Shree Govindajee Temple

Shree Govindajee Temple is the largest Hindu, Vaishnav temple in Imphal city in Manipur. It is located next to the palace of the former rulers of the then Manipur Kingdom. The temple is simple in design with two gold plated domes, a paved court and a large, raised mantapa or congregation hall. The central chamber of the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) has the main deity of Govindaji, stated to be the incarnation of Lord Krishna, and his consort Radha. In the other two chambers of the sanctum, on either side of the main deity, images deified are of Balabhadra and Krishna on one side, and images of Jagannath, Subhadra and Balabhadra on the other side. The temple was originally built in 1846 during the reign of Maharaja Nara Singh and rebuilt by Maharaja Chandrakriti in 1876.The temple management was earlier with the former king as per Article II of the Manipur Merger Agreement of 1949 when Manipur became a part of India after independence. However, on popular demand by the public, it is now managed by a Board with members drawn from the priest community and important people of the city. The Chief Minister of the state is the Board's president.