This volume incorporates the papers presented at a conference held in 1991. The study brings into focus the multi­ faceted and multi-layered personality of Vraja through the great temple known as Govindadeva of the Mughal period. It presents a detailed study of Govindadeva's design and iconography, richly illustrated with photographs and drawings. Other chapters discuss the history of its construction and desecration under Aurangzeb, and describe the temples built along the way for the image of Sri Govindadeva when he travelled to his present home in Jaipur. Documentation from manuscript archives brings alive the lineage of priests serving the temple, and the ritual life of the temple is reconstructed from manuscript sources. The contributors are noted Indian, American and European scholars.