Category: Sheshashayi and Shergarh

There is an old kadamba (burflower) tree on the bank of the Yamuna river at Shergarh where Krishna took the clothes of young, unmarried girls from Vraja who were bathing after a month-long Katyayani-vrata. The place has come to be known as Chir Ghat. These girls would wake up every day at dawn, bathe in the river, and worship Katyayani devi with a mantra asking for Krishna to be their husband. During the vrata, they only ate unspiced Khichdi, which is a type of food that purifies the body before a ritual ceremony. To worship goddess Durga, the gopis made an earthen deity on the river bank and offered sandalwood pulp, fruits, leaves, garlands, and other fragrant substances.They prayed to the goddess as follows –

Tapovan, situated about one Kilometer to the east of Akshay Vat, lies on the bank of the river Yamuna. This is the sacred place where the unmarried Gopis of Gokul had performed austerities for an entire month of Agrahayana, desiring to attain Krishna as their husband. Every day the gopis would wake up at dawn, bathe in Yamuna, and worship Katyayani devi with the desire of attaining Krishna. During this month, these girls only subsisted on unspiced Khichdi (salty porridge). This kind of food (havisyanna) purifies one’s body before one enacts a ritualistic ceremony. The Gopis constructed an earthen deity of goddess Durga on the river bank and worshiped her with sandalwood pulp, fruits, leaves, garlands, and other aromatic substances. They prayed to the goddess as follows –

Akshay Vat, or the eternal banyan tree, is situated about 8 Kilometers south of Rama Ghat (Aicha Dauji temple). Under the shades of this banyan tree Krishna, Balarama, and the other cowherd boys would love playing and having fun. They especially liked to wrestle here. It is believed that five thousand years ago, this place was full of banyan trees. The original tree was so gigantic that its branches extended across Yamuna, which flowed nearby at that time. Krishna and His friends would walk on those branches to cross over the river. ‘Akshay Vat’ is also the place where Balarama killed Pralambasura. Today, there is a beautiful Sita, Rama, and Lakshman temple adjacent to Akshay vat. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world come to this place to seek blessings and reminisce about the enchanting pastimes of the Supreme Lord.

Sheshashayi is a serene village that lies about 27 Kilometers north of Nandgaon. It is situated within the Palwal district in the state of Haryana, India. Here lies the ‘Ksira Sagara Kunda’ which is non different from the milk ocean where Lord Vishnu rests upon His bed of Ananta Sesha. Overseeing the lake is a beautiful temple of Lakshmi Narayana (Sheshashayi Vishnu) where a deity of Lord Vishnu reclining on His bed of Ananta Sesha with Lakshmi devi serving Him, are worshiped. In this temple are also worshiped the deities of Radha-Krishna and Jagannath, Baladeva Subhadra. The place came across as exceedingly simple and transcendent to the chaotic influences of modern civilization. We consider ourselves fortunate to have been able to visit this sacred place and smear its dust all over our bodies.