Radha Vallabha Temple is located close to the
Banke Bihari temple at
Vrindavan in
Mathura,
Uttar Pradesh. It was established by Hit Harivamsa Gosvami who was a disciple of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. He is the founder of the Radha-Ballabha Sect and is renowned for his touching poetry about Radha and
Krishna. There is no deity of Radharani in this temple. A crown is placed in the temple which is used for Radha’s worship. All the offerings including the garments are first made to Radha and then to Krishna. The original temple of Radha Vallabha was destroyed by the Muslims in 1670 and the present new temple was built beside the old one.
An important event in this temple is the Khicari festival, which takes place from the new moon day of Paush to the new moon day of
Magha. Every morning the deity is offered khicari (rice mixed with dhal or lentil), vegetables, poppadums (papar), and pickle. During the Jhulan Yatra festival in spring, from the third day of Sravana Shukla to the full moon day, the deity is placed on a different swing (hindola) every day.
The main entrance of the temple has a courtyard called Radha-Ballabha Ghera. You can also see the samadhi of Hit Harivamsa in this courtyard.
Mangala arati is held at 5.30 am and Darshan is from 8.30 am to 12.30 pm and 6 pm to 9 pm.
