Location: Bishnupur, Kolkata
Built in: 1758
Built by: Chaitanya Singha
Heart is the symbol of Love.Love is Truth. Love is Power.Love is God. To love God is to love manand to love man is to worship God.
-Sri Swami Sivananda
Radha-Shyam Temple is one of the famous terracotta temples at Bishnupur in Bankura District of West Bengal. The temple was built by King Chaitanya Singha in 1758 and is dedicated to Lord Krishna. The temple architecture consists of a square building with a curved roof and is crowned by a single tower. Located about 150 km northwest of Kolkata, Bishnupur is a city with a glorious past. The rich architecture of terracotta carved temples here is a striking legacy from the past. Bishnupur has over thirty brick and stone temples, dating from 17th to 18th centuries, dedicated to Radha and Lord Krishna.
Apart from temples, there are eight large tanks, locally known as bandhs, worth visiting. Lalbandh, Krishnabandh, and Pokabandh were built by the Malla kings. The Dhrupad school of Indian classical music was established here during 16th / 17th century.
Lord Krishna, the eighth incarnation (avatar) of Lord Vishnu is said to have born to Devaki and Vasudeva in imprisonment, on the midnight of the 8th day of the dark half of the month of Shravan. The objective of the birth was to kill Kamsa, the cruel ruler of Mathura and Devaki's brother. To protect the baby from the king, Krishna was taken into the cowherd family of Yashodha and Nandagopan, where he grew up with his brother Balarama as the legendary naughty boy.
Krishna's youth, like his childhood, is immensely popular with devotees, and is spiritually significant. The Rasalila, or the dance of love, that he enjoyed with the gopikas, or cowherds, has been subject to much literary and philosophical interpretation. The Mahabharata describes the War of Kurukshetra in which Lord Krishna favored the Pandavas against the evil that their cousins Kauravas embodied. Krishna drove Arjuna's chariot in the war, and delivered the philosophical text Bhagavad Gita to the diffident Arjuna in the battlefield.
Krishna is usually represented as playing the flute, the music of love. He is dark (blue) in color, and wears yellow silk and flower garlands. The birthday of the lord, known as Janmashtami or Sri Krishna Jayanti, is celebrated all over the country.
How to reach:
Kolkata is very well connected to the major Indian cities by air, rail and road.
Visit www.eTirth.com for more information on Temples, Ashrams, Gurus, Festival and Daily Panchangam (Hindu ephemeris).
If you love to read visit www.KathaVarta.org for Religious stories.
Last but not least, if you want to visit above Holy Pilgrimage, please contact and visit our associate partner www.YatraKhoj.com and e-mail at yatrakhoj@yahoo.com.
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