Mount Govardhan is a scared hill that was lifted by Shree Krishna to save the people of Brij from heavy rains. It is situated 20-25 km west from Shree Krishna Janmabhoomi Mathura. After visiting Shree Krishna Janmabhoomi temple, we went straight to Govardhan to perform the Parikrama.

How to Reach Govardhan

We went to Mathura by train and took a three-wheeler to travel to Govardhan from there. The fare charged for that was ₹60 per person. Remember to ask the local transporter to drop you at the Govardhan bus stand. The bust stand is within walking distance from the Giriraj Govardhan temple. The Parikrama (parikrama means revolving around) of Mount Govardhan starts from this temple.

After visiting Shree Krishna Janmabhoomi temple, we went straight to Govardhan to perform the Parikrama. The autorickshaw dropped us at the Govardhan bus stand. We submitted our bags at a nearby clock room who charged ₹10 per bag. After that we walked for a few minutes more to reach the Giriraj Govardhan temple. We went in the temple and bowed before him and then started the Badi Parikrama.

Govardhan Parikrama

Mount Govardhan is divided into two parts by the road at which this temple is situated. The bigger part of the Giriraj is in front of this temple while the smaller part is behind it. This clarifies the meaning of Badi and Chooti parikrama. The parikrama of the bigger part is called the Badi Parikrama while the parikrama of the smaller part is called Chhoti Parikrama. However, the parikrama will complete only when you complete the parikrama of both the parts.

Govardhan Badi Parikrama

So we started the parikrama at around 01:00 PM. Everyone took off their shoes but I didn’t. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to complete the parikrama bare feet. However, my wife convinced me to take off the shoes after we walked for about three kilometers. After that, I started walking on the soiled path and avoided the concrete road. It gave good relaxation to my feet as it had rained that day and the path had become muddy.

That mud path felt like it was a bedding of something to relax our feet. As the soil was yellowish, it was also beautifying our feet. Overall, this has been a wonderful experience. We also chanted the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra which made this journey even easier. The Mantra is as follows:

“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare ।
Hare Ram Hare Ram, Ram Ram Hare Hare ।।”

We got tired after completing around 9 km of the way but we still had a long way to go. I told my wife that I was tired. I also said that I had a doubt if we would be able to complete the parikrama. She said that she is also tired. Then I said, “let’s continue walking, we’ll hire a rickshaw when completely exhausted”. She agreed and we continued moving further. After walking for two more kilometers, we realized that the Badi Parikrama had been completed. We thanked Shree Krishna for taking so well care of us. The moment we started feeling tired, he made the task complete. We bowed before the Giriraj Temple again and decided to come again to do the Chhoti Parikrama.

The Grace of Shree Krishna

Actually we were under the impression that the total path of the Badi Parikrma was 21 km. After completing the Badi Parikrama, we realized that This distance is for complete Govardhan Parikrama. This was kind of support from Shree Krishna that we prepared ourselves for 21 kilometers. If we had prepared ourselves for 11 kilometers, we would have gotten tired much earlier. That’s the Human psychology but God is always above every psychology, and he played his game well for us.

Heading to Next Destination – Vrindavan

After completing the Parikrama, we walked to the Govardhan Bus stand and left for the next destination which was Shri Vrindavan Dham. Check out the next article for Vrindavan darshan.