Chiksauli, Barsana: The Village of Chitra Sakhi, Its Story and How to Reach

Key takeaways

• Chiksauli is a sacred village near Barsana, in the land of Radha.

• It is revered as the home of Chitra Sakhi, one of Radha’s eight sakhis.

• It lies on the Barsana parikrama, near the villages of the sakhis.

• It holds the Gahvar Kund and a temple of Bihari Ji.

• It is home to the ashram of the saint Ramesh Baba and a great gaushala.

• It is about 40 km from Mathura, very near Barsana; darshan is free.

I am Gurudutt, born in Gokul in the Mathura district, guiding pilgrims through Braj since 2018: more than 50,000 of them. Around Barsana, the village of Radha Rani, lie the little villages of her dear sakhis, her eight beloved companions, each hallowed by the memory of one of them, and one of these is Chiksauli, the village of Chitra Sakhi. It is a quiet and lovely place of the Barsana country, on the parikrama of Shri Ji, dear to those who love the divine friendship of Radha and her sakhis, and home too to a famous ashram. Here is everything you need: its significance, its sacred places, its location and how to reach it, told by someone from this land. Plan it with our Mathura Vrindavan Tour Package, message on WhatsApp at +91 7302265809, any day from 8 AM to 9 PM.

What is Chiksauli?

Chiksauli, sometimes written Chiksoli, is a village in the Nandgaon block of the Mathura district, lying very close to Barsana, the hilltop village of Radha Rani, in the west of Braj near the border of Rajasthan. Its especial glory is that it is revered as the home village of Chitra Sakhi, one of the Ashta Sakhis, the eight principal companions and dearest friends of Radha Rani. For in the divine world of Braj, Radha is surrounded by her sakhis, her beloved girlfriends, who serve and delight in the love of Radha and Krishna, and the greatest of these are the eight, the Ashta Sakhis; and around Barsana lie the villages held to be their homes. Chiksauli is the village of Chitra Sakhi, and so it is a place dear to the devotees of Radha and her divine friendship, a quiet and holy village of the Barsana country, on the parikrama path of Shri Ji, the Radha Rani. The table gives the essentials at a glance.

Chiksauli, Barsana, at a glance.

Chitra Sakhi and the eight sakhis of Radha

To understand Chiksauli one must know the Ashta Sakhis, the eight dear companions of Radha Rani, for the village is the home of one of them. In the loving world of Braj, Radha, the beloved of Krishna, is ever surrounded by her sakhis, her girlfriends, who live wholly for the joy of the love of Radha and Krishna, arranging their meetings, delighting in their union, serving the divine couple in every way; and among the many sakhis, eight are supreme, the Ashta Sakhis, chief of them Lalita and Vishakha. Chitra Sakhi, whose home is Chiksauli, is one of these eight, renowned in the tradition, and the villages of the eight are scattered about Barsana, each hallowed by its sakhi. To honour Chitra Sakhi at Chiksauli is to enter into the sweet mood of the sakhi bhava, the devotion of the friend, which delights not in its own union with the Lord but in serving and beholding the love of Radha and Krishna, the highest and most selfless of the moods of Braj. It is this that gives Chiksauli its special tenderness.

The Gahvar Kund and the Bihari Ji temple

The chief sacred places of Chiksauli are its holy kund and its temple. The Gahvar Kund, the sacred pond of the village, is revered as a holy water of the Barsana country and falls upon the parikrama of Shri Ji, the circuit of Radha Rani that the pilgrims walk, so that those who make the parikrama pass by it. And in the village stands a temple of Bihari Ji, of Krishna as the beloved Bihari, where the devotees take their darshan. These, with the memory of Chitra Sakhi that pervades the whole village, are the holy heart of Chiksauli, and though they are modest and rural, without the grandeur of the great temples, they are dear to those who love the intimate, tender devotion of the Barsana country. Our Gahvar Van, Barsana guide covers the sacred forest of Radha nearby.

Ramesh Baba’s ashram and the gaushala

Chiksauli is known as the home of a famous ashram and a great work of cow protection. Here is an ashram associated with the revered saint Shri Ramesh Baba Ji Maharaj, a much loved holy man of the Barsana region known for his lifelong devotion to Radha Rani and for his great work in the service of the cows and the sacred hills and forests of Braj. Attached to it is a large gaushala, a cow shelter, said to care for many thousands of cows, tens of thousands even, a mighty act of the seva, the loving service, of the cow that is so dear to the tradition of Krishna, the cowherd Lord, and to Braj, the land of cows. This living work of devotion and cow protection gives Chiksauli a special place in the devotional life of the Barsana country, and the ashram and its seva are part of what draws the devout to the village.

Chiksauli and the Barsana country

Chiksauli is best understood and best visited as part of the sacred country of Barsana, the village of Radha Rani, which lies very close by, only a few kilometres away, its Radha Rani temple crowning the Brahma hill above. Around Barsana lie the villages of the sakhis, the sacred Gahvar Van, the forest made by Radha’s own hands, the hills and the passes such as the Sankari Khor, and the many kunds and temples of the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Chiksauli, the village of Chitra Sakhi, is one of these holy places of the Barsana parikrama, and is naturally seen together with Barsana and its country. To include it in a pilgrimage of Barsana is to know that sacred land more deeply, in the company of the sakhis of Radha. Our Barsana tourist places guide covers the village of Radha, and the Barsana parikrama guide the holy circuit that passes these places.

Location and how to reach Chiksauli

Chiksauli lies in the Nandgaon block of the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, very close to Barsana, whose post office it shares, about forty kilometres west of Mathura city and about sixteen kilometres from Nandgaon, in the west of Braj near the border of Rajasthan. The nearest towns are Barsana, a few kilometres away, and Kosi and Chhata a little further; the nearest railway stations are at Chhata and Kosi Kalan, and the larger junction is Mathura, about forty kilometres away. Being a small village of the Barsana country, off the main track, it is best reached by a private car, taking it in on a pilgrimage of Barsana and the western Braj. The table gives the distances.

Reaching Chiksauli, Barsana. Distances are approximate; verify on the day.

Our Mathura Vrindavan taxi service can take you to Chiksauli and Barsana, and the three day Mathura Vrindavan pilgrimage tour covers the great centres of Braj including Barsana.

When to visit

The cool months of October to March are much the best for a visit to Chiksauli and the Barsana country, pleasant for the parikrama and the village lanes. The supreme time is the famous Lathmar Holi of Barsana and Nandgaon, in the spring before the great Holi, when the whole region is alive with the most joyful and vivid of all the festivals of Braj, though it is very crowded then; Radha Ashtami, the birthday of Radha Rani in the early autumn, is another great and beautiful time in the country of Radha. The peak summer of May and June is very hot in the open country, so the cool season is far kinder. On ordinary days Chiksauli is peaceful and quiet. Our best time to visit Mathura Vrindavan guide is the seasons.

The honest bit

Honest words on Chiksauli, from one born in Braj. This is a small and quiet village of the Barsana country, a place of gentle rural sanctity, the sakhi’s village, the kund and the ashram, rather than a grand temple town or a place of famous monuments, so come to it in that spirit, for its tenderness and its devotion and its living holiness, and not expecting the spectacle of Mathura or Vrindavan. Darshan is free, and no official VIP pass exists here or anywhere in Braj. Being a small village off the main track, it has few facilities of its own, so plan your visit, and best come by a private car that can take it in along with Barsana and the western Braj, for public transport to such a small village is slow and awkward. Respect the quiet of the ashram and the village and the seva of the cows, and Chiksauli will give you a tender taste of the Barsana country and the sweet world of the sakhis of Radha, one of the gentle hidden treasures of the holy land.

Why Experience My India is the right choice

I was born in Gokul Mahaban Bangar, and the whole of Braj, its famous towns and its hidden sakhi villages alike, is my own home ground. Guiding since 2018, more than 50,000 pilgrims, 4.5 stars across 204 Google reviews, WhatsApp first, 8 AM to 9 PM daily. What a local brings to a place like Chiksauli is the knowledge that it exists and what it means, the story of Chitra Sakhi and the eight sakhis of Radha told on the ground, the pairing of it with Barsana and the sakhi villages and the parikrama of Shri Ji, the way to the ashram and the kund, and a car to carry you to the quiet corners of the Barsana country that the buses never reach. One clear fare, and never a charge for free darshan.

Tip from Gurudutt: visit Chiksauli not alone but as part of a loving day of the Barsana country, and let it open to you the sweet world of the sakhis of Radha. Take the darshan at Barsana of Radha Rani on her hill, walk a stretch of the parikrama of Shri Ji, and come to Chiksauli, the village of Chitra Sakhi, honouring the dear friend of Radha and pausing at the Gahvar Kund and the ashram with its cows. To enter into the sakhi bhava, the selfless joy of serving the love of Radha and Krishna, is among the sweetest of all the moods of Braj, and the little sakhi villages around Barsana are the place to taste it. It is a tender side of Braj I love to share.

Related guides

• Sankari Khor, Barsana: the narrow pass of the Dana Leela

• Kirti Mandir, Barsana: the temple of Radha’s mother

• Nandgaon, UP: the boyhood home of Krishna

• Braj Chaurasi Kos Yatra: the 84 kos parikrama guide

• Tourist places in Mathura and Vrindavan: the complete guide

Plan your Barsana pilgrimage

Tell me your dates and your group, and I will build Chiksauli and the sakhi villages of the Barsana country into your Braj pilgrimage, the story of Chitra Sakhi told on the ground, the kund and the ashram seen, paired with Barsana and the parikrama in the right order, with a car and a guide born on this soil, for one clear price. WhatsApp +91 7302265809, any day 8 AM to 9 PM. Packages from Rs 5,999 per person, 4.5 stars from 204 Google reviews. Born in Gokul, Mathura.