Nidhivan, Vrindavan

Tulasi Plants

Nidhivan is considered one of the mysterious places of Vrindavan. It is a dense forest with lush green trees, primarily Tulasi, which is considered a holy plant in Vaishnavism. The interesting thing is that the bark of the trees is hollow and the land is dry, but the tree remains loaded with green leaves throughout the year. All the trees are in a bending position towards the ground. Many monkeys and peacocks inhabit the area. The common belief is that these trees turn into the gopi cowherds in the night to perform the Raslila dance, before returning to their original form at dawn. Every plant on the premises is found in pairs signifying the pair of the cowherds and Krishna.^[6][7]

Rang Mahal

Rang Mahal, meaning Colourful Palace, is another temple in Nidhivan, known as the place where Radha was dressed up by Krishna. It is believed, that every night, Radha and Krishna themselves come to this palace to relax after their exhausting dance. The temple has sandalwood beds for sleeping. Every evening, before closing the temple gates, the temple priests make the bed, place ornaments like bangles, flowers and clothes for Radha, Tulasi leaves, Neem twigs to be used as toothbrushes, sweets and betel nuts and leaves to eat, and a jar full of water beside the bed. After all the arrangements are made by the priests, the main doors of the Rang Mahal and Nidhivan are locked from the outside and unlocked only in the morning. But every morning, they find that the bed looks as if someone has slept on it, the Neem twigs look used and the sweets and betel leaves look like they were partially eaten by someone. Also, the bangles, flowers and clothes look used, disordered and disarranged.^[2][3]

No one is allowed inside the premises of the temple after the sun sets down. It is believed that Radha and Krishna come to the temple every night to rest. Anyone who tries to trespass Nidhivan to see what happens in the night either dies or loses their eyesight and mentality. Although the houses built in the vicinity of Nidhivan have access to the view of the area, no one dares to attempt to do so. Many people who live in the vicinity have sealed their windows with bricks and those who have open windows, also close them down after the final aarti in the evening. Many of them also claimed to hear the sounds of anklets coming from Nidhivan at night.^[2] Even the monkeys and peacocks leave the Nidhivan temple after the sunset.^[7][8] Some people have also claimed to see Krishna himself in his divine form as a teenage cowherd, wearing yellow clothes and jewellery, a crown with a peacock feather attached to it, and playing the flute.

Appearance of Banke Bihari

Nidhivan is also considered the place of appearance of the Banke Bihari idol. It is said that the saint Swami Haridas with his sheer devotion and dedication, propitiated Radha and Krishna and they appeared in front of him. Later, both Radha and Krishna formed an idol called Banke Bihari to stay with Haridas. For a few years, Banke Bihari was worshipped in Nidhivan and then it was enshrined in a separate shrine.^[5]