Imli Tala
A Comprehensive Guide to Śrī Vṛndāvana Dhāma
The tamarind tree here (imli means “tamarind” and tala means “tree”) is said to date back 5,000 years to Lord Krishna’s time, although according to some people, the current tree is a representative of the original. If this is the case, the current tamarind tree is still very old.
When he was visiting Vrindavana, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu daily chanted japa at Imli Tala, which was located at that time right on the bank of the Yamuna. The small temple here, with its Gaura-Nitai and two sets of Radha-Krishna Deities commemorates His presence. Nowadays, the Yamuna has moved about a quarter of a kilometer away. Temples and residences now line the street on both sides of Imli Tala; when Caitanya Mahaprabhu chanted here, this part of Vrindavana was all forest.
One story tells how Srimati Radharani cursed the tamarind tree at Imli Tala because as She was hurring to meet Krishna, She stepped on the thick pod of a ripe tamarind fruit and cut Her foot. Because this slowed her down, She cursed the tree that its fruits would never ripen. (The pods of unripe tamarind fruits are soft and do not hurt when stepped on.) Even today, the fruits of this tree fall before they are fully ripe.
Krishna also came to Imli Tala, and because of His ecstatic feelings of separation from Srimati Radharani, His black body turned golden. When Lord Caitanya chanted here, meditating on Krishna in Srimati Radharani's mood of separation, His golden body sometimes turned black.
Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami writes in the Caitanya-caritamrita (Madhya 18.83-88): “After bathing in Kesi-tirtha, Krishnadasa [Rajput] went toward Kaliya-daha and suddenly saw Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu sitting at Imli Tala. Upon seeing the Lord’s personal beauty and ecstatic love, Krishnadasa was very much astonished. Out of ecstatic love, he offered his respectful obeisances unto the Lord. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then bestowed upon Krishnadasa His causeless mercy by embracing him. Krishnadasa became mad with ecstatic love and began to dance and chant the holy name of Hari." Later, Krishnadasa Rajput protected Sri Caitanya from a band of Mughal soldiers.
Bhaktisaranga Maharaja, a disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, established a Gaudiya Math temple at Imli Tala, and his samadhi is now located to the left of the tree as you come in.
A festival worshiping the tree is held at Imli Tala on the full moon day of Karttika, which Vaisnavas believe is the day Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu arrived in Vrindavana.
Directions: To get to Imli Tala from the Radha-Damodara temple: As you step out of the Radha-Damodara temple, turn right and walk about 50 m (150 ft). Take the road that bears off to the right and walk about 30 m (100 ft) toward Seva Kunja. Again take the road that goes to the right and walk until the road ends (about a one-minute walk). Enter the doorway that looks like a residence directly in front of you (there is a swinging door to keep animals out), and walk through the courtyard. Imli Tala is on your left.
If you are doing Vrindavana parikrama, Imli Tala is on the right next to the path, about 1 km (a 15-minute walk) past the Madana-Mohana temple. The temple is hard to recognize from the outside, but over the temple wall is a large yellow sign written in Hindi. Steps lead up, and if you look through the gate even from the path, you can see the tree and the Deity pictured on this page. If you reach the place where the parikrama path becomes very thin (1 m wide) and moves toward the Yamuna temple and Kesi-ghat, you have gone too far.
Temple Schedule: Deity Darshan: 5:30 a.m. until noon, and 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. The Imli Tala tree can be viewed all day.