gopÄlera saundarya dekhi' prabhura ÄveÅ›a
ei Å›loka paá¸i' nÄce, haila dina-Å›eá¹£a
gopÄlera - of GopÄla; saundarya - beauty; dekhi' - seeing; prabhura - of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu; ÄveÅ›a - ecstasy; ei Å›loka paá¸i' - reciting the following verse; nÄce - dances; haila - there was; dina-Å›eá¹£a - the end of the day.
As soon as the Lord saw the beauty of the GopÄla Deity, He was immediately overwhelmed by ecstatic love, and He recited the following verse. He then chanted and danced until the day ended.
ÅšrÄ«la BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« ṬhÄkura gives the following information about Govinda-kuṇá¸a. There is a village named Ä€niyora on Govardhana Hill, a little distance from the village of Paiá¹ha. Govinda-kuṇá¸a is situated near here, and there are two temples to Govinda and Baladeva there. According to some, Queen PadmÄvatÄ« excavated this lake. In the Bhakti-ratnÄkara (Fifth Wave), the following statement is found:
ei Å›rÄ«-govinda-kuṇá¸a-mahimÄ aneka
ethÄ indra kaila govindera abhiá¹£eka
“Govinda-kuṇá¸a 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 StavÄvalÄ« (Vraja-vilÄsa-stava 74) the following verse is found:
nÄ«caiḥ prauá¸ha-bhayÄt svayaá¹ sura-patiḥ pÄdau vidhá¹›tyeha yaiḥ
svar-gaá¹…gÄ-salilaiÅ› cakÄra surabhi-dvÄrÄbhiá¹£ekotsavam
govindasya navaá¹ gavÄm adhipatÄ rÄjye sphuá¹aá¹ kautukÄt
tair yat prÄdurabhÅ«t sadÄ sphuratu tad govinda-kuṇá¸aá¹ 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-kuṇá¸a, the lake created by that ceremonial bath, may eternally appear before my eyes.â€
Also, in the MathurÄ-khaṇá¸a it is stated:
yatrÄbhiá¹£ikto bhagavÄn maghonÄ yadu-vairiṇÄ
govinda-kuṇá¸aá¹ taj-jÄtaá¹ snÄna-mÄtreṇa moká¹£a-dam
“Simply by bathing in Govinda-kuṇá¸a, one is awarded liberation. This lake was produced when BhagavÄn ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa was bathed by Lord Indra.â€
GÄá¹…á¹huli-grÄma is situated near the two villages Bilachu and GopÄla-pura. According to hearsay, RÄdhÄ and Kṛṣṇa first met here. In the Bhakti-ratnÄkara (Fifth Wave), it is stated, sakhÄ« duá¹…ha vastre gÄá¹…á¹hi dila saá¹…gopane: “The two concealed Themselves by tying Their outer garments together.†It is also stated, phÄguyÄ laiyÄ keha gÄá¹…á¹hi khuli’ dilÄ: “With a phÄguyÄ They undid the knot.†For this reason the village is known as GÄá¹…á¹huli.
