The Legend of Sapta Debaloy - Part I - Radha Govind Dev Jew

According to the Legend, the Image of Lord Govind Devji was also called "Bajrakrit"- indicating thereby that it was created by Bajranabh – The Great Grand Son of Lord Krishna. Some 5,000 years back when Shri Bajranabh was around 13 years old, he asked his Grand Mother Uttara ( Wife Of Abhimanyu & daughter-in-law of Arjun as to how Lord Shri Krishna looked like; Then He made an image as per the description given by her. She however, said that not all but the feet of that image looked like those of Lord Shri Krishna. He made another image, yet she said that the Chest looked like that of Lord Shri Krishna. Thereafter, He made the Third Image and looking at the same she veiled her face as a show of modesty, and remarked that the face of the deity was exactly like that of Lord Sri Krishna. This deity is none other then Govind Devji who resembles Sri Krishna’s face.

In the 16th century, a general under the Mughal ruler of India Akbar the Great, named Raja Man Singh of Jaipur (Same Raja Man Singh who fought against Maharana Pratap in The Battle of Haldighati) began construction on the seven-story structure in 1590 on the occasion of Akbar’s pilgrimage visit to holy Vrindavan. Akbar had given special grant to build this Temple out of Red Sand Stone as it required special permission from Mughal Emperor those days.

Raja Man Singh was inspired to build this temple wholely by the Bengali Vaishnava Saint Srila Rupa Goswami, who excavated many sacred sites of Lord Krishna’s pastimes upon the request of his spiritual master Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. According to historical writings, Rupa Goswami was mystically guided by boy Krishna himself to the spot where he uncovered the magnificent ancient deity that Krishna’s great grandson Vajranabha had created 4,500 years previously. The miracle of discovering the deity demanded a glorious temple to house the Supreme Lord Govind dev ji. Thus no expense or labor was spared in constructing the magnificent temple which boasts exquisite ornamentation crafted from marble, silver and gold.

It was the year 1669, When Mughal Emperor Alamgir Aurangazeb was taking a strawl on the terrace of his palace in the evening when he saw a bright light from far away & was amazed to his utter dismay. He summoned his General Daud Khan who informed him that this is huge Ghee Diya (Lamp) atop the Govind Devji Temple which was emanating this light. This enraged Alamgir so much that he within a next days issued a decree to destroy all Krishna Temples In Braj Bhumi.(84 Krosh Braj). However there were a few Rajput Chieftains in his court who immediately send their messenger to Jaipur & Vrindavan & alerted the Sekhawat Clan of Rajputs to save these very precious & glorious deities. Sri Shiva Ram Goswami, The Head priest of Govind Dev ji Temple then decided to move the divine holy deity in succession to various temples under the protection of the Amber ruler in Jaipur secretly in the middle of the night along with the other 6 deities which formed the Sapta (Seven) Debaloy.

Soon thereafter, Aurangzeb’s soldiers arrived in Vrindavan to destroy these beautiful sand stone creations & horribly mutilate the Govind dev Temple in Vrindavan, dismantling all but 3 stories of the structure, destroying many of the beautiful carvings and desecrating the inner sanctum sanctorum & and then came the Divine Intervention. As the Mughal soldiers were about to start the demolition of the Third Story their arrived from now where hordes of ferocious monkeys & Langurs who tore apart the Mughal soldiers. Unable to bear the onslaught of the simians the Soldiers had to give up & they fled leaving behind the Three Storeys that live today to tell us the Story of the Glorious Past.

This important historic temple and architectural wonder is certainly deserving of a listing on UNESCO’s World Heritage sites, and we must put in efforts to preserve its immediate environment as well as its structural and spiritual integrity.

Current Location of this Divine Deity # Jaipur City Palace. Jaipur, Rajasthan India.

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