ImportMaster at 15:56, 20 January 2023

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{{For|the language|Braj Bhasha}}
{{Redirect|Brij Bhoomi|the 1982 film|Brij Bhoomi (film)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox region 
| name = Braj
| type = [[Region]]
| image_skyline = {{Photomontage |border=0 |size=250 |spacing=2 |color=none | photo1a = Mathura Temple-Mathura-India0002.JPG |photo2a=Chhatris of Barsana 03.jpg |photo3a =A Hindu temple Prem Mandir Love temple sights culture India.jpg | photo4a = Kusuma Sarovar Ghat.jpg}}
| image_caption = ''top to bottom:'' [[Krishna Janmasthan Temple Complex|Krishna Janmasthan]] at [[Mathura]], [[Radha Rani Temple]] at [[Barsana]], [[Prem Mandir, Vrindavan|Prem Mandir]] at [[Vrindavan]] and [[Kusum Sarovar]] at [[Govardhan Hill]].
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type2 = Region
| subdivision_name2 = [[Northern India]]
| blank_name_sec1 = [[Language]]
| blank_info_sec1 = [[Braj Bhasha]] dialect of [[Hindi]]
| seat_type = Proposed [[Capital (political)|capitals]]
| seat = [[Mathura]], [[Agra]]
| parts_type = Proposed Districts
| parts_style = list
| p1 = [[Mathura district]]
| p2 = [[Agra district]]
| p3 = [[Aligarh district]]
| p4 = [[Ghaziabad district]]
| p5 = [[Hathras district]]
| p6 = [[Gautam Buddha Nagar district]]
| p7 = [[Mainpuri district]]
| p8 = [[Etah district]]
| p9 = [[Kasganj district]]
| p10 = [[Firozabad district]]
| p11 = [[Bulandshahr district]]
| p12 = [[Bharatpur district]]
| p13 = [[Dholpur District]]
| p14 = [[Palwal District]]
| p15 = [[Faridabad District]]
| p16 = [[Karauli District]]
}}

'''Braj''', also known as '''Vraj''', '''Vraja''', '''Brij''' or '''Brijbhumi''', is a region in [[India]] on both sides of the [[Yamuna]] river with its centre at [[Mathura district|Mathura]]-[[Vrindavan]] in [[Uttar Pradesh]] state encompassing the area which also includes [[Palwal]] and [[Ballabhgarh]] in [[Haryana]] state, [[Bharatpur district]] in [[Rajasthan]] state and [[Morena District]] in [[Madhya Pradesh]].<ref name=janet1>Janet Cochrane, 2008, [https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=LC4c7i3WrPgC&pg=PA249&dq=Braj+region+covers+haryana+and+rajasthan&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiplqzB9sXmAhWCF3IKHeV7AFgQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=Braj%20region%20covers%20haryana%20and%20rajasthan&f=false Asian Tourism: Growth and Change], page 249.</ref> Within Uttar Pradesh it is very well demarcated culturally, the area stretches from the [[Mathura district|Mathura]], [[Aligarh]], [[Agra district|Agra]], [[Hathras district|Hathras]] and districts up to the [[Farrukhabad district|Farrukhabad]], [[Mainpuri district|Mainpuri]] and [[Etah district|Etah]] districts.<ref name="LuciaMichelutti1">{{cite web | url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/1/U613338.pdf | title=Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town | publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science University of London | work=PhD Thesis Social Anthropology | date=2002 | access-date=20 May 2015 | author=Lucia Michelutti | pages=49}}</ref> Braj region is associated with [[Radha]] and [[Krishna]] who according to scriptures were born in [[Barsana]] and [[Mathura]] respectively.<ref>{{Citation|title=ONE. The Social Construction of Emotion in India|date=1990-12-31|work=Divine Passions|pages=3–34|publisher=University of California Press|doi=10.1525/9780520309753-002|isbn=978-0-520-30975-3|last1=Lynch |first1=Owen M. }}</ref><ref name="Lucia Michelutti00"/> It is the main centre of [[Hindu pilgrimage sites in India|Krishna circuit of Hindu pilgrimage]].<ref name=janet1/>

It is located 150 km south of [[Delhi]] and 50 km northwest of Agra.<ref name=janet1/>

==Etymology==
The term Braj is derived from the [[Sanskrit]] word ''vraja (व्रज)''.<ref name="Lucia Michelutti00">{{cite web | url=http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2106/1/U613338.pdf | title=Sons of Krishna: the politics of Yadav community formation in a North Indian town | publisher=London School of Economics and Political Science University of London | work=PhD Thesis Social Anthropology | date=2002 | access-date=20 May 2015 | author=Lucia Michelutti | pages=46}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Prasad|first=Dev|title=Krishna: A Journey through the Lands & Legends of Krishna|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o0_5caqiUH0C&pg=PT16|year=2015|publisher=Jaico Publishing House|isbn=978-81-8495-170-7}}</ref> Vraja was first mentioned in [[Rigveda]], and in [[Sanskrit]] it means a [[goshala|pasture, shelter or resort for cattle]] from Sanskrit term ''"{{lang|sa-Latn|vraj}}"'' which means ''"go"'' in English.

==Braj pilgrimage circuits==
{{anchor | Braj Yatra | Braj pilgrimage | Krishna pilgrimage }}
{{main | Vraja Parikrama}}
{{see | 48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra | Dwarka | Hindu pilgrimage sites in India }}

Since this is a site associated with the [[Vedic era]] Lord Krishna and [[Mahabharata]], it is an important place of [[pilgrimage]] for [[Hindu]]s. It is one of 3 main pilgrimage sites related to ''Krishna'' circuit, namely ''[[48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra]]'' in [[Haryana]] state, ''[[Vraja Parikrama]]'' in [[Mathura]] in [[Uttar Pradesh]] state and ''[[Dwarkadhish Temple#Pilgrimage|Dwarka Parikrama]]'' (Dwarkadish yatra) at [[Dwarkadhish Temple]] in [[Gujarat]] state.

''[[Vraja Parikrama|Braj Yatra]]'' circuit of pilgrimage was formally established by the 16th-century [[sadhu]]s of [[Sampradaya#Vaishnava sampradayas|vaishnava sampradaya]] with fixed routes, itinerary and rituals. The circuit covers is spread across 2500 km<sup>2</sup> area with 84 [[Kos (unit)|kos]] or 300 km long periphery extending 10 km to east and 50 km to north and west. Braj has two main types of pilgrimage circuits, the traditional longer ''Braj Yatra'' encompassing the whole circuit, and the other shorter significantly modified contemporary point-to-point pilgrimage to visit the main sites at Mathura, Vrindavan, [[Gokul]], [[Govardhan]]. The former, longer traditional pilgrimage route, also includes additional sacred sites [[Nandgaon, Uttar Pradesh|Nandgaon]] and [[Barsana]] with travel on foot.<ref name=janet1/>

==See also==
; Regional
* [[Braj language]]
* [[Vajjika League|Vajji]], the ancient region of the Vṛji janapada that Bajjika evolved from

; Religious
* [[48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra]]
* [[Dwarka]]
* [[Hindu pilgrimage sites in India]]

; Vedic era
* [[King Kuru]]
* [[Cemetery H culture]]
* [[Painted Grey Ware culture]]

; General
* [[Kingdoms of Ancient India]]
* [[Administrative divisions of Haryana|Regions of Haryana]]
* [[:Category:Regions of Rajasthan|Regions of Rajasthan]]
* [[Administrative divisions of Uttar Pradesh|Regions of Uttar Pradesh]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Rupert Snell, ''The Hindi Classical Tradition: A Braj Bhasa Reader.'' Includes grammar, readings and translations, and a good glossary.

{{coord missing|Uttar Pradesh}}

{{Mahajanapada}}
{{Tribes and kingdoms of the Mahabharata}}
{{Mahabharata}}
{{Historical regions of North India}}

[[Category:Krishna]]
[[Category:Mahabharata]]
[[Category:Yadava kingdoms]]
[[Category:Rigvedic tribes]]
[[Category:Indo-Aryan peoples]]
[[Category:Iron Age countries in Asia]]
[[Category:Iron Age cultures of South Asia]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples]]
[[Category:Locations in Hindu mythology]]
[[Category:Regions of Haryana]]
[[Category:Regions of Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Regions of Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Tourism in Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Brij]]

Braj - Revision history

ImportMaster at 15:56, 20 January 2023