Yogmaya Mandir, Gokul: The Birthplace of Goddess Yogmaya, Yashoda's Divine Daughter

Yogmaya Mandir, Gokul, at a glance

The Yogmaya Mandir, Gokul and its timings

The Yogmaya Mandir in Gokul is the temple of Goddess Yogmaya, revered as her very birthplace, the Yogmaya Janam Sthan, in the historic town of Gokul, about 10 km from Mathura, where the infant Krishna was raised by Yashoda and Nanda. By the tradition, it was here that Yogmaya, the divine daughter of Yashoda, was born and from here that she was exchanged for the baby Krishna; so the temple is a dear and holy site of the Krishna story. It is typically open in the morning and the evening, with special aartis and a midday break; entry is free. For the town of Krishna's infancy, see our gokul guide and to visit it, a mathura vrindavan tour with Experience My India can plan it.

From the ground (Gurudutt): I was born in Gokul and we grow up with this story: that on the night our Krishna was born in Kansa's prison, a divine girl was born here to our Yashoda and that she gave up her own safety so that Krishna could live. She is Yogmaya, the power of the Lord's own maya and this little temple in our lanes is her birthplace. Most visitors do not know of it, but I always bring my guests; it is a tender, holy spot. We tell it as the cherished tradition of Braj. Jai Mata Di, Radhe Radhe.

Who is Goddess Yogmaya?

Goddess Yogmaya is one of the great and tender figures of the Krishna story:

• The power of divine illusion. Yogmaya, also called Mahamaya, is revered as the personification of the Lord's own yoga-maya, the divine power of illusion by which the Supreme Lord accomplishes his pastimes; she is the Lord's own energy, come to earth to aid the leela of Krishna's birth and protection.

• The divine daughter of Yashoda. By the Bhagavata Purana, she took birth as the daughter of Yashoda and Nanda in Gokul, on the very night of Krishna's birth, so that she might be exchanged for him and shield him from Kansa; so she is the divine sister, in a sense, of Krishna, born to the same foster mother.

• The great Goddess, Vindhyavasini. After her deed, by the tradition, she rose to the heavens and then took her abode in the Vindhya hills, where she is worshipped as Vindhyavasini, she who dwells in the Vindhyas; she is revered as a form of the great Goddess, Durga, Mahadevi, the benevolent and protecting Mother. So Yogmaya is at once the tender girl of Gokul and the great Goddess.

The legend: the divine exchange and the escape

The heart of the Yogmaya Mandir is the beloved pastime of the divine exchange, from the Bhagavata Purana:

• Born on the same night. By the tradition, on the very night that Lord Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva in the prison of the tyrant Kansa in Mathura, Goddess Yogmaya was born as the daughter of Yashoda in Gokul, across the Yamuna, as the Lord had ordained, so that the two infants might be exchanged.

• The exchange across the Yamuna. That night, by the Lord's power, the prison doors opened and the guards slept; Vasudeva carried the baby Krishna across the river Yamuna, which gave him way, to Gokul and there laid him beside Yashoda and took up her divine daughter, Yogmaya, carrying her back to the prison, so that Krishna might be raised in safety and the girl be found in his place.

• The escape and the warning. When Kansa came and seized the infant girl to destroy her, as he had destroyed Devaki's other children, she slipped from his hands and rose into the sky in her eight-armed divine form, revealing herself as the great Goddess and warned Kansa that his true destroyer, the one he feared, was already born and safe, beyond his reach; and then she vanished. So Yogmaya protected the infant Krishna and sealed the tyrant's doom.

Krishna's birth is honoured at the krishna janmabhoomi in Mathura and his childhood home, Yashoda's house, at the shri nand yashoda bhawan gokul dham. We present this as the cherished belief and tradition of Braj, held with faith and recounted with reverence.

The idols in the sanctum

The sanctum of the Yogmaya Mandir holds a beautiful family of deities, telling the whole story in one darshan:

• Yogmaya at the centre. At the centre of the sanctum is the Goddess Yogmaya herself, the divine daughter, the heart of the temple; around her stand the family of Gokul, so that the darshan holds the whole pastime of the exchange together.

• Yashoda, Nanda and Balarama. To the right is the mother Yashoda and to the left is Nanda Rai, the foster parents of Krishna and the earthly parents of Yogmaya; and behind stands a larger, black deity of Balarama, Krishna's elder brother, who was also of this family of Gokul.

• The flute-playing Krishna. At the front stands the little Krishna, dressed in red, playing his flute, the beloved child of Gokul for whom Yogmaya gave up her safety; so the sanctum gathers Krishna, his brother, his foster parents and the divine Yogmaya in one tender family darshan.

The significance of Yogmaya in Braj

In the Mathura and Gokul region, Goddess Yogmaya is revered with deep devotion, honoured alongside Radha and Krishna. She is adored as the power of divine illusion, the maya by which the Lord conducts his pastimes and above all as the protector who shielded the infant Krishna and made possible his safe childhood in Gokul; without her, by the tradition, the leela of Krishna's survival and upbringing could not have unfolded. So she is dear to the people of Braj both as the great Goddess and as the tender girl who gave herself for Krishna and her birthplace in Gokul is a holy and loved site. The Goddess guards Mathura too, at the mahavidya devi mandir mathura temple; we present all this as the cherished belief and tradition of Braj.

The Gokul and Delhi Yogmaya temples

Many searching for a Yogmaya temple find the famous one in Delhi; it is worth knowing that there are several great shrines of the goddess. The most renowned is the ancient Yogmaya temple at Mehrauli in Delhi, held to be very old, which gave its locality the old name of Yoginipura; and the goddess is worshipped as Vindhyavasini at Vindhyachal near Mirzapur, one of the great Shakta shrines, where she took her abode in the Vindhya hills. The Yogmaya Mandir of this page, however, is the one in Gokul, revered as the very birthplace of the goddess, in the land of Krishna's infancy; so for the pilgrim of Braj, the Gokul temple is the dear and proper place to honour Yogmaya, at the spot where, by the tradition, she was born. All honour the same divine daughter of Yashoda who became the great Goddess.

How to reach and visit

The Yogmaya Mandir is in the old town of Gokul, by the Yamuna:

• Reaching the temple. Gokul is about 10 to 15 km south-east of Mathura, on the east bank of the Yamuna; the Yogmaya Mandir is in the historic lanes of Gokul, 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 in the lanes. As the temple is tucked in the narrow, historic lanes of Gokul, away from the main sites, it is quieter and easy to miss; a Braj local who knows Gokul will take you straight to it and tell you the story of Yogmaya on the spot, which is the best way to see it and to feel the setting of Krishna's early childhood.

• Visit with reverence. It is a holy Devi shrine of a tender story; take the darshan of Yogmaya and the family of Gokul with devotion, dress modestly and keep the custom of the shrine. Come in the morning or evening darshan, remembering the midday break; Janmashtami and Navratri are the dearest and busiest, times.

See our gokul tourist places for the whole Gokul circuit, the nand ghat gokul where Krishna crossed and our distance from mathura to gokul guide for reaching Gokul.

We take guests to the Yogmaya Mandir and the holy places of Gokul, the Nand Bhavan, the Chaurasi Khamba, the ghats and the whole of Braj, in a comfortable vehicle with a Braj-born guide, born in Gokul itself, who knows the lanes 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 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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