Davanal Kund comes to life again after restoration

2023.08.20 (Vrindavan Today News): Davanal Kund in Vrindavan has become live again after four months of its restoration. Life has come back to its clean and pristine water after it was revived from the dilapidated state and water was purified by environment friendly metho.

Shri Shailjakant Misra, the Vice Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad on Friday inaugurated the newly rejuvenated Davanal Kund in Vrindavan and said peoples’ participation is required to preserve the water bodies in Braj. Amid the Vedic chants and following the rituals Shri Misra unveiled the plaque to mark the inauguration. The restored Kund was consecrated in the august presence of His Holiness Acharya Shrivatsa Goswami of Shri Radharamana Temple, Shri Pradeep Kumar Rawat, Hon’ble Indian ambassador in China, Shri Pulkit Khare, the District Magistrate of Mathura and Shri Nagendra Pratap, the Vice Chairman of Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority.

After the inauguration Misra said, ‘There are around seven hundred kunds in Braj, out of which only a few kunds have been restored. It is a challenging task to restore all the kunds without the public support. Government can’t do everything alone. Organizations like Datri Foundation must come forward to join hands with the government to restore the water bodies.’

The Kund which was in dilapidated state till a few months back has been completely restored by the Datri Foundation, Mumbai in collaboration with Intach, New Delhi and local organization Friends of Vrindavan (GoV). The major funding for this project came from Shri Pradeep Kumar Rawat (IFS) and family. Shri Rawat is currently serving as the Indian ambassador in People’s Republic of China.

“It is a significant initiative to preserve the historical charm of Vrindavan. Public -Private Partnerships and collaborations among the philanthropies are the way forward to preserve our heritage and ecology,” said Shri Pradeep Kumar Rawat, the Indian ambassador in China.

HH Acharya Shrivatsa Goswami, who presided over the event said, “Shri Krishna had eliminated scores of demons in His lifetime, but did not kill Kaliya, the serpent of pollution living in Yamuna. Krishna merely contained him and ordered Kaliya to live in the depths of the ocean. Krishna gave us the message that He being the Supreme reality was unable to kill pollution, the greatest evil. Once created it cannot be destroyed at the best it can only be contained, so He tells us not to pollute. Perhaps the way forward is to respect the Yamuna and all the kunds as our water source and its ghats as the traditional access to the water bodies.”

Goswami ji further added, “Now Davanal Kund has been revitalized by the different organizations, it is the responsibility of the people living around the Kund not to allow pollution in it, but support the organization that will maintain it. The pollution needs to be contained at the source.”

Katyayani Agrawal of Datri Foundation said, “Amongst the many kunds dotting the Braj landscape  ‘Davanal Kund’ is small but religiously very important. This kund like many others was lying in a state of neglect and instead of clear clean water it was filled with dirty green water and was being treated like a rubbish dump. Datri Foundation identified the Kund for one of its projects as ‘Jal Seva’ and raised funds to restore, clean and revitalize it.”

“Datri Foundation, signed a MoU with the local administration and in a one of its kind Public Private Partnerships has completely restored the 400 year old structure, The Kund is now filled with clear clean water attracting ducks birds and people who sit on benches installed around the Kund and spend their evenings there,” added Katyayani.

Legend behind Davanal Kund

According to Shrimad Bhagvat Puran Shri Krishna swallowed the fierce forest fire to protect the Brajwasis. It was on the day Shri Krishna subdued Kaliya, the gopas and gopis couldn’t return to their home as night had already fallen. They moved away from the bank of Yamuna to a lake situated at a little distance away to the east. The water of this lake was clean and sweet, and after drinking water they rested in the forest nearby. It was a good opportunity for Kamsa to kill Shri Krishna and His associates. The henchmen of Kamsa set this forest ablaze and soon a devastating fire raged throughout the forest. Krishna told everyone to close their eyes and swallowed the devastating forest fire. The pond where the Lila was performed was named as ‘Davanal Kund’.

                                          A Home for wandering Sadhus

Vrindavan used to be the land of the wandering sadhus. The ascetics, sadhus, sanyasis and the sages visited Vrindavan for pilgrimage. They stayed either on the ancient ghats on the Yamuna or rested under the trees. But with the time many practices have been changed. Now there are not many sadhus who wander for pilgrimage, nor there are many public places left in Vrindavan where the wandering sadhus can reside for a short period of time.

Davanal Kund is one of such place in Vrindavan, which is the favorite spot for the wandering sadhus and ascetics. They take bath in the kund, wash their clothes and take rest either on its ghats or under the ancient Banyan tree on its bank. Some groups of Braj Yatra halt here and perform bhajan kirtan during their stay.