Kirti Mandir, Barsana: The Temple of Radha’s Mother, Its Timings, Light Show and How to Reach

Key takeaways

• Kirti Mandir honours Kirti Maiya, the mother of Radha Rani.

• It is the only temple in the world showing a child Radha in her mother’s lap.

• It was built by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, who also built Prem Mandir.

• It is a vast marble temple, inaugurated in 2019, in Nagara and Dravidian styles.

• The evening light and sound show is the great highlight; evening is the best time.

• It stands in Barsana, Radha’s birthplace; entry is free.

I am Gurudutt, born in Gokul in the Mathura district, guiding pilgrims through Braj since 2018: more than 50,000 of them. Kirti Mandir is one of the most beautiful and moving temples in all of Braj and one of the newest, a place unlike any other in the world, for it honours not Radha or Krishna directly but Radha’s own mother, Kirti, with the child Radha seated in her lap. Here is its story, its unique deity, the timings, the famous light and sound show and how to reach it, told by someone from this district. See it on our Mathura Vrindavan Tour Package, message on WhatsApp at +91 7302265809, any day from 8 AM to 9 PM.

What is Kirti Mandir?

Kirti Mandir is a magnificent modern marble temple in Barsana, the hill town that is the birthplace of Radha, dedicated to Kirti Maiya, the mother of Radha Rani. It was conceived and built by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, the same revered saint who built the celebrated Prem Mandir in Vrindavan and the two temples share a family likeness in their gleaming carved marble, though Kirti Mandir is a single vast storey where Prem Mandir rises in two. What makes Kirti Mandir unique in all the world is its central deity: the little Radha, a child of about five, seated in the lap of her mother Kirti, the only temple anywhere to show her so. It is a temple of maternal love and to enter it is to feel that tenderness. The table gives the essentials at a glance.

Kirti Mandir, Barsana, at a glance.

The unique deity: child Radha in her mother’s lap

The heart of Kirti Mandir and what makes it unlike any temple in the world, is its central image. Where the temples of Braj show Radha as the beloved of Krishna, here she is shown as a little girl of about five years old, seated tenderly in the lap of her mother, Kirti Maiya. It is the first and only temple in the history of the world to enshrine Radha so, as a child with her mother and it glorifies what the saints call the Vatsalya Bhav, the love in which one holds God as one’s own child. Beside them are also the forms of Sita and Ram and of Radha and Krishna. To stand before the child Radha in her mother’s lap is a uniquely tender darshan and it moves mothers and pilgrims alike, for it honours the divine bond of mother and child that no other temple sets at its centre.

The temple and its architecture

Kirti Mandir is a work of breathtaking craftsmanship, spread over some eighty thousand square feet and rising to a height of around a hundred and eleven feet, built in gleaming Italian marble in a synthesis of the Nagara style of the north and the Dravidian style of the south. Twenty two gold leafed kalash, the sacred urns, crown its domes and give it a golden splendour and its outer walls and pillars are covered in fine carvings and murals of the lives of Radha and Krishna, so that the very stone tells the stories of Braj. Those who have seen Prem Mandir will recognise the hand of the same builder and the same jewel-like quality of the marble. It took thirteen years and some five hundred workers to raise it and it was inaugurated in February 2019. It is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful buildings in all of Braj.

Timings and aarti

Kirti Mandir keeps a morning and an evening darshan, with the temple closed in the middle of the day. The morning brings the Nishanta and Shringar aartis and a calm, uncrowded darshan; the evening brings the evening aarti and, above all, the light and sound show and it is the evening that most visitors should choose. The full schedule is given in the box above and the table below. As with every temple, the exact times shift a little with the season and on festival days, so treat these as the pattern and confirm on the day.

Kirti Mandir darshan and aarti timings. Verify on the day; times vary by season and festival.

The light and sound show

The great highlight of Kirti Mandir and a reason many come in the evening, is its light and sound show, in which the temple is lit in changing colours and the story of Radha and of Kirti Maiya is told through light and narration, a magical spectacle as the marble glows against the darkening sky. This is why the evening is the best time to visit: you can take the evening darshan and see the light show together and the storytelling and the illuminated temple make an experience the calm morning visit cannot match. The show runs daily in the evening and later on festival days. The table gives the timings.

Kirti Mandir light and sound show. Verify on the day; timings vary.

Tip from Gurudutt: come to Kirti Mandir for the evening. Take the evening darshan of the child Radha in her mother’s lap, then stay for the light and sound show as the temple lights up against the dusk and you will have the fullest and most beautiful experience of the place. The morning is peaceful and good for a calm darshan, but the evening is when Kirti Mandir truly comes alive.

The story: Kirti, the mother of Radha

To love this temple you must know Kirti Maiya. In the story of Braj, Radha, the supreme beloved of Krishna, was born in Barsana as the daughter of Vrishabhanu and his wife Kirti and it is here in Barsana that Radha spent her childhood. Kirti Maiya is honoured as the blessed mother who raised the divine child and this temple is raised in her name and on the ground tied to Radha’s childhood, to glorify that motherhood. In a land full of temples to Radha as Krishna’s beloved, Kirti Mandir alone steps back a generation, to Radha as a little girl and to the mother who held her and in doing so it honours every mother and the tenderness of maternal love. That is the sentiment the saint who built it wished to enshrine and it is why the temple touches the heart as it does.

Location and how to reach Kirti Mandir

Kirti Mandir stands in Barsana, in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, at the Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat, Rangeeli Mahal, pin code 281405, close to the town and below the hill of the great Radha Rani temple. Barsana lies about forty two to fifty kilometres north west of both Mathura and Vrindavan, an easy drive across the Braj countryside and it is most often visited as a day trip from either town, usually together with the Radha Rani temple and the other sights of Barsana. Nandgaon is only eight to nine kilometres further on. The nearest railway junction is Mathura and the nearest airport is Delhi. A private car is much the easiest way, for Barsana is not close to the rail line. The table gives the distances.

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

It pairs naturally with the tourist places of Barsana and our Mathura Vrindavan taxi service drives you to Barsana and around its sights.

When to visit

The cool months of October to March are the most comfortable for the drive out to Barsana and the walk around its sights and within the day the evening is the best time at Kirti Mandir for the darshan and the light show together. The temple’s own great days fall on Vasant Panchami, its inauguration anniversary and above all on the festivals of Radha: Radha Ashtami, Radha’s birthday in late summer, when Barsana is at its most joyful and the world famous Lathmar Holi of Barsana in spring. These are magnificent but very crowded. For a calm visit, a cool weekday evening is ideal. Our best time to visit Mathura Vrindavan guide is the seasons.

The honest bit

Honest words on Kirti Mandir. Entry is free and no official VIP pass exists here or anywhere in Braj; it is a temple of the Kripalu Parishat, run with care and dignity, so simply come and take darshan. Time your visit for the evening if you possibly can, for the light and sound show is the thing that sets this temple apart and a morning visit, though peaceful, misses it. The temple closes in the middle of the day, so do not arrive at midday to find the doors shut. Barsana is a hill town and its main Radha Rani temple involves a climb, though Kirti Mandir itself is far more accessible on the flat, which makes it a gentler visit for the elderly. And as ever, phones and photography may be restricted inside the sanctum, so respect the temple’s rules.

Why Experience My India is the right choice

I was born in Gokul Mahaban Bangar and Barsana and its temples are part of my own devotional 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 Kirti Mandir is the timing above all, bringing you in the evening for the darshan and the light show together rather than at the wrong hour; the pairing with the Radha Rani temple and the sights of Barsana in the right order; the story of Kirti Maiya told before the unique deity; and a car that reaches Barsana easily where the rail line does not. One clear fare and never a charge for free darshan.

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Plan your Barsana visit

Tell me your dates and your group and I will build Kirti Mandir and Barsana into your Braj trip, timed for the evening darshan and the light show, paired with the Radha Rani temple and the town’s sights, with a car that drives you and waits, for one clear price. WhatsApp +91 7302265809, any day 8 AM to 9 PM. Packages from Rs 1,999 per person, 4.5 stars from 204 Google reviews. Born in Gokul, Mathura.