Yogi govt to spend Rs 100 crore to renovate Banke Bihari temple and 9 ponds in Vrindavan

NEW DELHI: The Yogi Adityanath government is loosening its purse strings to spend nearly Rs 100 crore to renovate the Banke Bihari temple and nine historic ponds related to Lord Krishna in Vrindavan town.

The ponds, located on the pious parikrama (circumambulation) route around Vrindavan, are in a dilapidated condition with contaminated water found unfit for bathing in a study carried out by the Uttar Pradesh government.

Officials said the plan is to cleanse and beautify these ponds, which are visited by devotees as part of the 84-km parikrama of Vrindavan, and improve the access and pedestrian facilities to Banke Bihari Temple in the town which is one of the most widely-visited pilgrim spots for Hindus in the country.


As per the government, the ponds have great mythological significance. The Vihwal pond, for instance, is said to be the one where Lord Krishna and Radha met for the first time.

The pond is believed to have been formed from the tears that rolled down the eyes of both as they were overwhelmed by each other’s beauty.

The Potra pond in Mathura near the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple is said to be the one near which Lord Krishna first appeared while the Govind Pond in Govardhan is said to be the one where the deity took a bath after lifting the Govardhan mountain.

“These ponds are bound by cultural values limited within the parikrama path and hence have immense religious and tourist significance. It is customary for pilgrims who visit the ponds as part of the parikrama to take a sacred dip and move ahead to the next destination,” the state government has said in a proposal for renovation.