Shree Govindajee Temple

Highlights

• Shree Govindajee Temple is a Meitei Hindu temple, dedicated to Hindu deities Radha Krishna (Govindaji).
• It is the largest Vaishnava temple in Imphal district of Manipur, India.
• It was originally built in 1846 during the reign of Maharaja Nara Singh and later rebuilt by Maharaja Chandrakriti in 1876.

Dress Code

Modest, respectful clothing is expected at this site.

Festivals

• •Important festivals held with much fanfare are the Janmashatami, during the month of August, and Kang (Rathayatra), during June–July, which are attended by a very large number of devotees.
• •Another important activity held in the precincts of the temple is the Ras Lila, a dance form of Manipur, held with great enthusiasm during Halangkar (Holi festival), Basant Purnima in February, and Kartik Purnima in October.
• •Ras Lila is a dance form which was started by Maharaja Jai Singh.

History

• •Maharaja Nara Singh (1844–50 AD) of the Manipur kingdom commissioned the temple on 16 January 1846 and dedicated it to Shree Govindaji, which was their royal deity.
• •The temple and the deities were substantially damaged during an earthquake of 1868.
• •Consequently, the temple was rebuilt to its original design during the reign of Maharaja Chandrakriti (1859-1886) and was consecrated on 26 April 1876.
• •However, during the Anglo Manipur war of 1891 the idols of the temple were moved to Kongma.

Architecture

• •The temple is simple in design with two gold plated domes, a paved court and a large, raised Mandop (Meitei for 'Mandapa')), or congregation hall.
• •The central chamber of the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) has Govindaji (Krishna) and his chief consort Radha as the main deities.
• •The other two chambers on the either side of the central altar is dedicated to Krishna and Balarama on one side and Jagannath, Subhadra and Balabhadra on the other side.
• •The temple appears very elegant.

Temple Layout

• •The temple is simple in design with two gold plated domes, a paved court and a large, raised Mandop (Meitei for 'Mandapa')), or congregation hall.
• •The central chamber of the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) has Govindaji (Krishna) and his chief consort Radha as the main deities.
• •The other two chambers on the either side of the central altar is dedicated to Krishna and Balarama on one side and Jagannath, Subhadra and Balabhadra on the other side.
• •The temple appears very elegant.

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