History – Madan Mohan Ji Temple,Karauli,Rajasthan

History

Madan Mohan Ji Temple

The pratima of Madan Mohan ji is immeasurably ancient and dates back to the time of the Mahabharata itself. The murti was created by Vajranabh the great-grandson of Lord Krishna a hundred years after the departure of Lord Krishna, out of a mystical black stone called the Braja stone. Madan Mohan ji along with GovindDevji, and Gopinathji, in Jaipur form a trinity that together represent the complete form of Lord Krishna. It is said that VajraNabh built the statues on the direction of his grandmother, Uttara who had actually gazed upon the Lord himself. To worship at the feet of Gopinathji, the dhar or torso of Madan Mohan ji and the face of GovindDevji, between a single sunrise and sunset is said to give one complete darshan of Lord Krishna.

All three statues were originally in Vrindavan, near Mathura, the historic kingdom of the Yaduvanshis of Karauli, till they were shifted to Jaipur in the 17th century, after Mathura’s temples were vandalized upon Aurangzeb’s orders.

The statue was finally placed in Karauli by Yadukul Chandra bhal Maharaja Gopal Singh in the 1700s. It is said that Madan Mohan ji appeared in his dreams and told him that he wished to return to the land of his descendants. Fortuitously, Maharaja Gopal Singh ji’s sister was married to the Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh of Jaipur, and mentioned this dream to her husband. The Maharaja of Jaipur then devised a test, wherein he placed three identical statues including the original and asked Gopal Singh to identify the original statue while blindfolded. He did so correctly, and the statue was moved to Karauli in an enormous ceremonial procession.

Maharaja Gopal Singh built the present temple of Madan Mohan ji for the statue and placed the statue of Radha-Rani to his left. To the right of Madan Mohan ji, he placed the statue of Gopal ji which had been brought from a campaign at Daulatabad (earlier known as Devgiri) by his ancestor Raja Gopal Das ji (1545-1589).

Raja Gopal Das ji, was on a campaign to the Deccan, as it was said that only a descendant of Lord Krishna could regain the fort of Devgiri or Daulatabad. Maharaja Gopal Das ji fought heroically and regained the fort in a day. He slept in the fort that night, and upon wakening he stretched and said ‘HaiGopal’. A voice from within the pillar responded ‘Hun’ (I am here). He broke open the pillar to reveal the staue which now resides at the Madan Mohan ji temple.