Among all the religious and tourist spots present in Vrindavan, Tatiya Sthan is the place which is pure natural beauty, totally untouched by technological advancement. At Tatiya Sthan, one actually goes back many centuries ago, living in close association with Nature. It is a place of purity, divinity and spirituality. Tatiya Sthan reminds one of the close relations once human beings had with nature. It is by far the best example of Hinduism’s tenet of God being omnipresent.
History of Tatiya Sthan
Tatiya Sthan is linked to the Swami Haridas Sampradaya. It is told that Swami Haridas ji was an ardent devotee of Banke Bihari ji, that is Lord Krishna. He claimed to have learnt the lesson of love and divine music form the birds, flowers and trees of Vrindavan. Every morning after bathing in Yamuna River, Swami ji used to go to Nidhivan for bhajan (prayer), post which he used to sit in a dense grove and meditate on his favoured, pure love personified Sri Kunjbihari and Sri Kunjbiharini (Krishna and Radha).
There are eight acharyas of the Haridas Sampradaya, first being Swami Haridas ji himself. After his death, the later acharyas were, Swami Vitthal Vipul Dev ji, Swami Biharini Dev ji, Swami Saras Dev ji, Swami Narhari Dev ji, Swami Rasik Dev ji, Swami Lalit Kishori Dev ji and last Swami Lalit Mohini Dev ji.
The seventh aacharya, Swami Lalit Kishori Dev ji, decided to leave Nidhivan, in order to go and meditate somewhere under a secluded tree. Chaube ji Gokulchand and Shyam ji Chaube decided to secure the place from predators and tresspassers. They fenced the whole area using bamboo sticks. Bamboo sticks are called “Tatiya” in the local dialect. This is how the place was named Tatiya Sthan. These two devotees also requested Lalit Kishori ji to celebrate the day of Haridas ji’s birth to be celebrated with fervor. Since that day, Radha Ashtami is celebrated with complete devotion and love. Swami Lalit Kishori Dev ji wrote 1200 dohas, 130 pad, 147 Ras pads, 50 Chaupais and 25 celebration pads. He was the head of Sthan from 1701 to 1766. His samadhi is also at Tatiya Sthan. All trees in the premises of Tatiya sthan are related to gods or dedicated to a religious purpose.
It is believed that because of his blessings, Tatiya Sthan is always full with devotees, and yet is purely natural.
Significance of Tatiya Sthan
Tatiya Sthan is filled with various kind of trees, especially those which were close to Lord Krishna’s heart, like, neem, peepal and kadamb. It is said that the place is so beautiful because once when Swami ji was meditating with full concentration, the goddess of nature appeared and asked for his permission to beautify the place. When he agreed upon this, she created a beautiful scenery, complete with various flowers and trees. Even with the lack of electrical power, this place is always charged with spiritual energy.
Samaj at Tatiya Sthan
The devotees who gather here do not perform an aarti or pooja here, instead they organize a Samaj where they sit together and sing bhajans to please Radha and Krishna. They also sing the pads written by Haridas Sampradaya Acharyas. During the chanting of pads and singing of bhajans, devotees claim that they can feel the presence of Radha Rani ( Kunj Biharani Ji) and Krishna ( Kunj Bihari Ji ).
There are no particular timings of the Samaj, as devotees flock the place at all the times.
How to Reach Tatiya Sthan
Tatiya Sthan is just 12.2 kms away from Mathura junction Railway station and can be reached within 45 minutes via the Mathura-Vrindavan Marg. From Chhatikara too, Tatiya Sthan is easily reachable via the Bhaktivedanta Swami Marg.
