Radha Damodar Temple

Shri Radha Damodar Temple in Vrindavan is dedicated to Radha and Krishna, who is worshipped here as Damodar. A temple of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, it was founded by Jiva Goswami in 1542 at Seva Kunj and is counted among the seven main Goswami temples of the town. Before his death Jiva left the deities with Krishna Dasa, his successor as head priest, whose descendants still serve them.

The temple keeps the Giriraj Shila, a stone believed to carry Krishna's footprints and to have been given by him to Sanatana Goswami. Popular belief holds that walking around the temple four times equals one circuit of Govardhan Hill. The grounds contain the samadhis of Rupa Goswami, Jiva Goswami and Krishnadasa Kaviraja, and Srila Prabhupada, founder of ISKCON, lived here for six years before leaving for the United States. Other deities worshipped here include Jagannath, Gaur Nitai, Radha Madhav and Radha Vrindavanchandra.