rāma rāma mahā-bāho
kṛṣṇa duṣṭa-nibarhaṇa
ito 'vidūre su-mahad
vanaḿ tālāli-sańkulam
rama rama -- O Rama: maha-baho -- O mighty-armed one; krishna -- O Krishna; dushta-nibarhana -- O eliminator of the miscreants; itah -- from here; avidure -- not far; su-mahat -- very expansive; vanam -- a forest; tala-ali -- with rows of palm trees; sankulam -- filled.
[The cowherd boys said:] O Rama, Rama, mighty-armed one! O Krishna, destroyer of the miscreants! Not far from here is a very great forest filled with rows of palm trees.
As stated in the Sri Varaha Purana:
asti govardhanam nama
kshetram parama-durlabham
mathura-pascime bhage
adurad yojana-dvayam
"Not far from the western side of Mathura, at a distance of two yojanas [sixteen miles], is the holy place named Govardhana, which is most difficult to attain." It is also stated in the Varaha Purana:
asti tala-vanam nama
dhenakasura-rakshitam
mathura-pascime bhage
adurad eka-yojanam
"Not far from the western side of Mathura, one yojana away [eight miles], is the forest known as Talavana, which was guarded by Dhenukasura." Thus it appears that the Talavana forest is located midway between Mathura and Govardhana Hill. The forest of Talavana is described in the Sri Hari-vamsa as follows:
sa tu desah samah snigdhah
su-mahan krishna-mrittikah
darbha-prayah sthuli-bhuto
loshtra-pashana-varjitah
"The land there is even, smooth and very expansive. The earth is black, densely covered with darbha grass and devoid of stones and pebbles."
