Radha Gokulananda Temple Vrindavan: Timings, Aarti, Deities and How to Reach

Key facts at a glance

Radha Gokulananda Temple Vrindavan: an overview

Planning a mathura vrindavan tour package with Experience My India rewards those who look beyond the famous names and away from the great crowds, in the old heart of Vrindavan near Keshi Ghat, stands a modest but deeply cherished shrine: the Radha Gokulananda Temple, one of the seven Goswami temples of Vrindavan. It has no grand spires, yet within it are gathered the worshipful deities of several great acharyas of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, the Govardhan shila that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself worshipped and the samadhis of three revered saints. It was established by the scholar and poet Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur, on the very spot where Lokanath Goswami did his bhajan. This guide gives the full timings and aarti, the history, the deities, the Govardhan shila, the samadhis and how to reach the temple. Keshi Ghat and the other leela-sites of this stretch of the Yamuna are gathered in our braj yamuna ghats and leela sites guide.

Why visit Radha Gokulananda Temple:

• One of the seven Goswami temples of Vrindavan, at the sacred Keshi Ghat

• The darshan of Radha Gokulananda, Radha-Vinod and Radha Vijay Govinda under one roof

• The Govardhan shila that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu worshipped, bearing his thumbprint

• The samadhis of Lokanath Goswami, Narottama Das Thakur and Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur

• A quiet, contemplative shrine, away from the busiest temple queues

From the ground (Gurudutt): I love bringing devotees to Radha Gokulananda, because it is a temple that rewards those who know its story. Most visitors rush past its modest doorway, but inside is the very Govardhan shila that Mahaprabhu pressed to his heart and the samadhis of saints whose songs are still sung across the world. The honest tip is to go slowly, sit a while in the little courtyard and take a guide who can tell you who Lokanath and Vishwanath Chakravarti were. It is near Keshi Ghat, so pair it with the ghat and the other Goswami temples. Darshan is free; a small offering to see the shila is customary. We hold all of this with reverence. See our Mathura Vrindavan tour Package  or message WhatsApp +91 7302265809. 

Radha Gokulananda Temple timings

The temple keeps the same hours every day of the week; the timings are given below.

Note: the temple opens early in the morning and closes through the middle of the day, reopening in the late afternoon for the evening darshan; these hours shift a little with the season and on festival days, so confirm locally on the day. The general hours of the region's temples are set out in our mathura vrindavan temple timings guide.

Aarti timings

The Mangala Aarti, the first worship of the day, changes with the season; the timings are given below.

The Mangala Aarti opens the day at 5:00 am in summer and 6:00 am in winter; the other aartis and offerings follow through the day on the temple's usual rhythm, so confirm the exact times locally. The early morning Mangala Aarti and the evening darshan are the most cherished times to come.

Radha Gokulananda Temple at a glance

In one line: Radha Gokulananda is the Keshi Ghat Goswami temple of Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur, uniting the deities of several acharyas, Chaitanya's Govardhan shila and three great samadhis under one roof.

The history: a temple of the Goswamis

Radha Gokulananda is one of the seven principal Goswami temples of Vrindavan and its story runs through some of the greatest saints of the Gaudiya tradition:

• Lokanath Goswami's bhajan-place. Lokanath Goswami, a revered contemporary of the Six Goswamis, invited to Vrindavan by Rupa and Sanatana Goswami, did his bhajan at this very spot and established here the temple of his deity, Radha-Vinod.

• Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur. The great scholar and poet Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur, in the line of Lokanath Goswami, first worshipped his deity of Gokulananda at Radha Kunda, then came to Vrindavan and stayed with Lokanath Goswami at this place.

• The founding of the temple. When the old Radha-Vinod temple fell into disrepair, Vishwanath Chakravarti had a new temple built and named it the Gokulananda temple, bringing together under one roof the deities that the acharyas had each worshipped alone.

We recount this history as it is cherished in the tradition of the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, with reverence.

The deities of Radha Gokulananda

The rare beauty of this temple is that the deities of several great acharyas give darshan together; they are:

• Radha Gokulananda. The main deities, the worshipable form of Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur, from whom the temple takes its name.

• Radha-Vinod. The small, beloved deities of Lokanath Goswami, at whose bhajan-place the temple stands.

• Radha Vijay Govinda. The larger deities worshipped by Baladeva Vidyabhushan, the great Vaishnava scholar.

• Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. A deity of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and a small deity of Krishna before Gokulananda, worshipped by Narottama Das Thakur.

By the tradition, the original deities of Radha-Vinod and Radha Gokulananda were moved to Jaipur long ago, to protect them in troubled times and are worshipped there still; the temple at Vrindavan enshrines their pratibhu-murtis, the representative deities, held in the tradition to be non-different in potency from the originals. We recount this with reverence.

The Govardhan shila of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Among the temple's greatest treasures is a Govardhan shila, a sacred stone from the Govardhan hill, that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself worshipped. By the cherished tradition, he kept and adored this shila for three years, holding it while he chanted, pressing it to his heart and eyes and it is said to have been ever moist with his tears of love; he then gave it to Raghunath Das Goswami, who worshipped it with deep devotion and it is honoured at Radha Gokulananda to this day. It bears, by the tradition, the thumbprint of Mahaprabhu and devotees may behold it, a rare and tangible touch of his love. We present this as the cherished belief and tradition of the Gaudiya Vaishnavas, held with faith and recounted with reverence.

The samadhis of the acharyas

In a small courtyard beside the temple, where Lokanath Goswami did his bhajan and left his body, are the samadhis of three great saints:

• Lokanath Goswami. The revered contemporary of the Six Goswamis, at whose bhajan-place the temple stands.

• Narottama Das Thakur. The beloved saint and singer of Gaudiya bhajans, whose songs are sung across the world.

• Vishwanath Chakravarti Thakur. The great scholar, poet and commentator, who founded the temple.

To pay one's respects at these samadhis is, for devotees, among the most moving acts of a Vrindavan visit. We recount this with reverence.

How to reach Radha Gokulananda Temple

The temple is at Keshi Ghat, in the old heart of Vrindavan; the distances from the main starting points are given below.

In short, by each mode:

• On foot or by e-rickshaw (best): the old lanes near Keshi Ghat are narrow, so from Banke Bihari or the ghat it is easiest to walk or take an e-rickshaw the short way to the temple.

• By road: from Mathura or elsewhere in Vrindavan, a car or auto brings you to the Keshi Ghat area, from where you continue on foot.

• By train: Mathura Junction, about 14 km away, is the nearest major railhead; those arriving by rail can see our tundla to vrindavan distance guide for the last leg into Vrindavan.

Our how to commute in vrindavan guide covers getting around the narrow lanes of Vrindavan.

Temples near Radha Gokulananda, tips and planning

Radha Gokulananda sits among the other Goswami temples and the great sites of old Vrindavan; the nearby places at a glance:

Close by are the beloved banke bihari temple and a little further the great prem mandir vrindavan and the iskcon temple vrindavan, whose tradition reveres these very acharyas; Mathura and the birthplace at the shri krishna janmabhoomi temple and the shri dwarkadhish temple are a short drive on. The short hop between the great Vrindavan temples is covered in our prem mandir to iskcon temple distance guide and devotees seeking the special darshan of Banke Bihari can arrange it through our official banke bihari vip darshan booking.

Tips for your visit:

• Go slowly and sit a while in the courtyard; the temple rewards those who know its story.

• Take a guide who can tell you of Lokanath, Vishwanath Chakravarti and the Govardhan shila.

• Darshan is free; a small offering to view the shila is customary, quite apart from any tout.

• Remove footwear, dress modestly and keep phones quiet inside the shrine.

• Pair it with Keshi Ghat, Radha Raman and Radha Damodar on a Goswami-temples walk.

Our mathura vrindavan tour itinerary helps you shape the days around the temple hours.

We arrange guided Vrindavan darshan tours that include Radha Gokulananda and the Goswami temples, with pick-up from Mathura or Vrindavan, a comfortable vehicle and a knowledgeable Braj-born guide to tell their stories. A shared day tour starts from around ₹1,499 per person, with darshan free at the temples; our vrindavan tour package covers Vrindavan in a day and our mathura vrindavan tour the twin cities and the agra mathura vrindavan tour package adds Agra and the Taj Mahal. Message me on WhatsApp at +91-7302265809 to plan your visit.

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