Madhuvan - Braj

Madhuvan is one of the famous 12 forests of Braj. In Satyuga, Lord Hari killed a demon named Madhu here. Because of this, He became known as Madhusudan. Therefore, this forest is named Madhuvan after the name of Lord Shri Madhusudan, because this forest is as dear and sweet as Lord Shri Madhusudan.

The present name of Madhuvan is Maholi gram. Dhruv Tila is located in the east of the village. On which the deity of child Dhruv and his worshipful four-armed Lord Narayan are seated. This is the place of Dhruv's penance. It was here that the child Dhruv worshiped the Lord with the mantra given by Sage Narad, pleased with which the Lord appeared to him and granted him the kingdom of the earth for thirty-six thousand years followed by the rulership of Dhruvalok, an eternal abode of Shri Hari within this material world.

In Tretayuga, the sages and the residents of Madhuvan were terrified by the atrocities committed by the Madhu demon. That demon had obtained a trident from Lord Shiva by performing severe austerities. No deity, demon, or human could defeat him when that trident was in his hands. He was a prince of the sun dynasty. But after falling into the bad association, he became very cruel and devoid of morality. That's why his father expelled him from his kingdom. He lived in Madhuvan. After establishing a new kingdom in Madhuvan, he started harassing everyone. King Mandhata of the sun dynasty attacked him to punish him, but he was also killed by the trident granted by Lord Shiva to the Madhu demon. Before his death, the demon gave that trident to his son Lavanasura and told him that no one can kill you as long as this trident is in your hands. Rather, the enemy will be killed by this infallible trident of yours. After getting that sword, Lavanasur became an even more fierce tyrant. Distressed by his atrocities, the sages around Madhuvan reached to Shri Ram in Ayodhya and prayed for their protection from Lavanasura. They informed about Lavanasura's might and of his infallible trident. They explained that killing him would not be possible as long as he had his trident in his hands.

Lord Ram coronated his younger brother Shatrughna as the king of Madhuvan in Ayodhya itself. Shatrughna asked Lord Ram for the powerful deity of Shri Varaha, which Shri Ram had brought from Lanka. Shri Ram gladly gave that deity to Shatrughna. 

Shatrughna ji reached Madhuvan with sages after taking blessings from sage Valmiki's ashram and reached at the entrance of Lavanasura's cave at the time when he had gone to the forest for hunting keeping his trident in the cave. When he was returning to his abode carrying dead elephants, deer, and other animals, at the same time Shatrughna challenged him to battle. A fierce battle broke out between the two. The demon was trying to get his trident in some way. But, the mighty Shatrughna ji did not give him any chance to reach the cave and cut off his head with his sharp arrows. Then he re-established the desolated Madhupuri and established Lord Varahdev there. This Aadi Varahdev is still present at the same place in Mathura. Lord Madhav's dear Madhukund also lies in Madhuvan, now it is also called Krishnakund. Once upon a time while cow grazing, the cowherd friends felt thirsty, so they prayed before Shri Krishn. Then Shri Krishn built this pond with his flute. Shri Radha Krishn had bathed in this kund. Nearby is the cave of Lavanasura. Here, on the banks of the Krishna Kund, there is a deity of Lord Shatrughna ji.

At the end of the Dwapar Yuga, Shri Krishn would take hundreds of thousands of cows out to graze, walking behind them and calling out their names: "Dhauli! Dhumri!, Kalindi! ..." He would make sounds to instruct them, such as "Hiyo-Hiyo! - Come, come!", "Dhiri-dhiri! - Slowly, slowly! and "Tiri-Tiri! -Come to the river-bank to drink!" As He walked with Dau Bhaiya (Lord Balram), Krishn played His sweet flute, and laughed and joked, placing his hands on the shoulders of His friends. As the boys herded the cows, delightful uproars would break out amongst them. In this way, all of Madhuvana was showered with the sweet nectar (madhu) of love, which Shri Krishn and Shri Balram relished while grazing the cows. While walking along like this, sometimes Krishn's thirsty eyes would look with sidelong glances at the gopis who were hiding within the kunjas or on the balconies or windows of their palaces. The beautiful young ladies of Braj worshipped Krishn with their loving sidelong glances as He returned from the forest. Krishn would show that He accepted their worship by the movement of His eyes. To the young ladies of Braj, even a second in separation from Krishn would feel like millions of millenniums, and a millennium in His company would seem like a fraction of a second. Krishns cow herding pastimes in Madhuvan are as sweet as honey (madhu) and beyond description. Each year, many groups of pilgrims stop here to rest.

In Madhuvan, Dauji and the sakhas (friends) would dance as they relished the sweet nectar of this forest. This is well known. Today, one can also take darshan of the black deity of Dauji here. There is a deep secret behind the black color of this deity. After leaving Vrindavan and Mathura, Shri Krishn and Baladev resided in Dvaraka with Their relatives. When Baladev heard about the restlessness and lamentation of all of Braj in separation from Shri Krishn, He wanted to take Krishn back there, yet because this was somehow delayed, Baladev went there alone. He did His best to console everyone, but when He saw the extent of their state of separation from Krishn, He also felt intense separation from Him. Meditating upon Shyam and His pastimes in Braj, Baladev began to relish Shyam-rasa (sweet nectar), and Himself took on a Shyam (dark) complexion. This Shyam-rasa is the only honey that is truly sweet and it is eternally relished by Baladev, who thus remains perpetually immersed in the ecstasy of Krishn-Prem.

Madhuvan is located in the southwest part of Mathura, 4 km away from Shri Bhuteshwar Mahadev Temple.