Sacred Places of Interest

Introduction    Krishna Balarama Mandir and ISKCON     Kaliya Ghata
Radha Madan Mohan     Banke Bihari     Radha Vallabha     Seva Kunja
Imli Tala     Radha Damodara, Jiva and Rupa Goswami's Samadhi's and Bhajan Kutira
Radha Syamasundara     Radha Raman     Radha Gokulanada     Kesi Ghata
Radha Gopinatha     Gopisvara Mahadeva     Vamsi Vata     Radha Govinda
Nandagram     Varsana     Parikrama Map

Kesi Ghata

This is the place where Lord Krishna killed the Kesi demon who appeared in the form of a gigantic horse. This is also the most famous bathing place in Vrindavana. An arati to Yamuna devi is held here every evening. This Kesi demon was another friend of the evil king Kamsa. By this demon’s mystic powers, he assumed the form of a giant horse, and in a wild and angry mood, entered Vrindavana where he found Lord Krishna playing by the bank of the Yamuna River with His cowherd boyfriends.

Lord Krishna heard the frighteningly loud whinnying of the demon horse, which terrorized all the inhabitants of Vrindavana. Krishna then came before the Kesi demon to accept his challenge and immediately Kesi started galloping toward Krishna, hoping to trample Him to death. The demon did not know that this small child, enjoying pastimes with His boyhood friends on the bank of the Yamuna, was the all powerful, Supreme Personality of Godhead.

As the horse demon approached, Krishna caught hold of his legs and then circled the demon a number of times. When the demon was completely baffled as to what was happening, Krishna picked him up, just as a child picks up a flower, and threw him one hundred yards away which knocked him unconscious.

On regaining consciousness, Kesi again charged towards Krishna, this time Lord Krishna pushed His hand inside the horse’s mouth, knocking out all his teeth. The Lord’s hand then began to expand in the horse’s throat. Kesi demon immediately started choking to death. His legs began shaking, sweat poured out from his body, his eyeballs bulged out from their sockets and as he died, he passed stool and urine simultaneously. Thus, another terrible demon was eliminated from the earth by the grace of Lord Sri Krishna. After killing the Kesi demon, took His bath at this very same ghata.