Radha Govind Temple

Radhanath Swami explains how the temple was built for Sri Radha Govind:

“Lord Chaitanya instructed Raghunath Bhatt Goswami to go to Vrindavan and to live as one of the Goswamis. In the spirit of the servant of the servant, Raghunath Bhatt Goswami assisted Rupa Goswami in his service to Radha Govinda Dev. He had made for Him a beautiful flute and earrings shaped like sharks. He was an excellent cook and would cook for Govinda Dev, and would sing Bhagvatam for the Goswamis.

After some time Viraj Man Singh who was a disciple  of Raghunath Bhatt Goswami and also a general in the army of king Akbar, built the most beautiful temple in all of North India – the Govinda Dev Mandir. Govinda Dev Mandir is the most spectacular work of devotional art that the eyes can behold. There Radha Govinda Dev was worshipped with great love by all of the residents of Vrindavan. It became the principal temple of all of Vrindavan.”

“Some generations later, the grandson of Akbar, Aurangazeb, a very demoniac person, was ruling India. One day from his capital near Agra, he saw what appeared to be a star in the sky that was shinning brighter than all others were. A minister told him that the star was in fact a ghee lamp, on the seven-storied temple of Sri Govinda Dev, which had a flame that burnt twenty-four hours a day. He was so envious upon hearing that a Hindu temple could have such grandeur, that he sent his armies to dismantle the temple.

However, before Aurangazeb came, the devotees sent many of the principle deities to Jaipur to be protected by one of the descendents of the Raja Man Singh, Raja Jai Singh.

The moguls dismantled the top four storeys and left only three, and in many ways defaced and tried to disturb the rest of the temple. Govinda temple was built so solid that it would just be too difficult for them to tear it out down; Krishna just did not allow them to do it.

Meanwhile Raja Jai Singh arranged the principal deities of the Goswamis of Vraja to be brought to Jaipur for protection.  So Govinda Dev, Madanmohana, Radha Damodar, Radha Vinod, Radha Vrindavanchandra, Radha Gopinath, Radha Madhav, and several other deites came to Jaipur. Raja Jai Singh and his forefathers were all great devotees of the deities of Vrindavan. They were all very serious and dedicated Vaishnavas and were very, very close and surrendered to the teachings and the mercy of the six goswamis and their followers.

Radha Govinda Dev, Radha Madanmohana, Radha Damodar, Radha Gopinath, Radha Vinod, They all came to this great city. Then Maharaj Jaisingh built big, big walls around the city and the city became known as Jaipur – The City of Victory. Right in the grounds of his palace, in the most prominent place, the king installed Govinda Dev. Govinda Dev was personally the king’s Lord and master. He arranged the whole kingdom to be centered around the Deity   of Sri Govindaji. From his room, the king could see the beautiful darshan of Radha Govinda. Since that time Govinda Dev has been in Jaipur, and is being worshiped by the descendents of the original disciples of Srila Rupa Goswami.