Braj

Braj or Vraja ( Hindi ब्रज ), also Brajbumi , Vrajabhumi is a historical region in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh , Rajasthan and Haryana . It is a sacred pilgrimage site for Vaisnavas , because according to the Puranas and other texts of Hinduism , Krishna was born and spent his youth in this place. The largest cities on the territory of Vraja are Mathura , Agra , Aligarh and Mainpuri .

Geographically and culturally, Vraja is located in the very center of the Ganges doaba - Yamuna , which since ancient times has been the center of development of Indian culture . Vraj covers an area of ​​3800 km² and is located in the "golden triangle" of Delhi - Jaipur - Agra . Vraja can be divided into two regions - the eastern part, in which such places as Gokula , Mahavan , Baldeo , Mat and Bajna are located ; and the western part, where Mathura County is located with pilgrimage sites such as Vrindavana , Govardhana , Kusum Sarovar , Warsaw and Nandagram . Vraj is located in the modern districts of Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), Bharatpur ( Rajasthan ) and Palval ( Haryana ). The Vraja region extends from the town of Kotban , 95 km from Delhi to Runakty in the Agra region, a place that has gained fame in connection with the great poet Surdas . The inhabitants of the Vraja region are called “bridgebashi” or “vrajabashi”. The population of Vraja speaks the Hindi Brajbhasha dialect.