Nidhivan Forest

My Favorite Things About Nidhivan Forest You Should Not Miss!

Nidhivan is one of the mysterious places in Vrindavan. It is a dense forest with the lush green trees.

Today, we’ll take a closer look at Nidhivan, the forest where Krishna and Radha come to perform their dances of divine love and pure devotion called the Ras Lilas.

Enchanted Forest of Love

There are two temples located inside Nidhivan, both were constructed in the 1800s. The first temple is the original temple, Nidhivan Temple, and houses a beautiful statue of Radha and Krishna.

The second temple is Rang Mahal, and is the resting room at night for Krishna, Radha and the Gopis. The room is resplendent with colorful bedspreads, tapestries and a beautiful sandalwood bed. . Every evening before the sun goes down, the attending priest prepares the room for the coming evening’s Ras Lilas. He prepares the beds, leaves new toothbrushes, saris, bangles, paan leaves and some holy water in a jug with a few sweets after the evening worship ceremony. Then everybody must leave the forest area, including all the monkeys! Surrounding buildings with windows facing into the forest, close their curtains. Nobody is allowed to watch the sacred Ras Lilas. Anybody who dares sneak a peek at the divine dancing is stuck deaf, dumb, and blind.

The next morning, when the attending priest return, everything is found scattered around as if somebody has used them. People in the neighborhood report hearing the tinkling of ankle bracelet bells, as if women are dancing, and hypnotizing notes from a flute.

Ras Lila

The ‘Ras Lila” is the Cosmic Dance, of Radha – Krishna and the Gopis. Radha and every Gopis believed that Krishna was dancing exclusively with her and for her!

This ‘Enchanting Drama‘ is performed, beyond the physical body.

Love starts with two, the dualistic nature of our 3-dimensial world. i.e there is the Lover and the Beloved.  Later Love becomes One, in the unity of the created with the creator.

Dancing Gopis

The trees are short and intertwined with each other and all the same size and heights. The divine trees are close to each other in dance poses, touching each other. The trees are hollow and the land is absolutely dry, but the trees remain green throughout the year. The branches are all entangled with one another in such a manner that looks like humans hugging each other. Such a harmonious arrangement of trees is not found anywhere in the world. These Tulsi trees are the Gopis who transform to human beings after evening to dance the Ras lilas with Krishna.

The trees are shallow, dry and entangled, but from above they look vibrantly green. There is no tree in the entire world which is shallow and dry but has such green leaves.