JerrodOverstreet at 09:27, 25 March 2026

2026-03-25T09:27:23Z

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{{Use Indian English|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Gokul
| official_name =
| other_name =
| settlement_type = [[Town]]
| image_skyline = Gokul temple.JPG
| image_alt =
| image_caption = A temple in Gokul
| nickname =
| pushpin_map = India Uttar Pradesh
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
| pushpin_label_position = right
| coordinates = {{coord|27.45|N|77.72|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Uttar Pradesh]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Mathura district|Mathura]]
| established_title = 
| established_date =
| founder =
| named_for =
| government_type =
| governing_body =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
| area_total_km2 =
| area_rank =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 163
| population_total = 4041
| population_as_of = 2001
| population_footnotes =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_rank =
| population_demonym = Gokul wasi
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = 
| postal_code =
| registration_plate = UP-85
| website =
| footnotes =
| demographics1_info1 = [[Hindi]]
|demographics1_title3=Native
|demographics1_info3=[[Braj Bhasha|Braj Bhasha dialect]]
}}

'''Gokul''' is a town in the [[Mathura district]] of the [[India]]n [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[Uttar Pradesh]]. It is located {{convert|15|km|mi}} south-east of [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]].

[[File:Indischer Maler um 1640 001.jpg|thumb|Krishna dances over the subdued [[Kaliya]] Naag in river [[Yamuna]], while seen on the banks are people of Gokula, Krishna's father [[Nanda (mythology)|Nanda]] Baba and his brother [[Balarama]]]]

== History ==
In the [[Vishnu Purana|''Viṣṇu Purāṇa'']] and ''[[Bhāgavata Purāṇa]]'', the term "gokula" does not refer to any specific location, but rather simply a "cattle herd" or a temporary cowherd camp.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vaudeville |first=Charlotte |date=1976 |title=Braj, Lost and Found |journal=Indo-Iranian Journal |publisher=Brill |volume=18 |issue=3/4 |page=198}}</ref> According to the ''Bhāgavata Purāṇa'', Gokula is where [[Krishna|Kr̥ṣṇa]] performed most of his childhood [[Lila (Hinduism)|līlā]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barz |first=Richard |title=The Bhakti Sect of Vallabhācārya |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |year=1992 |edition=3rd |pages=17 |orig-date=1976}}</ref>

In pre-sixteenth century texts [[Mahaban|Mahāban]] and Gokul are identical, but starting in the late sixteenth century the two places became distinct.{{Sfn|Entwistle|1987|p=427}} According to the vārtas of the [[Pushtimarg]], in 1550 [[Vallabha]] arrived in [[Braj]] and unsuccessfully searched for Gokul and Mahāban, which were at the time considered lost/disappeared locations. There the goddess [[Yamuna in Hinduism|Jamna]] appeared before Vallabha and pointed out to him the lost site of Gokula next to a Chomkar/[[Sami tree|Shami]] tree.{{Sfn|Vaudeville|1976|p=201-202}}

Vallabha's son Viṭṭhalanātha set up his residence in Gokul, and expanded the town and established it as a religious center. He received imperial [[Firman|firmans]] in the name of [[Akbar]] that made Viṭṭhalanātha's landholdings in Gokul tax-exempt with state protection, and granted his cows the freedom to roam through state property and nobles' estates. Gokul was formerly the home of Navanitpriya and the [[Pushtimarg#Houses and Svarūpas in the Puṣtimārga|seven Pushtimarg svarups]].{{Sfn|Entwistle|1987|p=427}}<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Saha|first=Shandip |date=2004 |title=Creating a Community of Grace: A History of the Puṣṭi Mārga in Northern and Western India (1493-1905) |chapter=Tracing the History of the Puṣṭi Mārga (1493-1670) |publisher=University of Ottawa |page=128}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Roshen Dalal |title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zrk0AwAAQBAJ |year=2014 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-81-8475-277-9 |page=1375}}</ref>

== Transportation ==

Source:<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to Reach Gokul by Road, Train & Airway? {{!}} Travel Information |url=https://www.tourmyindia.com/states/uttarpradesh/how-reach-gokul.html |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=tour-my-india}}</ref>

Gokul is conveniently located ten kilometers from Mathura, a well-known Hindu pilgrimage site. The pilgrimage site is well connected to every significant Indian city by air, train, and road.

=== Road ===
Gokul has excellent road connections. Numerous buses are run by the [[Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation]] to and from Mathura and Gokul. Additionally, the town has a decent network of state and federal highways that pass close to Gokul, including the [[Yamuna Expressway]] and Taj Expressway.

=== Rail ===
Mathura, which is 7 km from the town, has the [[Mathura Junction railway station|closest railway station]]. From the train station, you can reserve a cab to take you to Gokul. Other Indian cities including [[Delhi]], [[Lucknow]], and [[Mumbai]] are easily accessible from the Mathura railhead.

=== Air ===
[[Agra]], which is 54 kilometers away from Gokul, has the closest airport. To go to Gokul from the [[Agra Airport|Agra airport]], you can arrange a taxi. With fewer flights, the air connection of the Agra airport is not the finest. As an alternative, you can travel 232 kms from the airport in [[Jaipur]] or 186 km from the [[Indira Gandhi International Airport]] in Delhi to get here. To get to Gokul from either airport, you can reserve a cab.

== Demographics ==
According to the [[2001 census of India]], Gokul had a population of 4041. Males constituted 55% of the population and females 45%. The average literacy rate was 60%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy was 68%, and female literacy was 49%. 18% of the population was under 8 years of age.<ref>{{Citation |title=India - Census, Standards & Statistics |work=Foreign Law Guide |editor=Marci Hoffman |publisher=Brill |doi=10.1163/2213-2996_flg_com_097161}}</ref>

==Notable sites==
===Govind ghat aka Thakurani ghat===
Govind Ghat is the main [[ghat]] of Gokul and is the ''baiṭhak'' where [[Vallabha]] initiated his first disciple.{{sfn|Entwistle|1987|p=427}}

===Gokulanātha Haveli===
[[File:Painting of Shri Gokulnathji and sakhis.png|thumb|Mid 19th century painting of the svarūpa Gokulanātha flanked by Rādhā and Candrāvalī.]]
The haveli of the svarūpa Gokulanātha is in Gokul. The haveli is maintained by the fourth house of the Puṣṭimārga (the descendants of [[Gokulanatha|Gokulanātha]], son of [[Vitthalanatha|Viṭṭhalanātha]]). The deity Gokulanātha was originally worshipped by the family of Vallabha's wife, and was bestowed upon Gokulanātha by Viṭṭhalanātha. During the reign of [[Aurangzeb]] the Vaishnav deities of Braj left, and Gokulanātha was eventually installed in Jaipur in the late 1700s, along with the deities Gokulacandramā and Madanamohana of the fifth and seventh houses of the Pushtimarg. At some point Gokulanātha was then taken back to Gokul.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barz |first=Richard |title=The Bhakti Sect of Vallabhācārya |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |year=1992 |edition=3rd |pages=54–55 |orig-date=First edition 1976}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Entwistle |first=Alan W. |title=Braj: A Center of Krishna Pilgrimage |publisher=Groingen |year=1987 |pages=164, 185, 222-223, 427}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nardi |first=Isabella |date=2023 |title=Mobility and Festivity: Krishna Icons and the Reunion of the Seven Svarūps of 1739–40 |journal=South Asian Studies |volume=39 |issue=1|pages=21–34 |doi=10.1080/02666030.2023.2224621 |s2cid=259624329 }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Krishna}}
{{Mathura district}}

[[Category:Cities and towns in Mathura district]]
[[Category:Krishna]]

Gokul - Revision history

JerrodOverstreet at 09:27, 25 March 2026