Potra Kund, Mathura: The Sacred Tank Where Krishna’s Baby Clothes Were Washed

Key takeaways

• Potra Kund is a sacred stepped tank beside the Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura.

• It is also called Pavitra Kund; Potra means clothes, Pavitra means sacred.

• Here, it is believed, the infant Krishna’s baby clothes were washed.

• Vasudeva and Devaki bathed here during their imprisonment by Kansa.

• Its stone steps were built by the Scindia rulers of the Marathas.

• Its waters are believed to wash away sins; 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. Beside the great Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura, the birthplace of the Lord, lies a sacred tank of deep and tender meaning that many hurry past unknowing: the Potra Kund, where the very clothes of the infant Krishna are said to have been washed by his mother. It is one of the most touching of all the places bound to Krishna’s birth, a quiet and holy water in the heart of the old city. Here is everything you need: its story, its significance, its location and how to reach it, told by someone from this land. To visit with us, message on WhatsApp at +91 7302265809, any day from 8 AM to 9 PM.

See it on our Mathura Vrindavan Tour Package.

What is Potra Kund?

Potra Kund is a large and deep sacred tank, a stepped kund, that lies just to the southeast of the Krishna Janmasthan, the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple in Mathura, only a few hundred metres from the birthplace of the Lord. It is known by two names, each telling part of its meaning: Potra Kund, from the word potra, meaning clothes or garments and Pavitra Kund, from pavitra, meaning sacred or pure. For this is the tank, it is lovingly believed, where the baby clothes of the newborn Krishna were washed by his mother and whose waters are pure and purifying. It is a great square tank with broad stone steps, the ghats, descending to the water on every side, a serene and sacred place amid the busy old city, close by the holiest site of Mathura. Though many pilgrims pass by, hurrying to the Janmabhoomi, it is one of the tenderest of all the places of Krishna’s birth and worth the few steps to see. The table gives the essentials at a glance.

Potra Kund, Mathura, at a glance.

The story: where Krishna’s clothes were washed

The story of Potra Kund is bound to the very birth of Krishna and it is this that gives the tank its tender sanctity. It is told in the tradition that when Krishna was born, at the dead of night, in the prison of the tyrant Kansa in Mathura, to his parents Vasudeva and Devaki, this tank was close by the prison and that Vasudeva and Devaki would bathe in its waters during the long years of their imprisonment. And it is lovingly held that here, after the birth of the divine child, the baby clothes of the infant Krishna were washed by his mother Devaki, so that the tank is hallowed by the touch of the very garments of the newborn Lord; some tell that the clothes of Devaki herself were cleansed here after the births of her children. So Potra Kund, the tank of the clothes, is a place of the sweetest intimacy with the birth of Krishna, remembering not the great deeds of the Lord but the tender human care of a mother for her newborn, in the shadow of the prison. It is this that makes it so dear to those who know its story.

The sacred waters and their significance

The waters of Potra Kund are held to be deeply sacred and purifying and this is the second part of its meaning, the pavitra, the pure. It is believed that to bathe in or to honour the waters of the kund washes away the sins of the devotee and for this reason the tank is especially revered and especially crowded on the festivals and the holy days, above all around Janmashtami, the birthday of Krishna, when the whole of Mathura celebrates the birth of the Lord close by at the Janmabhoomi. The tank is fed, it is told, through underground channels from the holy Yamuna, which flows some three kilometres away, so that its water is of the sacred river itself. To pause at the Potra Kund, to sit on its broad stone steps by the still water in the heart of the old city and to honour the place where the infant Lord’s clothes were washed, is a moving and peaceful moment in a Mathura pilgrimage.

The stone steps and the Scindia rulers

The great stone steps, the ghats, that descend on every side to the water of Potra Kund were built, it is recorded, by Mahadji Scindia, the mighty Maratha ruler of the eighteenth century, whose house did much for the holy places of Mathura and Braj and they were later repaired by his descendants. The fine stepped stonework gives the tank its dignified and serene form, a great square of stone ghats around the still water and it is part of the wider work of the Maratha rulers and other devout patrons who restored and beautified the sacred sites of Mathura after the troubled centuries. To know that the steps were the gift of the Scindias adds a note of history to the sacred tank, one of the many layers of devotion and care that have gathered about the birthplace of Krishna over the ages.

Potra Kund and the Krishna Janmabhoomi

Potra Kund is best understood and best visited as part of the Krishna Janmabhoomi, the birthplace complex of the Lord, for it lies only a few hundred metres from it, to its southeast and the two are naturally seen together. The Janmabhoomi, the sacred prison cell of Krishna’s birth and its great temple, is the holiest site of Mathura and the heart of any pilgrimage to the city; and the Potra Kund, close by, completes the story of the birth with its tender memory of the infant’s clothes. To take the darshan of the birthplace and then to walk the few steps to the Potra Kund is to know the story of Krishna’s birth more fully and more tenderly. Our Krishna Janmabhoomi, Mathura guide covers the birthplace and the three day Mathura Vrindavan pilgrimage tour takes in Mathura with the whole of Braj.

Location and how to reach Potra Kund

Potra Kund lies in the old city of Mathura, in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, just to the southeast of the Krishna Janmabhoomi, near the Deeg Gate Chauraha on the Deeg Marg, in the heart of the birthplace quarter. It is about two kilometres from Mathura Junction, the nearest railway station, well connected across the country, about an hour from Agra and three to four hours from Delhi by the Yamuna Expressway; the nearest airport is Agra, about sixty kilometres or Delhi, about a hundred and fifty. From the Krishna Janmabhoomi it is only a few hundred metres, an easy walk and this is the natural way to reach it, taking it in with the darshan of the birthplace. The table gives the distances.

Reaching Potra Kund, Mathura. Distances are approximate; verify on the day.

It pairs naturally with the other Mathura sightseeing places and our Mathura Vrindavan taxi service brings you to Mathura and its old city.

Nearby places in Mathura

Potra Kund sits in the birthplace quarter of the old city and is best seen with the other great holy places of Mathura, which lie close together. Nearest is the Krishna Janmabhoomi itself, the sacred birthplace, a few hundred metres away; close by are the Keshav Dev temple and the Bhuteshwar Mahadev, the guardian Shiva of the west. A little further, by the Yamuna, lie the Vishram Ghat with its evening aarti, the Dwarkadhish temple and the Pipleshwar Mahadev. Seen together, these make Mathura a profound day of the devotion of Krishna’s birth and the old city, with the tender Potra Kund among its quiet treasures. Our Keshav Dev temple, Mathura guide covers the temple beside the birthplace.

When to visit

The cool months of October to March are the most comfortable for a visit and within the day the morning and the evening are the loveliest and most peaceful times at the tank. The supreme time, as befits a place of Krishna’s birth, is Janmashtami, the birthday of the Lord, when the whole birthplace quarter of Mathura is at its most joyful and thronged and the Potra Kund is crowded with the devout come to honour the birth; the tank is busy too on the other festivals and holy days. The peak summer of May and June is very hot in the old city, so the cool season is far kinder. Our best time to visit Mathura Vrindavan guide is the seasons.

The honest bit

Honest words on Potra Kund, from one born in Braj. Darshan is free and no official VIP pass exists here or anywhere in Braj. This is a sacred tank of quiet and tender meaning, the place of the infant Krishna’s clothes, rather than a grand temple or a spectacle, so come to it in a loving and unhurried spirit, sit a while on the stone steps by the water and dwell on the sweet story of the birth and it will move you more than a hurried glance can. The water of the kund, though revered and sacred, is an old still tank and is not always clean, so honour it but do not carelessly drink or bathe in it; a respectful touch is enough. The steps down to the water can be uneven and slippery, so tread with care and mind children by the tank. Being right beside the Janmabhoomi, it is easily added to the darshan of the birthplace. Come softly, honour the tender place of Krishna’s birth and Potra Kund will give you one of the sweetest quiet moments in all of Mathura.

Why Experience My India is the right choice

I was born in Gokul Mahaban Bangar and the holy places of Mathura, my district town, are part of 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 Potra Kund is above all the knowing of it, for many pass it by unaware and then the tender story of the infant Krishna’s clothes told on the very steps, the honest word on the darshan and the water and the pairing of the tank with the Janmabhoomi and the other treasures of the old city in the right order. One clear fare and never a charge for free darshan.

Tip from Gurudutt: do not hurry past the Potra Kund on your way to the Janmabhoomi, as so many do, but take the few steps to it and pause a while. Sit on the old stone ghats by the still water and let the tender story sink in: that here, in the shadow of the prison, a mother washed the clothes of her newborn child, who was the Lord of all the worlds. Of all the places of Krishna’s birth, this is the most human and the most tender and to dwell on it quietly, away from the crowds at the temple, is one of the sweetest moments a pilgrim can have in Mathura. It is a hidden jewel beside the great birthplace.

Related guides

• Pipleshwar Mahadev Mandir, Mathura: the guardian Shiva

• Shri Bhuteshwar Mahadev temple, Mathura: the guardian Shiva

• Birla Mandir, Mathura: the Gita Mandir

• Mathura tourism: a complete travel guide

• Mathura trip plan: how to see the birth city

Plan your Mathura visit

Tell me your dates and your group and I will build Potra Kund and the treasures of old Mathura into your Braj trip, the tender place of Krishna’s birth seen with the Janmabhoomi in the right order, the story told on the ground, 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.