Govardhan, 2017.06.22 (VT): Once lost under a mass of garbage and sludge, the historic Rinmochan Kund was re-inaugurated today in Govardhan. The renovation of this important heritage site is yet another successful project by the Braj Foundation. UP Power Minister Shrikant Sharma was the chief guest at the ceremony, during which many prominent personalities of Mathura offered tarpan for their ancestors in the kund for the first time in decades.
According to scripture, Shri Krishna manifested all the holy places of India within Braj Bhoomi. Amongst them, Rinmochan Kund is the embodiment of Gaya Dham, a sacred city where people traditionally perform ceremonies for their departed ancestors. The Bhakti Ratnakar states that one who bathes in Rinmochan Kund becomes free of all rin (debts to the ancestors, gods, sages, and so forth).
Tragically, this sacred lake, located near the Govardhan bus stand, became the victim of urbanization and human greed in recent years. It was used as a garbage dumping site to the point that the entire kund was filled with muck and refuse. Despite the foul smell, neighboring property owners began to build illegal structures on top of the compacted garbage.
Rinmochan Kund Before Renovation (P.C. The Braj Foundation)
The Braj Foundation took the honorable initiatve to revive this historic place. After they approached the District Magistrate for assistance, most of the encroachments were removed in July of 2015.
The original form of the Kund was not discernable after the excavation, so The Braj Foundation created its own design; a five-sided figure shaped to suggest an anjali (hands folded in prayer or offering). Two gateways and ample greenery now decorate the area, while several small solar-powered waterfalls ensure the Kund’s water, which springs from the aquifer below, does not become stagnant.
The Braj Foundation restored this important site with financial support from Sri Ajay Piramal, who chose to endow the project in the loving memory of his late father Sri Gopikisan Piramal.
The post Once buried under garbage and sludge, Rinmochan Kund is now reborn appeared first on Vrindavan Today.