Banke Bihari Temple is a Hindu temple situated in the town of Vrindavan, Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. The temple is dedicated to Banke Bihari who is believed to be the combined form of Radha and Krishna. Banke Bihari was originally worshipped at Nidhivan, Vrindavan. Later, when Banke Bihari temple was constructed around 1864, the icon of Banke Bihari was moved to its present temple.
In the Banke Bihari temple, the icon of Radha Krishna's united form stands in the Tribhanga posture. Swami Haridas originally worshipped this murti under the name of Kunj Bihari, which means the one who enjoys in the groves or Kunj of Vrindavan.
The icon of Banke Bihari was originally worshipped by SvÃÂmë HaridÃÂs under the name KuñjbihÃÂrë. His disciples bestowed the name BÃÂnke BihÃÂrë due to the image's tribhaá¹ ga posture. The icon's appearance is celebrated on Bihar Panchami. Formerly BÃÂnke BihÃÂrë was worshipped in Nidhivan, but was moved to the present location in the 19th century due a dispute between the sÃÂdhu and gosvÃÂmë followers of HaridÃÂs. The gosvÃÂmë's built the current temple and reside behind it.
'BÃÂnke' means 'bent', and 'BihÃÂri' or 'VihÃÂri' means 'enjoyer'. This is how Ká¹Âiá¹£há¹Âa, who is bent in three places, got the name "BÃÂnke BihÃÂri". According to à Ârë Brahma-saḿhità(verse 5.31), Brahma says the following about Ká¹Âishna
"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, round whose neck is swinging a garland of flowers beautified with the moon-locket, whose two hands are adorned with the flute and jewelled ornaments, who always revels in pastimes of love, whose graceful threefold-bending form of à ÂyÃÂmasundara is eternally manifest."
In this temple, Banke Bihari is worshiped in the form of a small child. Thus, to avoid disturbing the deity, an early morning arti is not performed and bells are not hung anywhere inside the temple premises. Only on the occasion of Krishna Janmashtami, mangala aarti (early morning aarti) is performed. There is a popular belief that uninterrupted darshan will cause Banke Bihari to accompany devotees to their home and leave the temple empty. Therefore, the curtains are drawn every five minutes to avoid the uninterrupted darshan of Banke Bihari.
Once a year, on the occasion of Sharad Purnima Banke Bihari holds the flute in His hands. Additionally, once in the month of Shravan Banke Bihari is placed in a swing.