Mor Kutir (Mayura Kutir)

Tucked away on the wooded rise of Vilas Garh, deep inside the leafy Gahvar Van that wraps the south-eastern slope of Barsana's Brahmagiri hill, Mor Kutir (Mayura Kutir, literally the 'peacock cottage') is one of the most intimate and least-crowded shrines in all of Braj.

• It is nothing like the towering Radha Rani temple crowning the town's main ridge: this is a small, unassuming, brightly painted room reached on foot through the forest near Chiksauli hamlet, and its whole reason for being is a single tender pastime rather than grand architecture.
• Braj tradition tells that Radha, in a mood of loving pique (maan), once withdrew here to sit alone and sulking.
• To coax Her out of Her displeasure, Krishna is said to have begun dancing on this very spot with the spread-tail exuberance of a peacock.
• So enchanting was His mayura dance that Radha's sulk dissolved into delight, and in the joy of the moment the divine couple are described as taking the forms of peacock and peahen and dancing together among the birds of the wood.
• A much-loved gloss on the story turns on a pun: when Radha exclaimed 'Mor!' (peacock), Krishna is said to have heard it as 'mine' — a play of words that devotees read as the sealing of Their union.
• What pilgrims actually come to see is a painting rather than a sculpted deity.
• Enshrined on the altar is a picture of Krishna dancing as a peacock, which tradition holds was rendered by an elderly, sightless Vaishnava saint who once did his bhajan here and was granted an inner vision of the scene.
• The forest setting is part of the pilgrimage: the surrounding Gahvar Van is remembered as the grove of Radha's sakhis, and neighbouring Chiksauli is honoured as the home of Chitra Sakhi, one of Her eight principal companions.
• Reaching Mor Kutir means a gentle uphill walk on stone paths through the trees, usually folded into a wider Barsana parikrama that also takes in the Radha Rani temple, the sakhi kunds and Sankari Khor.
• Come at first light or in the cool of late afternoon, when the woods are quiet and birdcall replaces the crowds; the shrine is small, and a few unhurried minutes of darshan are the point.
• For the vegetarian traveller Barsana is wholly meat-free and alcohol-free, and the natural refreshment is temple prasad and the town's milky pedas and lassi.
• One firm caution, though: Braj is heavy bhang (cannabis) country, and roadside thandai or lassi can be spiked — only ever accept prasad or drinks from a trusted temple counter, and skip anonymous stalls.
• The nearest kitchens we can vouch for are back in Mathura and Vrindavan, so it is wise to carry water and a little food for the forest walk.