Braj

Braj also known as Brajbhoomi, is a region in Uttar Pradesh of India. Braj, though never a clearly defined political region in India but is very well demarcated culturally, is considered to be the land of Krishna and is derived from the Sanskrit word vraja. The main city in the region is Mathura.

Area

Geographically and culturally Brajbhoomi is a part of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab, which has been the main determinant of the entire Indian culture. Brajbhoomi falls right in the middle of the Doab. The region lies well within the golden triangle of Delhi-Jaipur-Agra. Covering an area of about 3,800 sq. km. today, Brajbhoomi can be divided into two distinct units - the eastern part in the trans-Yamuna tract with places like Gokul, Mahavan, Baldeo, Mantt and Bajna and the western side of the Yamuna covering the Mathura region that encompasses Vrindavan, Govardhan, Kusum Sarovar, Barsana and Nandgaon.

The land of Braj starts from Kotban near Hodel about 95 km from Delhi and ends at Runakta near Agra which is known specially for its association with the great poet Surdas, an ardent Krishna devotee.

Culture

Region and the cult of Krishna

Region is closely related to the Hindu epic Mahabharata. Krishna is said to have spent his childhood and adolescence in Braj and therefore, it has an important status in Hinduism. Krishna performed his numerous pastimes popularly called his leelas in the 137 sacred forests, at the 1000 Kunds, on the numerous holy hills and on the banks of river Yamuna. In Srimad Bhagwat Geeta, he himself says to his foster father, Nandbaba that Braj is a culture of forests and hills and not of city. Through his Leelas, Krishna has emerged as the first environmentalist of the world. Nowhere in the history of mankind, one can find such an emphasis on the harmony of human life with the environment. By eating mud and showing the Universe in his mouth to mother Yashoda, he symbolically purified the earth element. By shunning the Kalia serpent, he emphasised on the purification of the water element. By sucking the Forest fire in Braj, he purified the fire element and by killing Trinavrat and Vyomasur he symbolically purified the air and space elements respectively.

Thus, the Brajbhasa, the language of Braj was the language of choice of the Bhakti movement, or the neo-Vaishnavite religions, the central deity of which was Krishna. Therefore, most of the literature in this language pertains to Krishna composed in medieval times.