Banke Bihari Temple (Vrindavan)

The image of Banke Bihari is held in tradition to have been revealed to Swami Haridas, the sixteenth-century musician and saint of the Nimbarka lineage, at Nidhivan in Vrindavan. Banke means bent in three places — the tribhanga posture in which Krishna stands — and Bihari, the enjoyer. The temple belongs to the Haridasi tradition and its practice differs from most Vaishnava temples in ways a visitor notices immediately: no bells and no conches are used, and the curtain before the sanctum is drawn and closed every few minutes rather than left open.

The reason given for the curtain is that the gaze of Banke Bihari is held to be too intense to meet for long — so darshan is given in jhanki, brief glimpses, throughout the day.

The deity is woken, bathed and dressed on a schedule that shifts with the season — the temple opens earlier in summer than in winter. Offerings are of flowers, tulsi and sweets. Mangala Aarti is held only once a year, on Janmashtami.

Janmashtami is the principal festival. Holi at Vrindavan runs over several days in Phalguna, and the temple keeps its own observances through it. Radhashtami, Sharad Purnima and the month of Kartik are also kept.

On Akshaya Tritiya the deity's feet are shown, which happens on no other day.

The temple is in the lanes of Vrindavan, about twelve kilometres from Mathura and roughly fifteen from Mathura Junction railway station. Vrindavan has its own small station but Mathura Junction is the practical railhead, on the Delhi–Agra main line. By road Vrindavan is just off the Yamuna Expressway, about three and a half hours from Delhi.

The approach is through narrow market lanes closed to cars; e-rickshaws run to the nearest point and the rest is on foot. Bags and cameras are restricted inside. Most visitors combine the temple with the Krishna Janmasthan at Mathura and with Nidhivan and the Prem Mandir in Vrindavan.