Mahavidya Devi Temple, Mathura: Timings, the Goddess and Its Legend

Mahavidya Devi temple: at a glance

Mahavidya Devi temple timings 

The Mahavidya Devi temple and its timings

The Shri Mahavidya Devi temple is one of the oldest and most revered Devi shrines of Mathura, the city of Krishna's birth, dedicated to the Goddess Mahavidya Devi, also known as Ambika Devi, a form of the Goddess Parvati. It stands on Mahavidya Road in the western part of Mathura, near the Ramleela Ground, on a high plinth reached by a flight of steps, with the sacred Mahavidya Kund beside it. It is typically open in the morning, from about 6 am to 1 pm and in the evening, from about 4 pm to 9 pm, with a midday break for the offerings; entry is free. As set out above, confirm the current timings locally, as they shift with the season and at Navratri. To visit the Mahavidya Devi temple with the other holy places of Mathura, a mathura vrindavan tour with Experience My India can plan it.

From the ground (Gurudutt): Most pilgrims come to Mathura for Krishna, but the old Mathura folk, our Chaturvedi families, know that the city is also guarded by the Devi; Mahavidya Ma, Ambika, is our Kuladevi, the mother goddess of this land and even Nand Baba, Krishna's own father, used to come to her temple to bow his head. Climb the steps to her plinth, take her darshan and ask her blessing for your family; she is a mother who listens. Jai Mata Di, Radhe Radhe.

The Goddess: Mahavidya Devi, Ambika, Parvati

The temple's deity is the great Mother Goddess, dear to Mathura:

• Mahavidya Devi, a form of Parvati. The presiding deity is worshipped here as Mahavidya Devi and also as Ambika Devi, both understood as forms of the Goddess Parvati, Gauri, the consort of Lord Shiva and the Divine Mother; the beautiful idol, by tradition of white marble, is richly adorned, with eyes said to be especially appealing and full of grace.

• A Mother Goddess of Mathura. While Mathura is the city of Krishna above all, it is also watched over by the Devi and the Mahavidya Devi temple is among the most revered of its Devi or Shakti, shrines; so a visit to Mathura is enriched by the darshan of the Mother Goddess alongside that of Krishna.

• The forest of Ambika. The area is held to be the ancient Ambikavan, the forest of Ambika Devi, one of the sacred forests of the Braj region; the temple marks this old holy place of the Goddess, where, as the legend tells, Krishna himself performed a wonderful pastime.

The legend of Ambikavan: Krishna and the Vidyadhara

The most beloved story of this holy place comes from the Bhagavata and binds the Goddess's forest to Krishna himself. It is told that once Nand Baba, Yashoda, Krishna, Balarama and the cowherds of Braj came on pilgrimage to Ambikavan, this forest of Ambika Devi; they bathed in the sacred waters, worshipped Lord Shiva as Gokarna Mahadev and stayed the night. In the dark, a huge serpent seized Nand Baba and slowly began to swallow him; the cowherds tried with all their might to free him, but could not. In great distress, Nand Baba cried out to Krishna; and the young Lord came and touched the serpent with his foot and at that holy touch the serpent at once gave up its snake body and rose up as a radiant Vidyadhara. He bowed to Krishna and revealed that he was a Vidyadhara named Sudarshana, who, for mocking some sages, had been cursed to be a serpent and was now, by the touch of the Lord's feet, set free. So this place of the Goddess Ambika is also the place of Krishna's mercy; and ever after, it has been a holy shrine. The krishna janmabhoomi of Krishna's birth is nearby in the same Mathura.

The Kuladevi of Nand Baba and the Chaturvedis

The Mahavidya Devi is dear above all as a family goddess:

• The Kuladevi of Nand Baba. The Goddess Ambika is revered as the Kuladevi, the family goddess, of Nand Baba, the foster father of Lord Krishna, of Gokul; it is told that Nand Baba would come from Gokul to Mathura to pay his obeisance to Maa Ambika, so the temple carries the devotion of Krishna's own foster family.

• The Kuladevi of the Chaturvedis. She is also the Kuladevi of the Chaturvedi community of Mathura, the Mathur Chaturved Brahmins, who revere her as their family mother goddess; her devotees and the Chaturvedi families, come to her from across the world to seek her blessing, above all at family occasions.

• A living family devotion. So the Mahavidya Devi temple is not only an ancient shrine but a living family devotion, where generations have brought their prayers, their new brides and children and their thanksgiving; the bond of the Goddess with Nand Baba's family and the Chaturvedis makes her especially dear.

Nand Baba's own town and land are honoured at gokul, the old Gokul of gokul vs mahavan and Nandgaon, in our barsana vs nandgaon guide.

History, architecture and the Mahavidya Kund

The temple is ancient in origin and dignified in form:

• Ancient roots. The Mahavidya Devi shrine is believed to be of great antiquity, with roots in the age of the Dwapara Yuga and the pastime of Krishna and the Vidyadhara; by tradition, the original deity was worshipped even by the Pandavas during their years of exile, so the holy place is very old.

• The Maratha temple and its renovation. The present temple that stands today was built or rebuilt, by the Marathas, the Peshwas, towards the end of the eighteenth century, in the traditional Nagar style of architecture, a dignified quadrangle on its high plinth; it was later renovated in the early twentieth century, around 1907, by a saint of the tradition.

• The Mahavidya Kund. Beside the temple lies the historic Mahavidya Kund, the sacred tank of the Goddess, as many of the great temples of Braj and Mathura have their own holy kund; the kund is part of the sanctity of the place and dear to pilgrims.

Significance, boons and festivals

The Mahavidya Devi is a Mother who grants the prayers of her devotees:

• Boons and blessings. Devotees and above all women, come to the Mahavidya Devi to pray for marital harmony, for the fulfilment of their heartfelt wishes and for the health and long life of their husbands, children and families; the temple is famous for the granting of sincere prayers and the Goddess is loved as a mother who listens.

• Navratri, the great season. Like all Devi temples, the Mahavidya Devi temple is dearest and busiest during Navratri, the nine nights of the Goddess, when devotees throng to her for darshan and the temple is at its most vibrant; it is a beautiful, though crowded, time to come.

• The Dusshera tradition. By a dear local custom, on Dusshera the players who enact Rama and Lakshmana in the Ramleela come to the Mahavidya Devi for her puja and blessing before proceeding to the slaying of Ravana, so the Goddess is honoured in the city's great Ramleela too.

How to reach and visit

The Mahavidya Devi temple is easy to reach, in the western part of Mathura:

• Reaching the temple. The temple is on Mahavidya Road in the west of Mathura, near the Ramleela Ground, about 150 km from Delhi and 60 km from Agra and easily reached within Mathura by auto or taxi; Mathura Junction is the nearest major railway station. The temple stands on a high plinth, reached by a flight of steps.

• Combine with the Mathura temples. Being within Mathura, the Mahavidya Devi temple is easily combined with the great Krishna temples of the city, the Krishna Janmabhoomi, the very birthplace of Krishna and the Dwarkadhish temple and with the Yamuna ghats; many pilgrims add the darshan of the Mother Goddess to their Mathura visit.

• Visit with reverence. Climb the steps to the plinth, take the darshan of Maa Mahavidya with devotion and keep the custom of the shrine; dress modestly, as at all temples and come in the morning or evening darshan, remembering the midday break. At Navratri, expect large, devout crowds.

See the dwarkadhish temple and the braj yamuna ghats and leela sites of Mathura and our how to commute in vrindavan guide for getting around; confirm the hours in our mathura vrindavan temple timings guide.

We take pilgrims to the Mahavidya Devi temple and the great temples of Mathura and across the whole of Braj, in a comfortable vehicle with a Braj-born guide who knows the Devi shrines, the timings and the old stories. A shared day tour starts from around ₹1,499 per person, with darshan free. The braj 84 kos yatra covers the whole of Braj, our mathura vrindavan tour the twin cities of Mathura and Vrindavan and our vrindavan tour package Vrindavan in a day; the banke bihari temple and the prem mandir vrindavan of Vrindavan are dear too. Message me on WhatsApp at +91-7302265809 to plan your Mathura darshan.

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