Govardhan

Govardhan or Goverdhan
city
Govardhan or Goverdhan Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
Coordinates:
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
District	Mathura
Elevation	179 m (587 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	18,512
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)

For the hill, see Govardhan hill

Govardhan or Goverdhan is a key pilgrimage centre in India and a municipal town; a nagar panchayat ; seat of a MLA Member of legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh; a Tehsil, in Mathura district in the India in state of Uttar Pradesh.

Geography

Govardhan is located at . It has an average elevation of 179 metres (587 feet).Recently Goverdhan has been made Tahseel in Mathura District by UP government.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Govardhan had a population of 22,576. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Govardhan has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 70%, and female literacy is 52%. In Govardhan, 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Overview

Krishna lifting the Govardhan Hill

Govardhan is famous for the Holy Goverdhan Hill. There are many temples in this town namely Shri Haridev ji Temple, Daan-Ghati Temple and Mukharbind Temple . The town is also famous for its 21 kilometers long Parikrama of the famous Govardhan hill. The parikrama procession is held in very high religious belief. It's said that Lord Krishna held Govardhan Hill on his little finger to save the town from wrath of the god of rains Indra.

The town also houses Maanasi-Ganga, a close-ended lake. This is another place for the devotees visiting this town. On the banks of this lake, there are quite a few temples, prominent among them the Mukharbind temple. Being close ended, the lake had to cope with widespread pollution. After a cleaning effort by localites, the situation has vastly improved.

One of the most important day in Goverdhan is Guru Poornima (Also called "Mudia Poono"). On this day, Millions of devotees come to Govardhan for parikrama.

Govardhan Temple

About 22 kilometres from Mathura, the town is on the road link between Mathura and Deeg.

See also

• Govardhana sila
• Goverdhan Parikrama highlights