One of the most important places of tourist interest in Imphal is the Shri Shri Govindjee Temple. The present temple is located near the city palace complex spread over an area of 7 acres. According to the historical records King Garib Nawaz declared Vaishnavism of Chaitanya as principal religion in Manipur. His grandson King Bhagya Chandra Karta who was an ardent devotee of Krishna spread the religion all over Manipur. He had a dream in which Lord Krishna asked him to build a temple dedicated to lord himself. He then initiated carving of idol of Lord Krishna and consecrated the idol in a temple built near the palace. This occasion was marked with performance of Ras Lila for five days at Raas Mandal Pukhri at Langthabal.

It was Maharaja Nara Singh who actually commissioned the construction of the temple and dedicated the temple to Shree Govindjee in the year 1846. After the Anglo – Manipuri wars the idold were removed from the temple in the palace compound and shifted to the present temple built near the city palace during the reign of King ChurachandSingh.

The temple which is built with brick and mortar has 2 gold plated domes, with Govindjee and Radha in the central chamber of sanctum sanctorum. Jagannath, Subhadhra and Balbadhra are in the chamber to the right while the Idold of Balbadhra & Krishna are on the left side of the central chamber. It is said that the idols of Govindjee and Radha are carved out of Special Jackfruit tree wood while the idols of Krishan and Balbadhra are made of Plaster of Paris.

There is a congregation hall in front of the temple which can seat almost a thousand devotees at a time. While the community kitchen and dining hall and quarters for the monks are on the left side of the congregation hall. Every day this community kitchen serves meals to almost 500 plus devotees. Towards the right side is a beautiful pond with lotus and lilies growing and a small island shrine in the middle dedicated again to Govindjee. There are two bell towers on either side of the temple. The entries complex has beautifully laid out gardens and unlike other religious place is very quiet and peaceful.

The main festivals celebrated here are the Janamashtami; birth of lord Krishna, The Rath Yatra and the Ras Lila during the festival of Halangkar (corresponds to Holi festival in North India). The Ras Lila is a typical Manipuri classical dance form which was initiated by Maharaja Jai Singh in which the dancers ware round skirt and dance around Krishna.

Shree Govindjee Temple