Radha Kund

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
(Redirected from Rādhā-kuṇḍa)
Jump to: navigation, search
Radha Kund
Rādhākuṇḍa
city
Radha Kund is located in Uttar Pradesh
Radha Kund
Radha Kund
Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country  India
State Uttar Pradesh
District Mathura
Population (2001)
 • Total 5,884
Languages
 • Official Hindi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration UP85
Website http://mathura.nic.in/
The sacred pool of Radha-Kund
Stepwell of Radha-Kund

Radha-Kund (Devanagari: राधाकुण्ड, IAST: Rādhākuṇḍa, English: “Radha’s pond”) is a town and a nagar panchayat in Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Relevance in history

Following the sacred writing "Sri Upadeshamrita" (The Nectar of Instruction) by early 16th-century saint Srila Rupa Gosvami of Vrindavan, a close associate of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Vaishnava Hindus consider Radha-Kund to be the supreme of all holy places.[1] Legend has it that when Lord Krishna slayed a mighty asura (demon) in the form of a bull, his consort Radha tersely told Krishna to wash off his sins by taking dips in various holy rivers. Krishna laughed it off and struck the ground with his foot whereupon the mighty rivers emerged, welled up and formed a kunda (little water body). Subsequently the Lord bathed in the water to please Radha. The kunda came to be called "Shyam-Kund". Indignant that Krishna used his powers for this, Radha and her girl attendants dug out a kunda with their bangles and filled it with water from “Manasi-Ganga”, another holy kunda at nearby Govardhan. That particular kunda is today's "Radha-Kund" where people come from far and wide to take a dip.[2]

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,[3] Radha-Kund had a population of 5889. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Radha-Kund has an average literacy rate of 65%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 76%, and female literacy is 53%. In Radha-Kund, 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References

  1. Rupa Gosvami: Sri Upadeshamrita, verse 9. Gaudiya Vedanta Publications, 2003.
  2. Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja: Sri Vrajmandala-Parikrama, pages 139-144. Gaudiya Vedanta Publications, 2007.
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.