There are many temples of Shri Krishna and Radha in the entire Braj region, but the temple of Shri Krishna’s elder brother Balram is located in Baldeo, called Dauji Temple, 21 kilometres away from Mathura, which is mentioned in the Puranas as ‘Vidumvan’. In this ‘Vidrumavan’, the idols of Balarama and his wife Revati are installed in a huge temple. There is a circumambulation path in the shape of a serpent around the temple, which has been developed as a market. The temple has four main doors, which are known as Singhaur, Janani Dabhodhi, Gaushala Gate and Badwale Gate. There is a huge pond behind the temple, which is mentioned in the Puranas as ‘Balbhadra Kund’. This pond is famous by the name of Ksheer Sagar.
There is a mythological belief that Shri Krishna’s great-grandson Brajnabh had built the idols of four gods and four goddesses in the memory of his ancestors. From an archaeological point of view, this statue is considered to be of the pre-Kushana period. This idol is about eight feet high, three and a half feet wide in the dancing posture of Shyam-Varshi, behind which seven pale Sheshnag idols are shown shadowing.
It is said that when the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who was destroying Mathura, got wind of the prosperity of the Dauji temple located in Baldev, the army marched towards the temple. The soldiers had covered only a short distance when the Bhauras and Utais attacked the robbers on the way. Hundreds of soldiers and beedas were killed in this attack. It took nine days for the remaining soldiers to cover the distance of two and a half kos. The origin of the saying ‘Nau Din chale Adhai Kos’ in the Hindi language is believed to be related to this incident. Hearing the news of the plight of his soldiers attacking the temple, Aurangzeb ordered not to cause any damage to the temple and issued a royal decree under which arrangements were made to provide financial assistance to the temple. The Mughal Sultanate also built a Naqqarkhana near the main entrance of the temple. This detail is present on the Shilah currently installed in Naqqarkhana.
When Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s army, which was carrying out demolitions in Mathura, got wind of the richness of the temple located in Baldev, the army marched towards the temple. The soldiers had covered only a short distance when bumblebees and wasps attacked the robbers. Hundreds of soldiers and horses were killed in this attack. It took nine days for the remaining soldiers to cover the distance of two and a half kos.
