Nand Ghat, Gokul: Where Krishna Rescued Nand Baba from Varuna

Nand Ghat at a glance

What is Nand Ghat?

Nand Ghat is a highly sacred bank of the Yamuna near Gokul, the town of Krishna's infancy, in the Mathura district; it is commonly associated with the neighbourhood of Bhaigaon near Gokul. It is deeply rooted in the scriptural history of the land and in the childhood pastimes, the leelas, of Lord Krishna and is revered above all as the place of a beautiful pastime of Nand Baba, Krishna's foster father and Varuna, the god of the waters. A quiet, holy riverside with stone steps and a centuries-old temple, it is one of the dear ghats of Gokul, a little away from the busier sites. For the town of Krishna's infancy, see our gokul guide and to visit the riverside of Gokul, a mathura vrindavan tour with Experience My India can plan it.

From the ground (Gurudutt): I was born in Gokul, so these ghats are the ghats of my own childhood and Nand Ghat is one I hold very dear. Here, the old people tell, our Nand Baba was taken by the water-god's men and our little Krishna himself went into the Yamuna to bring his father back; it is a story of a son's love and of the Lord's power, both at once. Most visitors never come to Nand Ghat, but I always bring my guests, for it is quiet and holy and true. We tell it as the cherished tradition of Braj. Radhe Radhe.

The legend: Krishna rescues Nand Baba from Varuna

The holiness of Nand Ghat comes from a beloved pastime of the Srimad Bhagavatam, revered as the cherished tradition of Braj:

• The bath at the forbidden hour. By the tradition, Nand Baba, having kept a fast, went to take a ritual bath in the Yamuna in the dark hours before dawn, a time held to be inauspicious, reserved not for men but for other beings; and because he entered the waters at that forbidden hour, the servants of Varuna, the god of the waters, seized him and carried him down to the celestial water kingdom of Varuna.

• Krishna goes to Varuna's abode. When Nand Baba did not return, the people of the village were distraught with fear for him; and the young Lord Krishna, learning of it, reassured them that his father was safe and himself went down into the Yamuna, to the very abode of Varuna, to bring Nand Baba back.

• Varuna worships the Lord. Varuna, seeing Krishna, was filled with joy and realising that his servant had, by mistake, seized the father of the Supreme Lord himself, he worshipped Krishna, offered his obeisance and his apologies and returned Nand Baba with honour and with gifts. And Nand Baba, astonished at the abode of Varuna and at his foster-son's deed, told it to the people of Gokul, who understood from it that Krishna must be Ishvara, the Supreme Lord himself.

Nand Baba's home and family are honoured at the shri nand yashoda bhawan gokul dham and the 84 khambha temple mahavan of old Gokul. We present this as the cherished belief and tradition of Braj, held with faith and recounted with reverence.

Bhaigaon, the village of fear

The nearby village carries the memory of that day in its very name. By the local oral tradition of Braj, when Nand Baba was taken down into the waters and could not be found, the residents of the village fell into a state of panic and fear; and from that fear, bhaya in the language of the land, the adjacent village came to be called Bhaigaon, the village of fear. So Nand Ghat and Bhaigaon together hold the memory of the fear of the people for their beloved Nand Baba and of the joy of his safe return by the hand of Krishna. We present this as the cherished belief and tradition of Braj and note that such folk etymologies are held with faith rather than as settled history.

The ancient temple at Nand Ghat

Overlooking the stone steps of Nand Ghat stands a centuries-old, historic temple dedicated to this very event, housing ancient deities of Lord Krishna and his family, Nand Baba, Yashoda and the little Krishna with Balarama. It is a quiet, revered shrine of the Gokul riverside, where pilgrims take the darshan of the Lord and remember the pastime of the rescue and where many take a holy dip in the Yamuna; darshan is free. The temple timings follow the traditional Braj pattern, a morning and an evening darshan with a break through the middle of the day and change with the season, so confirm them locally or in our mathura vrindavan temple timings guide before you go.

Nand Ghat on the holy riverside trail of Gokul

Nand Ghat is one of the string of sacred ghats of the Gokul riverside, each with its own pastime of Krishna's infancy:

• With Brahmand Ghat. Nearby is the famous Brahmand Ghat, the ghat where, by the tradition, the mother Yashoda beheld the whole universe, the brahmand, within the mouth of the mud-eating little Krishna; it is among the most beloved of the Gokul ghats, with the Brahmand Bihari temple beside it.

• With Thakurani Ghat. The holy trail also includes Thakurani Ghat, revered in the Pushtimarg tradition as the place where the goddess Yamuna appeared to Vallabhacharya and revealed the lost sacred sites of Gokul; so the Gokul ghats hold the pastimes of Krishna and the grace of the Yamuna together.

• The ghats of Gokul together. Taken together, Nand Ghat, Brahmand Ghat and Thakurani Ghat, with the Yamuna of Gokul, make a holy riverside trail of Krishna's infancy, best walked quietly in the cool of the day; with the Nand Bhavan, the Chaurasi Khamba and Raman Reti nearby, they complete a Gokul pilgrimage.

See our brahmand ghat gokul guide for the neighbouring ghat, our gokul tourist places for the whole Gokul circuit and the braj yamuna ghats and leela sites for the ghats of Braj.

How to reach and visit

Nand Ghat lies by Gokul, on the Yamuna to the south-east of Mathura:

• Reaching Nand Ghat. Gokul is about 15 km south-east of Mathura, on the east bank of the Yamuna; Nand Ghat, near Gokul and associated with Bhaigaon, is reached by road, most easily by car with a Braj guide as part of a Gokul day. Mathura Junction is the nearest major railway station and Mathura is about 150 km from Delhi and 60 km from Agra.

• Finding it. As Nand Ghat is a little away from the main Gokul sites and the busier Brahmand Ghat, it is quieter and less visited; a Braj local who knows the Gokul riverside will take you straight to it and tell you the pastime on the spot, which is the best way to see it.

• Visit with reverence. It is an ancient, holy riverbank and temple; treat the Yamuna, the ghat and the shrine with reverence, follow the local custom and keep the peace of this quiet, devotional place. Come in the cool of the morning or the evening, take the darshan and sit a while by the river of Krishna's childhood.

See our distance from mathura to gokul and how to commute in vrindavan guides for reaching this side of Braj.

We take guests to Nand Ghat and the riverside ghats of Gokul, Brahmand Ghat and the Yamuna, with the Nand Bhavan, the Chaurasi Khamba, Raman Reti and the whole of Braj, in a comfortable vehicle with a Braj-born guide, born in Gokul itself, who knows the ghats and their 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 and our vrindavan tour package Vrindavan in a day; the gokul vs mahavan guide helps you understand the old and new Gokul. Message me on WhatsApp at +91-7302265809 to plan your Gokul darshan.

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