Sri Krishna in the sacred cosmology of Braj

Sri Krishna through the lense of Braj culture and heritage
Sri Krishna in the sacred cosmology of Braj

The Background

Braj – the culturally vibrant and spiritually significant region associated with the childhood pastimes of Sri Krishna has a distinct identity of its own. In the commonwealth of Indian culture and heritage Braj offers an excellent mix of cultural traditions, architectural grandeur, ecological splendour and spiritual vibrancy. Over 50 million tourists and pilgrims come to visit this sacred settlement annually. The region is located strategically in the golden triangle of Delhi-Jaipur-Agra and is merely 115 kms from the national capital on the Delhi-Agra national highway.

The region which was once sandwiched between the Muslim capitals of Agra and Delhi still stands for its age-old values of sustainable living, of harmonious co-existence between nature and man, of simple living and high thinking, of the divinity of life. The foundations of the cultural traditions of Braj were so strong that the Muslim invaders couldn't create much of a difference in the values and ideals of the people.

During the Bhakti era, Braj was the point of culmination of all acharyas, saints and seers from different parts of the country. When Akbar relaxed the jazia, a wave of reconstruction and regeneration started in this divine land. Princely states from all over the country came forward to decorate the land of Krishna. Such has been the significance and importance of this small region spread over 5000 sq. km.

Sri Krishna who is considered to be the founder of Braj culture resided in the region till the age of 11 years. Right from his birth at Mathura till his departure from Braj this short time-span is replete with innumerable events and incidents, popularly known as pastimes. A rough estimate puts the sites connected to these pastimes to be around 25000. They include over 1000 water tanks (kunds), hundreds of sacred groves, innumerable spots spread over 18000 acre of hilly terrains, banks of river Yamuna, temples and other cultural landscapes. The 600 odd heritage villages of Braj are named after one or the other Krishna leelas. All these spots have an association with the life and times of Krishna, they are considered sacred, fairs & festivals are organized near them, millions come to visit them, and most importantly they do bear some historical importance. These spots do impress upon the fact that it's their presence which held the faith and belief of the inhabitants of the region during the troubling times of Muslim invasions and subsequently the British onslaughts.

This sacred cosmology of Braj has found ample mention in the religious literature where its metaphysical importance has been prominently highlighted whereas the economic, social, cultural, and scientific dimensions of the same have been largely ignored and neglected. All this has resulted into certain negative stereotypes about the spiritual traditions and values of Braj. These connotations eventually result into movies like The White Rainbow where the entire temple town of Vrindavan is projected as a brothel of widows. People take Braj to be a place for retired people and at best a centre of religious activities. They remain ignorant of the sustainable economic model of Braj, the vibrant social traditions, the music, the arts, the cuisine and the ecological grandeur of the region.

However, if the economic, social, cultural and scientific aspects of Braj culture are brought to light, it would be instrumental in positively positioning the entire gamut of Indic traditions.

The Proposal

The Braj Foundation intends to create a comprehensive multimedia documentation of the entire gamut of Braj culture and heritage and bring it out in multiple modes – website, books and leaflets etc. This documentation would thereby form the basis for further research into the spiritual and meta-physical traditions of Braj and their correlations with the other secular aspects.

The multimedia documentation would comprise of a well researched descriptive note on each spot with all the relevant references, pictures of the site, audio & video interviews of local inhabitants and scholars about the relevance and importance of the spot. All this set of information would thereby be assembled into a user-friendly format for easy access.

The best way to portray or depict the entire gamut of Braj culture and heritage would be to make Sri Krishna, the protagonist of the entire plot. Making the life of Sri Krishna as the basis, all the heritage spots can be documented in time sequence of the major events.