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Introduction |
Baldeo is a town and a nagar panchayat in Mathura district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Baldeo town of Mathura district, which is about a 25 km from Mathura. Mathura to reach here by bus, taxi arrangements etc. According to Hindu mythology, Baldeo is the place where Lord Krishna's elder brother named 'Baldeo' use to rule. It is also known as 'Dauji' in the local areas around mathura as the other name of Lord Baldeo was 'Dau Ji maharaj'. Dauji (Baldeo) is a very famous & popular place in all over India. Large crowds visit during the time of Holi, Diwali, Guru Purnima. here is a very big kund (talab) hai where many people are found Bathing and coming to understand the meaning of life.
MATHURA A GAZETTEER,
edited and compiled by, D.L. DRAKE-BROCKMAN [1911]
The town of Baldeo lies in 27°24'N. and 77°49'E., on the road from Muttra to Sadabad, at a distance of 10 miles from Muttra and some 5 miles from Mahaban. The place is familiarly called Dauji and is generally known by that name among villagers. The original village was called Rirha and still exists, but only as a mean suburb occupied by the labouring classes; the total area is returned at 458 acres. Baldeo contains a police station, sub-post-office, primary school attended by over 100 boys, and cattle-pound; while a short distance away on the Sadabad road is an inspection bungalow maintained by the district board. The town has been administered since 1859 under Act XX of 1856. Income is raised by the usual house-tax and averages some Rs. 1,500 per annum. It is expended in the maintenance of some town police, a small staff of sweepers for conservancy, and simple improvements. The population has increased of late years, for in 1881 it numbered 2,835 persons. This rose to 3,253 in 1891, and at the last enumeration in 1901, the inhabitants were returned at 3,367 souls, of whom 3,148 were Hindus and 141 were Musalmans. The prevailing Hindu castes are Jats, Banias and Brahmans.
The town derives all its celebrity from the famous temple of Balaram or Baladev, Krishna's elder brother. This is about 150 years old, but, despite its popularity among Hindus, it is neither handsome nor well-appointed. The temple itself, built by Seth Shiam Das of Delhi, stands at the back of one inner court, and on each of its three disengaged sides has an arcade of three bays with broad flanking piers. On each of these three sides a door gives access to the calla, which is surmounted by a squat pyramidal tower. In addition to the principal figure, Baladeva, who is generally very richly dressed and bedizened with jewels, it contains another life-sized statue, supposed to represent his spouse, Revati. In an adjoining court is shown the small vaulted chamber which served the god as a residence for the first century after his epiphany. The precincts of the temple include as many as eleven cloistered quadrangles, where accommodation is provided for pilgrims and the resident priests. Each court, or kunj as it is called, bears the name of its founder as follows:—the Kunj of Rashk Lal of Agra and Lucknow, 1817 A.D.; of Bachharaj, Bania, of Hathras, 1825; of Nawal Karan, Bania, of Agra, 1768; of Bhim Sen and Hulas Rai, Banias, of Muttra, 1828; of Das Mal, Khattri, of Agra, 1801; of Bhattacharya of Jaipur, 1794; of Gopal, Brahman, of Jaipur; of Chiman Lal, of Muttra, 1778; of Jadu Ram, Khattri, of Agra, 1768; of Chunna, Halwai, of Bharatpur, 1808; and of Puran Chand, Pachauri, of Mahavan, 1801.
Adjoining the temple is a brick built tank, over 80 yards square, called variously Kshir Sagar, the "Sea of Milk," Kshir Kund, or Balbhadra Kund. It is in a dilapidated condition, and the surface of the water is always covered with a thick green scum which, however, does not deter the pilgrims either from drinking or bathing in it. Here it is said that Gosain Gokul Nath was warned in a vision that a god lay concealed. Immediate search was made, and the statue of Baladeva, that has ever since been regarded as the tutelary divinity of the place, was revealed to the adoring gaze of the assembled multitude. Attempts were made to remove it to Gokul; but as every cart broke down, either from the weight of the stone or the reluctance of the god to change his abode, a shrine was erected for his reception on the spot, and an Ahivasi of Bhartiya, by name Kalyan, was con stituted guardian. From his two sons Jamuna Das and Musiya or Sukadeva are descended the Pandes who now manage the temple. They have acquired considerable landed property, besides the old village of Rirha. This brings in a substantial income but forms only a small part of their wealth, for the offer ings at the shrine in the course of the year are estimated to yield a net profit of about Rs. 30,000. The Kshir Sagar and all the fees paid by pilgrims bathing in it belong not to the temple Pandes, but to a community of Sanadh Brahmans. The temple Pandes, however, assert rights to the tank, and there is a standing quarrel between the two parties which has caused some litigation. Near the tank is a shrine dedicated by Bihari Lai, Bohra, of Mursan, in 1803 to the honour of the god Harideva, and two stone chhatris in memory of the Pandes, Harideva and Jagannath. Two annual fairs are held at Baldeo, one on the sixth day of the light half of Bhadon, commonly called Deo Chath, the other on the full moon of Aghan; but there is probably not a single day in the course of the whole year in which the temple courts are not occupied by at least one hundred pilgrims, drawn from all parts of northern India. A charitable dole of one anna apiece is given to every applicant. The Pandes and their families have now multiplied exceedingly, and the annual cost of their mainten ance must be considerable. Ordinarily there is a division of the profits among the shareholders at the end of every three months: an allotment is made into twelve portions, that being the number of the principal subdivisions of the clan, and then each subdivision makes, a separate distribution among its own members.
The Village Sanitation Act (United Provinces Act II of 1892) is in force in the town.