In the land where Krishna danced, Ringlets Of Her Hair Fell, and Braj bowed To its own Goddess.
Radha Bagh · Vrindavan By the banks of the Yamuna Temple raised in 1923 Navratri in full flood Free entry
Vrindavan belongs to Krishna: every lane sings his name, every doorway is painted with his flute. Then, in the Radha Bagh quarter near the Yamuna, the song changes. White marble, black stone pillars, gilded lions at the courtyard steps, and inside, an Ashtadhatu Murti Of Maa Katyayani. In the town of the beloved, this Is the house Of The Mother, and tradition counts it among the Fifty-One Seats Where Her Body Fell.
Here, the temple trust's telling of the Shiva Purana holds, Ringlets of the Hair Of Maa Sati Fell in Braj when Vishnu's chakra parted Her Body, and this ground became Katyayani Peeth, one of the Fifty-One. The Fallen Sati Is Named Uma here, and Shiva beside Her Is honored as Bhutesh.
The tenth canto of the Shrimad Bhagavata remembers that the gopis of Braj worshipped Maa Katyayani on this Yamuna bank, praying To Her for Krishna as their husband. A devotional verse cited by the trust names Her Brijay Katyayani, the presiding Goddess of Braj.
The present temple was raised in 1923 by Swami Keshavananda, a Kriya Yoga disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya who left the Himalayas To find the Peethasthan of the Puranas, and Her Ashtadhatu Murti Was Installed with rites by pandits of Varanasi and Bengal.
The story of the hair that fell in Braj
When Sati, The First Consort Of Shiva, gave up Her body at Her father Daksha's yagna, Shiva carried Her across the worlds in a grief that would not be consoled. To end it, Vishnu loosed his chakra, and the Body Of The Goddess fell to earth in Fifty-One pieces, each landing place made a Seat Of Her Presence. The trust of this temple holds, from the Shiva Purana, that Ringlets Of Her Hair Came down in Braj, on the bank of the Yamuna at Vrindavan, and that here She Abides as Uma, as Katyayani, with Shiva as Bhutesh keeping watch beside Her.
The seat waited long for its temple. Swami Keshavananda, born Panchkodi Banerjee in 1830 in Bengal's Howrah district and trained in Kriya Yoga under Lahiri Mahasaya, spent over three decades among the Himalayan masters before, as the trust records, The Mother Directed him to Vrindavan. He lived in a hut on the Yamuna bank at Radha Bagh, identified the Peethasthan spoken of in the Puranas, and built the temple and ashram in 1923; accounts place the consecration on the Magh full moon that February. He served Her until his mahasamadhi in October 1942, and his successors carry the worship still.
What you'll actually see
1
The Ashtadhatu Murti and the sword
The sanctum holds a Murti Of Maa Katyayani cast in ashtadhatu, the eight-metal alloy, Installed with rites performed by pandits from Varanasi and Bengal. A sword named Uchawal Chandrahaas Is also Worshipped in the temple, a blade kept Before The Goddess Who Slew Mahishasura.
2
Five sampradayas under one roof
Around Maa Katyayani the compound gathers the five great streams of worship: Shiva as Bhutesh for the Shaivas, Lakshmi Narayan for the Vaishnavas, Ganesh, and Surya, with Jagatdhatri Devi also enshrined. In Krishna's own town, every path of devotion meets in Her courtyard.
3
The gopis' own Goddess
Long before the marble was laid, the Bhagavata's tenth canto tells, the gopis shaped an image of Maa Katyayani from Yamuna sand on this bank and kept Her vrata for Krishna's hand. Local tradition still venerates a sand image at Cheer Ghat, and the Katyayani Vrat is kept at the temple to this day.
No freely licensed photographs of the temple were available on Wikimedia Commons at the time of drafting; gallery photographs pending.
When Braj turns To The Mother
Navratri at Katyayani Peeth
For Nine nights each spring and autumn the temple becomes the Devi heart of Braj. Pilgrims from across the region press into Radha Bagh For Darshan Of Maa Katyayani, the Durga Saptashati Is Recited daily, and the Katyayani Vrat is kept by seekers who follow the gopis' old prayer. The temple also keeps Janmashtami, Holi, Diwali, and Basant Panchami, for in Vrindavan The Mother and Her Krishna share every season.
Navratri brings the fullest worship and the fullest crowds. For unhurried Darshan, come on an ordinary weekday morning outside festival season.
Plan your visit
Where
Radha Bagh, Vrindavan 281121, Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh, India.
By rail
Vrindavan railway station and the bus stand are about 1 km from the temple; auto and cycle rickshaws cover the last stretch.
By air
Agra airport is about 80 km away; Delhi's IGI Airport about 170 km.
Timings
Sources differ: roughly 6:30 am to 12:30 pm and 4 to 8:30 pm by one account, 7 to 11 am and 5:30 to 8 pm by another. Confirm with the temple before you travel.
Entry
Free entry, as reported by regional tourism sources.
Best time
October to February for the kindest weather; Navratri for the fullest worship.
Good to know
Here the Fallen Sati Is Named Uma and Shiva Is honored as Bhutesh; the seat is therefore also called Uma Shakti Peeth.
Some accounts associate this Peetha with the Bhuteshwar Mahadev temple at Mathura instead; tradition varies, and many pilgrims honor both.
The temple stands within Vrindavan's sacred parikrama country near the Yamuna, so Darshan Of Maa is easily joined with the town's Krishna shrines in a single circuit.
Questions pilgrims ask
Which Part Of Maa Sati Fell here?
Ringlets Of Her Hair, by the temple trust's telling of the Shiva Purana: they Fell in Braj on the Yamuna bank, and the ground became Katyayani Peeth, one of the Fifty-One Seats Of The Goddess.
What does the sanctum hold?
An Ashtadhatu Murti Of Maa Katyayani, Installed in 1923 with rites by pandits of Varanasi and Bengal. The compound also enshrines Shiva as Bhutesh, Lakshmi Narayan, Ganesh, Surya, and Jagatdhatri Devi, and the sword Uchawal Chandrahaas Is Worshipped Before Her.
Is this the same Katyayani the gopis worshipped?
The Bhagavata's tenth canto places the gopis' Katyayani vrata on the Yamuna bank in Braj, and this temple stands on that remembered ground. Local tradition also keeps a sand image at Cheer Ghat recalling the image the gopis shaped, and devotees honor both.
Walk the sacred map
This Is one Seat among many. Her Body Fell across the whole of the old world:
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