Vansivat, Place of Maharas Lila, Vrindavan, India's photostream

Vansivata

This is the place where the Youthful Couple Sri Radha-Krishna
together with the sakhis performed their pastimes of rasa as
described in Srimad-Bhagavatam, the pure and faultless scriptural
authority. To bestow the result of the Katyayani-puja upon the
young, unmarried gopis, rasika-bihari Sri Krishna granted them a
boon. To fulfil this boon, He played a sweet tune on His flute on
a full moon night. Hearing the wonderful flute-song, the gopis,
intoxicated in prema, came here. Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.29.4)
describes this as follows:

“The young women of Vraja heard the sound of Krishna’s flute.
This sound, which reinforces amorous feelings, captivated
their minds. Each unknown to the other, they went to where
their lover Krishna waited. Because they moved so quickly their
earrings swung back and forth.”

On the pretext of correcting the gopis transgression of righteous
conduct, rasikendra-Sekhara Sri Krishna gave His surrendered gopis
many reasons why they should return home to serve their husbands,
but the clever gopis easily refuted all His arguments.

Krishna’s autumnal rasa (Saradiya-rasa) with countless gopis
took place here. One Krishna danced between two gopis or one
gopi was dancing between two Krishnas. In this way, rasa took place
with astonishing dancing and singing. The other gopis became
proud of their good fortune (saubhagya-mada) and Srimati
Radhika entered into a sulky angry mood, mana. Seeing this,
rasika-Sekhara Sri Krishna disappeared from that place in order
to soothe Srimati Radhika’s mana and to remove the pride of
the other gopis.

Thereafter, the gopis, suffering separation from Krishna and
crying loudly, began to sing, jayati te ’dhikam janmana vrajah… .
Hearing their singing, Sri Krishna again appeared, and at this place
He expressed His gratitude to the gopis in sweet words: “You have
performed an extraordinary deed: you have given up everything
for Me. For this sacrifice, I am eternally indebted to you and can
never repay you.” This is the place where rasa-lila was performed,
and thus it is the crest jewel among all places of pastimes.

Sri Krishna’s great-grandson Sri Vajranabha Maharaja planted a
tree here in remembrance of this place of rasa, but after some time
the Yamuna flooded that place. More recently, five hundred and fifty
years ago, Sri Madhu Pandita, a disciple of Sri Gadadhara Pandita,
took one of its branches and planted it here, and that branch
transformed into a vast tree. Sri Madhu Pandita found the deity
Sri Gopinatha here while engaged in bhajana. There are four very
small temples in each of the four corners of the quadrangular wall
of Vamsivata. The deities of Sri Ramanujacarya, Sri Madhvacarya,
Sri Vishnusvami and Sri Nimbarkacarya were established within
them. Nowadays, some other deities have replaced them. Gaudiya
Vaisnavas used to serve here, but then Brahmacariji, the spiritual
guide of a king of Gvaliyor, bought this place. Since then, it has
been in the care of the Nimbarka sampradaya.