Braj Ki Holi: A Festival Like No Other

Colours, Traditions, and the Spirit of Krishna’s Land – Those Who Haven’t Witnessed It Haven’t Seen the Real India

The great Hindu festival of Holi, known as the festival of colours, is falling shortly, on 14th March. It will be celebrated with great gaiety, fervour, and enthusiasm in large parts of India, particularly by the youth.

But it is in the region called Braj, which is the area around the city of Mathura in UP, that it is celebrated with particular revelry, festivity, carousal, liveliness, and exhilaration.

It is often said that those who have not seen the Holi of Braj, which lasts for a week, have not seen India.

But before knowing about the Holi of Braj, one should first know something about Braj.

Braj is the region where Lord Krishna is said to have been born and spent his boyhood and youth. (He is later said to have migrated to Dwarka in Gujarat after the battle with Jarasandh.)

Most places around Mathura city, which form the Braj region, are associated with the life of Lord Krishna.

There is Mathura city, and there are many places near Mathura associated with the life of Lord Krishna, e.g., Vrindavan, Gokul, Govardhan, Barsana, Nandgaon, etc.

In Mathura city, the most renowned temple is the Dwarkadhish temple, but there are other well-known temples in the city too, e.g., the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple.

About 18 km from Mathura city is Vrindavan, where the most famous temple is the Banke Bihari temple.

While most other temples in India are managed by Brahmin priests, the Banke Bihari temple is managed by members of a caste known as Gosains (whose surnames are Gosain, Goswami, Giri, Puri, etc.).

There is an extended family of Gosains, and each member has a fixed number of days for doing ‘seva’.

There is also a South Indian temple in Vrindavan called the Rangji temple. It is said to have been built about 200 years ago by a rich North Indian merchant whose guru was a South Indian sadhu. It is built like the Srirangam temple in Trichy, Tamil Nadu, and its priests, who manage it, are all Tamilian Brahmin priests. It is a massive temple built in the style of South Indian temples.

There is also an ISKCON temple in Vrindavan.

In the other direction from Mathura, about 20 km away, is Govardhan. Govardhan is the mythical mountain that Lord Krishna is said to have lifted on his finger to protect his sakhas (boyhood companions) from the fury of Indra, the rain god, who sent a downpour on Mathura. Very little of the original mountain now remains.

There is a famous temple at Govardhan, and many people perform a 22 km parikrama (circumambulation), which is in the form of a figure 8, with the temple being at the meeting point of the two loops. The bigger loop is 13 km, while the smaller loop is 9 km. I did the parikrama on foot in two stages—first the larger loop, and then, about six months later, the smaller loop. There are numerous temples and lodges for pilgrims all along the parikrama path.

Going further, about 40 km from Mathura is Barsana, where there is a temple of Radha on a hillock. There, people greet each other with “Radhey, Radhey” and not “Jai Shri Krishna”, because Lord Krishna left them and went to Dwarka, while Radha remained with the people of Barsana. People, especially women, dance at that temple.

About 9 km further from Barsana is Nandgaon, where Lord Krishna is also said to have spent some of his childhood.

Across the Yamuna River from Mathura is Gokul, where Lord Krishna was taken in a basket by his father, Vasudev, to protect him from the fury of his maternal uncle, Kansa, who had been told in an Akashvani (voice from the sky) that the eighth child of his sister, Devaki (Lord Krishna’s mother), would slay him.

Near Gokul is the mazar of the Hindi poet Raskhan, who, though a Muslim, was enraptured in Krishna bhakti. On a tablet at the mazar are inscribed a few verses from Raskhan’s famous poem:

“Manush ho to wahi Raskhan, bason Brij Gokul gaon ke dwaaran
Jo pashu ho to khan bas mero, chiron nit Nand ki dhenu manjaaran
Paahan ho to to wahi giri ko jo dhariyon kar chetra purandar kaaran
Jo khag ho to baserron karau mili Kalindi kul Kadamb ki daaran”

Near Gokul is also Raman Reti, which is the ashram (hermitage) of the saint Swami Gurusharananand, whom I know well.

Further on, about 30 km across the Yamuna from Mathura, is the temple of Dauji (Baldau or Balaram), the elder brother of Lord Krishna.

The Holi of Braj

The Holi of Braj lasts for about a week when the whole region becomes a blaze of colours.

It begins with Lathmaar Holi at Barsana, which was held this year on 8th March. The young men from Nandgaon walk 9 km to Barsana, where the womenfolk beat them on their heads with sticks.

The young men have to wear protective headcovers; otherwise, they could get serious injuries.

This is perhaps symbolic of the women being angry because Lord Krishna abandoned them and went away to Dwarka, while Radha remained with the people of Barsana.

Thereafter, every day, there is some event somewhere in the Braj region for a whole week. At many places, raas leela is performed on a stage, depicting scenes of Lord Krishna playing with his gopis, etc.

During one Holi week in Mathura, when I was a judge in the Allahabad High Court, I was doing the parikrama of Govardhan. I had started late in the evening, and it became dark when, at a place called Jaitpura, I saw people dancing.

They caught hold of me and said they would not let me go unless I danced with them. I pleaded that I did not know how to dance, but they insisted, and I had to dance—the first, and hopefully, the last time in my life!

The last day of the Holi week is Dauji ka Huranga, at the temple of Dauji (Baldau or Balaram, the elder brother of Lord Krishna), about 30 km from Mathura.

There is a square open place there, surrounded by walls. My wife and I went to the first floor of a building and watched the event from there. Everywhere, colours were being thrown—blue, green, yellow, and red.

The menfolk were in the centre of the square, and the women tore the upper garments of the men, dipped them in coloured water, and beat them with those torn clothes. Perhaps this was symbolic of women returning what they received from their men during the rest of the 364 days of the year!

The Urdu poet Nazir Akbarabadi wrote this beautiful poem about Holi.

The Urdu poet Hasrat Mohani also wrote many poems in praise of Lord Krishna. In fact, after performing Haj, Hasrat Mohani would invariably visit the temples in Mathura and the Braj region.https://www.punjabtodaynews.com/imposing-hindi-or-igniting-politics/

In and around Mathura (and also in neighbouring places like Agra, Firozabad, etc.), there is a heavy concentration of people called Chaubes (also known as Chaturvedis), who are devotees of Lord Krishna.

I was once told by a Chaube that Chaubes of Mathura celebrate (utsav manate hain) for 366 days a year. I asked him, “When do you people work for a living?” He replied, “We are sakhas (companions) of Lord Krishna. We do not have to work, only celebrate utsavs. Others have to work and feed us!”

Main image courtesy: Cecilia Colussi

 

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