Kaliya Ghat is an ancient ghat of River Yamuna in Vrindavana Dham. It is the place from where Lord Krishna jumped into the river to subdue Kaliya serpent. There is a Kadamba Tree here is which is hollow and still growing.
Vrindavana Dham is a manifestation of Tulsi Devi’s heart in which Radha and Krishna enact Their loving lilas. It is the playground of Lord Krishna purified by the constant touch of His lotus feet. Vrindavana is revered as the topmost dham this earth has on its surface. The realm of Vrindavana is so sacred and divine that even Lord Krishna does not keep one step outside of Vrindavana.
A living entity acquires a lot of punya by visiting all the tirtha kshetras on this planet Earth but if a devotee does not take shelter of Vrindavana Dham and touch its holy dust on one’s forehead, the visit to all other holy places shall prove fruitless. At least once in a lifetime one must visit Vrindavana, roll in its sacred dust, and have darshan of Radha Govinda.
The divine land of Vrindavana is dotted with several transcendental places where Lord Krishna performed His lilas just five thousand years ago. A visit to these holy places will remind us of those lilas of Lord Krishna performed there. Remembering these lilas of Krishna means a perfectional stage of yoga-system i.e, samadhi.
On one side, Vrindavana Dham is bordered by Yamuna Devi. There are many ghats constructed on the banks of this river to enhance its beauty. These ghats appear like jeweled necklaces on her body. Every ghat is significant from the shastric point of view. One such ghat is Kaliya Ghat.
Although the ghat is little away from the current location of Mother Yamuna, nonetheless five thousand years ago when Lord Krishna had appeared in Vrindavana, river Yamuna flowed touching it. Even today sometime during the rainy season, Yamuna comes and touches this ghat, which the local people call flooding.
You must have read a lot or heard a lot about the Kaliya Mardana Lila of Lord Krishna. I will not delve deep into this topic. Rather, I will touch upon a few facets about this lila which are unknown to the public.
Why did Kaliya come to Vrindavana?
Shukadeva Goswami in Bhagavata Purana narrates that Kaliya was from an island called Nagalaya. He was one of the chief serpents there. Because Garuda was used to eating snakes, he would create havoc on this island. This created a great disturbance in the society of snakes. Vasuki, the King of serpents approached Lord Brahma for protection.
Hence Lord Brahma made a rule that on every half-moon day, one serpent had to be sacrificed for the sake of Garuda. Garuda was very happy with this solution and satisfied too. But Kaliya became puffed up of his power and began stealing the offering for himself. This angered Garuda who attacked Kaliya to punish him.
Garga Samhita further elaborates this lila as follows:
Unable to face Garuda’s wrath, Kaliya fled to all the worlds of this universe but everywhere he saw Garuda. Finally, Kaliya began going down and down until he reached Lord Ananta Sesha. Ananta Sesha reassured Kaliya that there was no place for him to hide except one in Vrindavana. Lord Ananta then narrated the incident of Shaubhari Muni’s curse to Garuda.
Within the sacred river Yamuna, there was a lake known as Kaliya-hrda where Garuda was cursed not to visit it. Once, there lived Saubhari Muni who was performing tapasya within the water of River Yamuna at Kaliya-hrda. Garuda would come to Yamuna to capture fish.
Saubhari Muni became sympathetic with the fish and asked Garuda not to disturb the fishes. Garuda did not want to disobey the order of such a great yogi. Instead of carrying many fish, once he carried one big fish. Apparently, that was the leader of the other fishes who became very sad. When Saubhari Muni learnt about it, he cursed Garuda that he would die if he came there to catch fish.
Therefore, Kaliya took shelter at Kaliya-hrda within the water of River Yamuna so that he could be fearless of Garuda. But the poison within his body had poisoned his mind. He could not recognize Lord Krishna and committed an offense at His lotus feet by polluting the water of Yamuna and making it unfit for the residents of Vrindavana to drink.
Krishna jumps into Yamuna at Kaliya Ghat
When Krishna heard about the poisonous activities of Kaliya, He wanted to drive him off from Vrindavana. Krishna rushed to the bank of River Yamuna and saw a Kadamba tree. He climbed it and jumped into the river making a tremendous sound. It was as though a meteor had struck the earth. This was the only living tree on the bank of River Yamuna at that time.
Devotees say there are two reasons for the tree to be living although all the life on the banks of Yamuna was wiped out because of Kaliya’s poison. There was so much poison in the water of the river that a bird flying over Yamuna would die and fall into it.
During the Samudra manthana when Garuda was flying with the pot of nectar, he knew that Krishna would jump into the river from this tree and hence he dropped little nectar on this it. Some devotees believe that because of the touch of Lord Krishna’s flight the tree came back to life instantly and became lush green.
Later Krishna subdued Kaliya and drove him off to Fiji Islands where Kaliya is living even today.
Previous Life of Kaliya Serpent
During the age of Swayambhuva Manu there were two sages named Vedashira and Ashwashira. Once, Ashwashira Muni came to the hermitage of Vedashira Muni to perform austerities, but Vedashira Muni denied the place to former. Instead of welcoming his guest, Vedashira became angry and due to anger started rebuking him.
Sage Ashwashira became angry on hearing the denial of Vedashira Muni and cursed him to become a serpent and be afraid of Garuda. Vedashira also pronounced a counter curse that Ashwashira became a crow. Both the sages were great devotees of Lord Vishnu. After cursing each other, they began repenting for their words.
Lord Vishnu appeared there and consoled both the sages, who asked Him to nullify the curse. Lord Vishnu can make His own words prove false but not the words of His devotees. Lord Vishnu chose to give blessings to each of the sages. Although Sage Vedashira would become a snake, he would have the imprint of Lord Krishna’s lotus feet and would never be afraid of Garuda.
Sage Ashwashira although born as a crow, would be greatly knowledgeable into the subtle meanings of Vedas. He would be the knower of past, present and future. He would be a great devotee of Prabhu Ramachandra and would be known as Bhushandi. He would live at Mount Nila and narrate Ramayana to Garuda.
Instead of killing the serpent, Lord Krishna forgave him and awarded fearlessness. After many births even the great yogis in this world cannot attain the dust of the Lord’s feet. Still, Lord Krishna placed His lotus feet directly on Kaliya’s heads. Thus, Kaliya was freed from all the contamination and the sinful reactions.
Kaliya Ghat – a staunching example of Lord Krishna’s mercy
Kaliya Ghat is situated on the Vrindavana parikrama marg. Even today, devotees visit Kaliya Ghat to seek the blessings of Lord Krishna who was very merciful on the serpent Kaliya. Many devotees visit it to pay their respects while they are on the parikrama. The Kadamba tree from which Lord Krishna jumped still stands today at Kaliya Ghat.
There is a temple of Kaliya Mardana Krishna which was constructed by Vajranabha, the great grandson of Lord Sri Krishna. He had installed a Deity of Kaliya Krishna at Kaliya Ghat in remembrance of Kaliya Mardana Lila. This temple is around 100 meters away from Kaliya Ghat.
Best time to visit Kaliya Ghat
February to April and October to November is the best time to visit Kaliya Ghat when the weather is very pleasant and not extremes.
Temple of Timings of Kaliya Ghat
The Kaliya Ghat is always open. One can always have darshan of the sacred Kadamba Tree. The Kaliya Mardana Temple opens as per the following timing:
Morning – 07:00 am to 12:30 pm
Evening – 05:00 pm to 07:30 pm
How to reach Kaliya Ghat?
To reach Kaliya Ghat and relish it to the fullest, take up the world famous Vrajabhumi Yatra by Tirtha Yatra. You will not only have nice darshan at the best time, but also be inundated with transcendental lilas of Lord Sri Krishna.
If you wish to explore it on your own, you may reach as per the below instructions.
By Air – Agra is the nearest Airport to Vrindavana. It is a military airport with limited flight options. New Delhi is the next option.
By Rail – Mathura is the nearest Railway Station to Vrindavana, which is connected with major cities of the country.
By Road – From Mathura or New Delhi one can take State Transport Buses to reach Vrindavana. From Mathura Bus Stand and Railway station you can also take autos or taxis to reach Vrindavana and then visit Kaliya Ghat
Warning – Do not visit Vrindavana if you wish to return absent minded person.
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