The present temple of Govindadeva was built by Raja Man Singh with the Goswamis of Vrindavan, during the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar, and is the only temple built by him with imperial support.
It is the largest Hindu temple built as a single structure
This temple was built at the time of revival of bhakti Vaisnavism as well as the consolidation of the Mughal empire.
Raja Man Singh held one of the highest office under Akbar and the red sandstone is a hallmark of imperial style.
in 1515, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu identified this land as the youthful Krishna’s playground. It was no longer the magical place of Kalidas.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sent 6 goswamis to establish temples, rasa mandapas, ghats and libraries to foster the study of and devotion to Krishna.
Akbar’s imperial style of architecture had indigenous influences and this can be seen in Fatehpur Sikri.
Raja Man Singh was the biggest contributor to the sub imperial style.
The Govindadeva temple was built on a mound where Rup Goswami found an image of Sri Govindadeva in 1525. The original image of Sri Govindadeva was removed and sent to Jaipur for safety in the early 18th c, where it now stands in a new haveli style temple. This shifting was after the destruction of the Keshav Das structure on Aurangzeb’s order.
This mound was identified as Braj Yogapitha : Yogmaya’s seat & an image of Yogmaya was also found here. It was also Radha and Krishna’s meeting place.
The temple is built in the shape of a turtle and it faces east.
It took 14 years to build this temple & it was completed in 1590, and the red sandstone was quarried from Tantapura the same source which supplied red sandstone for construction of Fatehpur Sikri.
The great hall inside the temple is laid out in the form of a Greek cross and has 8 massive piers and a vaulted ceiling. To me it was highly reminiscent of Fatehpur Sikri and the impression is strengthened by the aisles & mezzanines flanking it.
The highlight of the vaulted great hall is the lotus frieze.
The present structure was repaired by F.S. Growse , the jt magistrate of Mathura from 1872-78 to prevent deterioration and the original structure was remodelled.
Source: Govindadeva: A Dialogue in Stone , The Building of Govindadeva by Nalini Thakur.
