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Devout followers of Lord Krishna — the kind who make Krishna temples come alive with joyous prayers and who populate the various shrines in the Braj region — may find this story a tad sacrilegious, particularly a day after Janmashtami.

But given that the story has more to do with architecture than religion and has closer linkages with patronage of a faith than with the faith itself, it would be prudent to tell the tale.

On the face of it, Vrindavan is like any other north Indian temple town with chaotic, congested lanes leading to shrines full of chanting devotees, shops laden with sweets and flower-sellers promising the most fragrant of their wares to the mass of pilgrims walking in.

The one aspect of the town that strikes a visitor is that there are temples everywhere. What is a bit jarring to some is that many of these seem to have been built without a context and without being thought out in terms of location or building plan. This is the obvious result of over-zealous royals, merchants and today’s corporate bigwigs demonstrating their wealth and power by building places of faith.

Madan Mohan Temple

Tucked away in the middle of these layers of temples are pieces of history from the Mughal era. The first of these is in the form of the Madan Mohan temple, considered the oldest in the town. Located near the old Kali Ghat at a time when the Yamuna flowed past, the temple would have been the site of many a magical evening aarti.

The location is also believed to have played a role in its creation. In a now forgotten year towards the late 16th century a merchant from Multan was sailing past in his boat, taking his goods for sale in the imperial capital of Agra. The boat got stuck at a spot near the ghat and nothing would make it move further. In desperation the merchant prayed that he would build a temple at the ghat if his boat was freed and he made a profit. The temple built by the merchant — Kapur Ram Das — is testimony to his success.

The temple is built on a high mound and is accessed through a flight of steps. The temple complex consists of a mandap (nave), an antardala (choir) and a garbhagraha (sacrarium).

What is most interesting from an architectural perspective is that the temple is made of red sandstone, which — in the late 16th century — would have marked a significant departure from conventional north Indian temple building traditions, which largely used rock and stone. The influence that led to this is no mystery, for it is around the same time that the Mughals were raising the massive red sandstone city of Fatehpur Sikri, which is less than 100 kms away from Vrindavan. The other standout features of this temple are its tower like shape and an exterior covered with decorative panels made on red sandstone.

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This post was submitted by Harshit Agrawal.

Thanks to economictimes.indiatimes.com