Bhandirvat Banyan & Radha-Krishna Vivah Sthali

On the eastern bank of the Yamuna, in Mant tehsil roughly ten kilometres from Vrindavan, stands Bhandirvan — one of Braj's twelve sacred forests (dwadash van) and home to the venerable Bhandir vat, a vast, gnarled banyan that gives the grove its name.

• For Radha-Krishna devotees this quiet woodland is best known as a Vivah Sthali: tradition holds that beneath the Bhandir vat the god Brahma himself solemnised the celestial marriage of Radha and Krishna, garlanding the divine couple and reciting the wedding rites while the gopas and gopis looked on.
• A modest walled shrine here marks the spot, and pilgrims come to honour that eternal union rather than to see a grand monument.
• The forest carries other beloved lilas.
• The Bhagavata tradition places Krishna and Balaram's boyhood cow-grazing here, and it is in Bhandiravan that Balaram is said to have vanquished the demon Pralamba, who had disguised himself among the cowherd boys.
• A separate ancient banyan within the grove — the Vanshi vat of Bhandirvan, distinct from Vrindavan town's Vamsi Vat — is remembered as a place where Krishna sounded his flute to call Radha and the gopis.
• Physically, the site is unpretentious: a great old banyan with a spreading canopy of aerial roots, a small temple, a few sadhus and priests, and the hush of open Braj countryside.
• Reaching Bhandirvan usually means a short drive from Vrindavan across the Yamuna; shared and private vehicles run out to the grove, and it is a favourite halt on the Braj Chaurasi-Kos parikrama.
• Darshan is informal — there are no ticket counters and no fixed grand ceremonies — so an early-morning visit, when the banyan is cool and the birdsong loud, rewards the effort.
• You may photograph the banyan and the shrine's exterior freely, but ask before photographing any deity inside.
• For vegetarian travellers Braj is a comfort: the whole region is pure-vegetarian by custom and municipal rule, and no meat, fish or egg is served.
• Bhandirvan itself has only a stray tea stall or two, so carry your own water and simple prasad; the nearest reliably verified pure-veg, egg-free kitchens are back in Vrindavan, about ten kilometres away.
• One firm caution: Mathura-Braj is a heavy bhang (cannabis) belt, and roadside thandai or lassi — especially around town temples and during Holi or Shivratri — may be laced with bhang.
• Never accept an unlabelled thandai from a stall; stick to sealed water and food from a trusted sattvic kitchen.
• Bhandirvan is for the unhurried pilgrim who wants Braj's forest stillness and a tender legend of divine love, not crowds or spectacle.