan and Gokul. This gives an idea that the three places must be close to each other. But how true is that? I found out when I went for a solo trip … Continue reading How far are Mathura, Vrindavan and Gokul from each other?
The three towns that get a mention when one talks about the birth and early life of Lord Krishna is concerned are Mathura, Vrindavan and Gokul. This gives an idea that the three places must be close to each other. But how true is that? I found out when I went for a solo trip to these places earlier in the month.
It is believed that Krishna was born in Mathura in a jail where his parents Devaki and Vasudev were held captive by his evil uncle Kans. Soon after his birth, he was shifted to Gokul at Nand and Yashoda’s place by Vasudev while battling rains and storms. Apart from Gokul, Krishna, after growing up, also spent a considerable time in Vrindavan. Hence, the three places are considered important and sacred.
Vrindavan
The easiest way to reach Vrindavan is to travel to Delhi or Agra and take a bus from there. The bus will leave you at the highway near Vrindavan from where you will need to walk and take an auto to the main junction of Vrindavan called Atalla Chungi. One is advised to stay at Vrindavan during their trip and visit Mathura for a day as the former is more developed and has more number of good hotels.
From Vrindavan to Mathura
It is quite easy to travel from Vrindavan to Mathura. The main area of Mathura is the Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple. The distance between Atalla Chungi to Janmabhoomi Temple Mathura is 8 kilometres. You can take a yellow coloured government run bus number 4 from Atalla Chungi to Janmabhoomi Temple. It will cost you just Rs. 20 and the journey is around 20-25 minutes long.
From Mathura to Gokul
The third sacred town with regards to Krishna is Gokul. As mentioned before, Krishna was shifted here soon after his birth. It is located further from Mathura. The distance from Mathura Janmabhoomi Temple to Gokul, is almost 13 kilometres. You can take another government run bus to this place. But I would advise you to either take a car or an auto rickshaw. I took a rickshaw and the driver-cum-guide Yusuf Khan was knowledgeable and kind enough to show me all the important destinations and temples around Mathura, Vrindavan, Gokul and other places.
It took us around 40 minutes to travel from Mathura to Gokul. The main attraction over here is the Nand Bhavan, which is now converted into a temple. The place believed to be where Nand and Yashoda resided and where Vasudev shifted Krishna soon after his birth.
As we can learn from the above, Vrindavan, Mathura and Gokul are not close to each other. We have always heard the names of three places being taken together, making us believe that they must be lying adjacent to each other. But that is surely not the case.
Other important towns to visit during Krishna pilgrimage
Apart from Vrindavan, Mathura and Gokul, there are other towns like Barsana, Nandgaon and Govardhan that are considered sacred places for Krishna pilgrimage. All these towns lie on the opposite side of Vrindavan and they are quite far away.
The distance between Atalla Chungi in Vrindavan and Nandgaon is around 50 kilometres. It took us an hour to reach there by rickshaw. While returning, you can visit Barsana, the town where Radha is said to have been born, and Govardhan. The latter is the place where Govardhan mountain lies. The same mountain that Krishna lifted from the little finger of his left hand. The distance between Nandgaon and Barsana is close to 11 kilometres and from Barsana to Govardhan is little over 20 kilometres.
To return to Atalla Chungi in Vrindavan from Govardhan will take you another 50 minutes as the distance between the two places is around 50 kilometres.
Also read: Mathura Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple: Photos, history and how to get there
