- Gaya Teerth of Braj
According to Sanatan Dharma every living entity carries the burden of three debts in one’s life. They are; Rishi Rina (of the sages), Pitra Rina (of the ancestors) & Dev Rina (of the Demigods). Here at Rinmochan Kund one can repay the second Rin i.e. to the ancestors.
The historic Rinmochan Kund, located close to the Goverdhan Police Station, right on the parikrama path, is the replica of Gaya Teerth (Bihar), where Hindus from around the world go to do ‘pind daan’ to their ancestors. This Rinmochan Kund is Gaya Teerth in Braj, which was invoked by Lord Krishna to Braj .
According to folklore of Braj, once Krishna as the King of Dwarika (Dwarikadeesh) also came here with his elder brother Balram ji and parents to do ‘tarpan’ to their ancestors. That is why it is called Rinmochan Kund (Rin means debt, Mochan means liberation).
Being such a significant historic and Puranic site, this Kund became a victim of urbanization and human greed. It was systematically filled with garbage dumping and gradually encroached by the neighboring property owners. The dirty drain falling into it was breeding mosquitoes and spreading foul smell.
As a result it lost its identity and disappeared in be wilderness till the Mathura District Magistrate approached us to restore this Kund. Thanks to the support from the Mathura administration, most of the encroachments were removed in July 2015. Some of its area is still under illegal possession for which litigation is going on in Mathura Court.
Our architect Suvaj Mohanty created a unique design of Rinmochan Kund. As a result when you enter here you feel like doing tarpan (a ritual) to your ancestors. Rinmochan Kund has been designed as if two palms have been brought together. There is a beautiful pink stone jail fence around it and from the right side of the Kund, steps are going down. You have to go down to fetch the water and pour it back into the Kund to do tarpan.
The Kund has two levels of water reservoirs. The peripheral one is on a higher surface and the central one, which is the main Kund, is on a deeper surface. This design has been created for two purposes, a) to have waterfalls all around from higher reservoir to the lower one, which adds beauty to the Kund. b) to ensure circulation of water for oxygenation purposes.
The waterfalls are carved in white marble exactly the way you offer tarpan, Anjali form. So when you do tarpan, it is not just you and your family but several hands within your visual reach are also doing tarpan simultaneously.
On 27th Aug 2015 the desilting operation of the flattened Rinmochan Kund began amidst Vedic chanting. The District Magistrate of Mathura and the Chairman of The Braj Foundation along with a large number of Brajwasis and our team, performed the Bhumi Poojan and broke coconut to start the renovation of Rinmochan Kund. The de-silting operation continued for a few weeks.
On 14th Oct. 2015, the foundation stone of the Rinmochan Kund was laid by HH Siyaram Baba (Goverdhan) in the presence of Shri Narayan Das Agarwal, Chancellor GLA University Mathura and several other prominent people of Mathura. The restoration work of sacred Kund is being done in the fond memory of Late Mr. Gopikisan Piramal, with the generous financial support from Ajay Piramal Foundation, Mumbai.
The Kund has been dug to clean the silt and plastic deposit. A sewer line has been installed to divert the dirty water falling into the kund to the nearby drain. Fencing has been erected to prevent people from throwing solid waste in the Kund and its premises. Bilingual inscriptions in Hindi and English have been placed to enlighten the glory of the Kund to the devotees. A separate inscription with donors name has been installed near the entrance of Rinmochan Kund so that millions of devotees who visit this place round the year should remember the kind support in the noble cause. This might also earn the donor a fraction of punya or good deeds of the devotees visiting here.
As per design we have constructed two levels of water bodies. Seven white Anjali form carved marble waterfalls have been installed throughout the inner wall. The surroundings of the Kund were beautifully landscaped to add charm to the pilgrims and visitors. The restored Kund is now attracting a huge crowd.
Normally one would have seen the carved or painted deity of Krishna playing flute, grazing cows, performing raas (dance), stealing butter, killing demons or giving lecture of Bhagwat Geeta at the battlefield of Kurukshetra to His friend and devotee Arjuna, as his charioteer. Nowhere you would have seen the deity of Krishna doing tarpan. This unique mood of Krishna you will notice only at Rinmochan Kund. Here eight feet tall stone carved deity of Dwarikadeesh ( Krishna) is shown in a tarpan mudra (posture of doing tarpan).
On 22 June 2017, a very colorful and transcendental inauguration of Rinmochan Kund took place. Hundreds of devotees of ISKCON Vrindavan and Brajwais, prominent citizens of Braj & saints walked in a colorful procession led by HH Shri Gopal Sharan Devacharya, HH Shri Maheshanand Swami, HH Ravipuri ji Maharaj ‘Mauni Baba’ and other prominent saints. With chanting of Vedic Mantras inauguration was done by these respected saints as a representative of Shri Dwarikadeesh Bhagwan, who’s festive form came in a decorated palki (palanquin) carried by the priests of Dwarikadeesh Temple Mathura. After the inauguration and customary speeches glorifying the work done by our team, the saints including Shri Gopal Sharan Devacharya Ji, Swami Maheshanand Ji, could not resist the temptation of jumping into Rinmochan Kund and swimming in its fresh water, which had oozed out of the aquifers.
Since then Rinmochan Kund has been receiving streams of pilgrims and Brajwasis every day. On special festival days like Gurupurnima, Purnamasi, Ekadashi etc. huge unmanageable crowds enter Rinmochan Kund and make full use of this heritage by taking the holy dip and resting here for a while.
We are a non-profit organization, established in December 2005 to restore and revitalize the environmental and cultural heritage of Braj Bhoomi (land of Braj)
