15th Annual Vraja Mandal Parikrama, Part 2

Dear Maharaja’s and Prabhus Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

On day 3 of the Vraja Dhama Parikrama we circumnavigated the town of Mathura, beginning with a bath at Vishram Ghat. This was the place that Lord Caitanya first visited when He came to Vraja Mandal. He took bath and then went to the birthplace of Lord Krsna and took darshan of the deity there, Sri Keshavji. His chanting and dancing attracted all the residents of Mathura.

Our plan today was to follow in the footsteps of Krsna and Balarama as they entered the town of Vrndavan with the intention of killing the demon Kamsa. It was here at Vishram Ghat that Lord Krsna took rest after killing Kamsa. Also, Lord Varaha after lifting and rescuing the Earth planet, stopped here to rest.

We visited the house of Kubja, the hunchbacked devotee who offered the Lord sandalwood paste. The Lord felt indebted to her for this simple offering, and immediately He was thinking, "What can I do for her?" As we know, with little effort, He completely straightened her back. In the same way, in doing this parikrama, we are praying we will somehow attract the attention of the Lord and gain His favor: to be blessed with more and more attraction for Him.

Amongst the other holy sites we visited were the wrestling arena and Dhruva Ghat, the place where Dhruva Maharaja met Narada Muni. Initially, when Narada met Dhruva, he advised the small boy to leave the forest and return to the palace of his father. He was testing him. Dhruva Maharaja would not return. Our parikramis also are choosing to stay here on Parikrama and endure the difficulties, rather than return to the comforts of their asramas in Vrndavan town.

On day 4 we left Mathura and headed for another of the 12 forests of Vraja, Madhuvan. In the Treta yuga, the Brahmans of the Madhuvan forest were being disturbed by the demon, Lavan, the son of Madhuasura. The Brahmans prayed to Lord Rama for help and the Lord sent His brother Satrughna, who killed Lavanasura and established His capital in Madhuvan and ruled over the area.

On the way to Madhuvan we visited a temple where there is a deity of Lord Balarama that is pitch black in color. The deity is this color because He became so absorbed in the chanting of Krsna’s name that He Himself turned black. Also, we went to Dhruva Tila, the place where Dhruva Maharaja performed his austerities and attained darshan of Lord Vishnu. Here, we had our Srimad Bhagavatam class and spent a while chanting "Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya," the mantra given by Narada Muni to the young Dhruva.

At night, we stayed on the banks of Krsna Kund. This kund (bathing place) was manifested by Krsna striking His flute on the ground. Krsna would bring His cows here to give them water.

Our goal is to constantly remember the form, pastimes, qualities, and names of Lord Krsna. By visiting these holy places on Parikrama we get to understand the context of the pastimes. We can see more clearly the sequence of events, and in this way, remembrance becomes easier, or rather, it becomes difficult to forget.

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