Text 37
gopālera saundarya dekhi’ prabhura āveśa
ei śloka paḍi’ nāce, haila dina-śeṣa
gopālera — of Gopāla; saundarya — beauty; dekhi’ — seeing; prabhura — of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; āveśa — ecstasy; ei śloka paḍi’ — reciting the following verse; nāce — dances; haila — there was; dina-śeṣa — the end of the day.
As soon as the Lord saw the beauty of the Gopāla Deity, He was immediately overwhelmed by ecstatic love, and He recited the following verse. He then chanted and danced until the day ended.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura gives the following information about Govinda-kuṇḍa. There is a village named Āniyora on Govardhana Hill, a little distance from the village of Paiṭha. Govinda-kuṇḍa is situated near here, and there are two temples to Govinda and Baladeva there. According to some, Queen Padmāvatī excavated this lake. In the Bhakti-ratnākara (Fifth Wave), the following statement is found:
ei śrī-govinda-kuṇḍa-mahimā aneka
ethā indra kaila govindera abhiṣeka
“Govinda-kuṇḍa is exalted for its many spiritual activities. It was here that Indra, defeated by Lord Govinda, offered prayers to Him and bathed Him.” In the book Stavāvalī (Vraja-vilāsa-stava 74) the following verse is found:
nīcaiḥ prauḍha-bhayāt svayaṁ sura-patiḥ pādau vidhṛtyeha yaiḥ
svar-gaṅgā-salilaiś cakāra surabhi-dvārābhiṣekotsavam
govindasya navaṁ gavām adhipatā rājye sphuṭaṁ kautukāt
tair yat prādurabhūt sadā sphuratu tad govinda-kuṇḍaṁ dṛśoḥ
“With humility caused by great fear, Indra took hold of the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa and, in the company of a surabhi cow, performed His coronation festival by bathing Him with the waters of the heavenly Ganges River. Thus Lord Kṛṣṇa’s kingship over the cows became splendidly manifest. I pray that Govinda-kuṇḍa, the lake created by that ceremonial bath, may eternally appear before my eyes.”
Also, in the Mathurā-khaṇḍa it is stated:
yatrābhiṣikto bhagavān maghonā yadu-vairiṇā
govinda-kuṇḍaṁ taj-jātaṁ snāna-mātreṇa mokṣa-dam
“Simply by bathing in Govinda-kuṇḍa, one is awarded liberation. This lake was produced when Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa was bathed by Lord Indra.”
Gāṅṭhuli-grāma is situated near the two villages Bilachu and Gopāla-pura. According to hearsay, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa first met here. In the Bhakti-ratnākara (Fifth Wave), it is stated, sakhī duṅha vastre gāṅṭhi dila saṅgopane: “The two concealed Themselves by tying Their outer garments together.” It is also stated, phāguyā laiyā keha gāṅṭhi khuli’ dilā: “With a phāguyā They undid the knot.” For this reason the village is known as Gāṅṭhuli.