ALL GLORIES TO SRI SRI GURU & GAURANGA
Sri Vraja-mandala Parikrama 2013
will be performed by the causeless mercy of
nitya-lila om visnupada astottara sata
Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja
Sri Gopinatha Bhavan, Tel: 096.3456.3739
Sri Rupa Sanatana Gaudiya Matha, Vrindavana, Tel: 0565-2443270
Sri Giridhari Gaudiya Matha, Govardhana, Tel: 09760628646
Dear Devotees and Friends,
For more than fifty years, om visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja performed and conducted Sri Vraja-mandala parikrama. This month long festival affords the opportunity of visiting and hearing about all of Krsna’s pastime places in Vraja, of regularly hearing the philosophical conclusions of Gaudiya Vaisnavism, of performing kirtana morning, noon and night, and of being in the company of sincere devotees from around the world. For these reasons, Vraja-mandala parikrama was given much emphasis by our beloved Srila Gurudeva.
This will be the third Vraja-mandala parikrama conducted without Srila Gurudeva’s physical presence. But it has been the experience of many that Srila Gurudeva is still very much with us on this parikrama, affording a very sweet, heart-stirring experience. Please come and experience this for yourselves.
Parikrama
This year’s parikrama will be inaugurated on October 18th, with the devotees observing sankalpa, or a vow to ensure the success of our parikrama, on the bank of Yamuna near Gopinatha Bhavan, Vrindavana. After this we will begin our Sri Vraja-mandala parikrama, a pilgrimage to all the incomparably beautiful places in Vraja. Our pilgrimage will be completed on November 17th.
Parikrama Festivals
On certain days throughout Kartika month, we will observe the divine appearance and disappearance days of our acaryas. These days will be celebrated with kirtana and hari-katha, given in both Hindi and English, and delicious maha-prasadam will be served.
On Monday November 4 we will celebrate Govardhana puja (worship of Govardhana Hill) and go-puja (worship of our mother cow). Srila Gurudeva would always offer Giriraja Govardhana an abundance of delicious preparations for Annakuta Maha Mahotsava, in an endeavor to please Sri Giriraja, and under his continued guidance, we will continue this practice.
If you would like to bring your own ingredients to prepare an offering for Giriraja Govardhana, you are welcome to do so. If you are unsure about what you can offer, we suggest dried fruits, nuts, candies and other such items. Freshly cooked milk sweets may be easily purchased in Govardhana town. Donations are also very much welcome.
Parikrama Locations
From October 18 till the morning of November 1, all hari-katha, kirtanas and maha-prasadam will be held in Gopinatha Bhavan, Vrindavana, which is located on the parikrama marga (path) on the bank of Yamuna, next to Imli-tala, Seva Kunja. From November 1 till November 17 we will stay at Govardhana, at Sri Giridhari Gaudiya Matha, which is near the bus stand on the road to Radha-kunda.
Cost
A minimum contribution of Indian Rs. 10.000, US $160, or Euro 125 per person is requested in order to cover the most basic expenses of the festival during this month. This payment covers prasadam, simple accommodation in the dharmasala and bus travel, as well as electricity and water, the sound system, a generator, the payment of various workers, cleaning costs and so forth. This contribution is therefore a service, not just a payment, and it is genuinely needed.
Included within the festival fees:
We have arranged dharmasalas (simple lodgings for pilgrims) near Gopinatha Bhavan and Sri Giridhari Gaudiya Matha, where there is facility to set up your sleeping mat and mosquito net in a hall or big room. At the Matha at Govardhana there is also facility for tents.
For an extra cost:
Rooms are available for rent in guest houses and in the houses of the local residents. The average charge is about 350 rupees per room per day, depending on the facility offered. If you need a room, you should book it before October 1st. For more details regarding rooms in Vrindavana, contact Mani mati dasi. For accommodation in a dharmasala (free) contact Vrinda-devi dasi. For accomodation in Govardhan, contact Akhilesh dasa and Vrinda-devi dasi.
There are hotel rooms at varying distances from the Matha in both Vrindavana and Govardhana that you can rent directly from the hotel managers. We have listed some hotels on our travel page.
Registration
To register for this festival, upon arrival in Vrindavana or Govardhana, submit a completed Participation Form + a copy of the picture page of your passport, your visa page + a passport photograph and give your contribution (in rupees, dollars, or euros) to the devotees responsible at the registration table in the courtyard of Gopinatha Bhavan and in front of the temple building at Sri Giridhari Gaudiya Matha. You will also find there the devotees responsible for accommodating you inside or outside the temple complex.
The dharmasalas we are arranging for you in Vrindavana-dhama will be available from October 17th onwards. If you arrive before this date, you will need to make your own arrangements for accommodation and prasadam. We trust that all of you will cooperate with the festival seva team in this regard.
Please inform us by e-mail about the details of your participation before October 1st, especially if you are coming in a group. In this way we can arrange suitable accommodation.
Taxi
To arrange a taxi to pick you up from the airport or to take you to and from other places, you can you can contact Mani-mati dasi at
For more details about traveling to the Dhama, how to maintain good health during your visit, and other practicalities, please visit our website page, Traveling to India.
Devotees are advised not to travel and arrive in Vrindavana during midnight hours; try to reach Vrindavana before 21:30pm or after 4:30 am.
Contacts
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the following devotees who are responsible for the different aspects of the parikrama:
BV Madhava Maharaja, BV Vana Maharaja, BV Sridhar Maharaj
(stage program & parikrama arrangements for both Western and Indian devotees)
Email:
BV Tirtha Maharaja (parikrama arrangements for devotees from Bengal)
Email:
Sripad Pradyumna Babaji, Sriman Radhesh das (kitchen department)
Sriman Ramacandra das (over-all management & finances)
Email:
Mobile: 098.1019.2540
Sriman Dhir Krsna das (buses, security & sound system)
Sriman Akhilesh das (registration & accommodation)
Email:
Mobile: + 91 89.5843.8546
Vrinda-devi dasi (correspondence and accommodation)
Email:
Mobile: +91 925.9090.999
Mani-mati dasi (taxi & room accommodation in Vrindavan)
Email:
Mobile: +91 99.2701.8532
"I worship that supreme abode known as Svetadvipa, where parama-purusa Brajendra-nandana Sri Krsna is the only kanta (lover); where His svarupabhuta braja-gopis, the embodiment of all Laksmi's, are the kantas (beloveds); where every tree and creeper is a transcendental kalpa-taru (desire tree); where the earth is cintamani (spiritual touchstone) and the water is amrta (nectar); where speech is like music and movements are like dance; where the vamsi is the priya sakhi; where the light is full of knowledge and bliss; where the supreme, transcendental objects are all tasty and delectable; where great divine oceans of milk always flow from the udders of uncountable numbers of surabhi cows; and where eternal, transcendental time is ever present – devoid of past and future – and where even half a moment therefore never enters the past. In this material world, only rare sadhus have darsana of this dhama as Goloka, and only those who are the objects of Gokulapati Sri Krsna's mercy can understand the nature of this dhama."
Sri Brahma-samhita (5.56)
Sri Vraja-mandala Parikrama 2013
Sri Gopinatha Bhavan, Tel: 096.3456.3739, Sri Rupa Sanatana Gaudiya Matha, Vrindavana, Tel: 0565-2443270 / Sri Giridhari Gaudiya Matha, Govardhana, Tel: 09760628646
- Oct. 16, Wednesday Darśana of Śrī Durvāsā Ṛṣi Gauḍīya Āśrama.
- Oct. 17, Thursday Hari-katha and prasādam in Vṛndāvana at Gopīnātha Bhavana till morning of 1 Nov..
- Oct. 18, Friday (Vṛndāvana) Śrī Śarad Pūrṇimā. Kārtika-vrata begins. Saṅkalpa (vow) for the parikramā at Keśī-ghāṭa in Vṛndāvana. Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja disappearance festival.
- Oct. 19, Saturday Kālīya-daha, Śrīla Prabhodānanda Sarasvatī's bhajana-kuṭīra and samādhi, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī's bhajana-kuṭīra and samādhī, Śrī Madana-mohana Temple, Dāna-galī.
- Oct. 20, Sunday Sevā-kuñja, Śrī Rādhā-Dāmodara Temple, Imlītalā, Śṛṅgāra-vaṭa, etc.
- Oct. 21, Monday Baelvana.
- Oct.. 22, Tuesday BY BUS (from Vṛndāvana) to Madhuvana, Tālavan, Kumudvana.
- Oct. 23, Wednesday Nidhuvana, temples of Śrī Rādhā-Ramaṇa, Śrī Rādhā-Gokulānanda, Śrī Rādhā-Gopīnātha and Śrī Rādhā-Syāmasundara.
- Oct. 24, Thursday BY BUS (from Vṛndāvana) to Bhātrol, Akrūra-ghāṭa, prasādam at the place of the Yañja-patnīs. Māna-sarovara, Māṭhavana, Bhadravana, Bhāṇḍīravana (prasādam).
- Oct. 25, Friday Dhīra-samīra, Vaṁśī-vaṭa, Gopeśvara Mahādeva, Śrī Govindadeva Temple.
- Oct. 26, Saturday BY BUS (from Vṛndāvana) to Dāūjī, prasādam at Śrī Dāūjī Gauḍīya Maṭha. Brahmāṇḍa-ghāṭa, Mahāvana-Gokula, Rāval, Lauhavana, (Return to Vṛndāvana).
- Oct. 27, Sunday Hari-kathā and rest at Gopīnātha Bhavana.
- Oct. 28, Monday Pūjyapāda Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Mahārāja's appearance festival. Hari-kathā and rest.
- Oct. 29, Tuesday BY BUS (from Vṛndāvana) to Khelanvana, Rāma-ghāṭa, Vihāravana, Cīra-ghāṭa (prasādam), Vatsavana, Garuḍa-Govinda. (Return to Vṛndāvana).
- Oct. 30, Wednesday Ekādaśī. Śrī Vṛndāvana parikramā.
- Oct. 31, Thursday Hari-kathā and rest at Gopīnātha Bhavana.
- Nov. 1, Friday Departure from Vṛndāvana. BY BUS to Govardhana via Bahulāvana, Santānu-kuṇḍa, Paiṭhā and Candra-sarovara. Hari-katha and prasadam in Govardhana at Śrī Giridhārī Gauḍīya Maṭha till Nov. 17.
- Nov. 2, Saturday Govardhana parikramā – Dāna-ghāṭī, Ānyora, Govinda-kuṇḍa, Pūñcharī, Surabhī-kuṇḍa (prasādam), Jatīpurā.
- Nov. 3, Sunday Śrī Hari-deva Temple, Brahma-kuṇḍa, Cakaleśvara Mahādeva, Mukhāravinda, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī's bhajana-kuṭīra, etc.
- Dīpāvalī - festival of lights in the evening.
- Nov. 4 Monday Govardhana Pūjā, annakūṭa festival, worship of Govardhan Hill. Go Pūja and Go Kṛda - worship and decorating cows.
- Nov. 5, Tuesday Bhaijādūja (Yāmarāja's blessings on brothers and sisters). Rādhā-kuṇḍa parikramā, Uddhava-kuṇḍa, Kusuma-sarovara etc. Prasādam at Śrī Giridhārī Gauḍīya Maṭha.
- Nov. 6, Wednesday Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Mahārāja's and Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Trivikrāma Mahārāja's disappearance festival. Hari-kathā and rest.
- Nov. 7, Thursday Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja's disappearance festival. Hari-kathā.
- Nov. 8, Friday Śrīla Bhakti Śrīrūpa Siddhāntī Gosvāmī Mahārāja's appearance festival.
- BY BUS to Kāmyavana via Ghāṇṭholī, Gulāl-kuṇḍa, Ḍīg, Bhojana-thālī (breakfast prasādam), Pichala-pahāḍī (slide-hill), Vyomāsura's cave, temples of Govindajī, Vrṇdā-devī and Kāmeśvara Mahādeva, Vimalā-kuṇḍa (lunch prasādam), Caraṇa-pahāḍī. (Return to Govardhana.)
- Nov. 9, Saturday Killola-kuṇḍa, Gvāla-pokharā (prasādam), Śyāma-talaiyā, Ratna-veḍī, Caraṇa-cihna, Nārada-kuṇḍa.
- Nov. 10, Sunday Gopaṣṭāmī. BY BUS to Nandagrāma via Ṭer-kadamba, Āśīṣeṣvar Mahādeva, Choṭī Caraṇa-pahāḍī, Pāvana-sarovara, Nanda-bhavana, Lalitā-kuṇḍa, Uddhava-kyārī, Nandakhiṛak (Nanda-baba's gośāla), (prasādam). Saṅket, Prema-sarovara, (Return to Govardhana.)
- Nov. 11, Monday Hari-kathā and rest at Giridhārī Gauḍīya Maṭha, Govardhana.
- Nov. 12, Tuesday BY BUS to Varsānā. Sāṇkirī Khora, Cikasaulī, Gahvaravana parikramā, Vilāsa-ghaṛha, Māna-gaṛha, Dāna-gaṛha, Mor-kūtī (breakfast prasādam), Śrījī Temple, Varsānā. Pīlī-pokhara, Ūchāgaon (prasādam), Sakhīgiri-parvaṭa, Sūryakuṇḍa. (Return to Govardhana.)
- Nov. 13, Wednesday Ekādaśī. Śrīla Gaura-kiśora dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja's disappearance. Bhīṣma-pañcaka. Hari- kathā and rest at Giridhārī Gauḍīya Maṭha, Govardhana.
- Nov. 14, Thursday BY BUS to Vṛndāvana. Yearly festival at Ānanda-dhāma with prasādam and nagara-saṅkīrtana in the evening.
- Nov. 15, Friday BY BUS to Khadīravana, Jāvaṭa, Baiṭhāna, Caraṇa-pahāḍī, Kokilāvana, (prasādam). (Return to Govardhana.)
- Nov. 16, Saturday Śrīla Bhakti Pramoda Purī Gosvāmī Mahārāja's disappearance festival. Hari-kathā and rest at Giridhārī Gauḍīya Maṭha, Govardhana.
- Nov. 17, Sunday Vaiṣṇava homa (honoring Vaiṣṇavas). End of Kārtika-vrata and Ūrjā-vrata.
End of Sri Vraja Mandala Parīkrama
