ISKCON’s 15th Annual Vraja Mandala Parikrama, Part 12

Day 24. Bhandirvan to Manasarovar. Bilvavan (Srivan). This is also one of the 12 forests of Vraja. Bilva is another name for the Bela tree or Bela fruit. Laxmi devi resides in this forest and another one of Her names is Sri. This is the reason this forest is called Srivana. Laxmi devi wanted to be able to associate with Krsna in the conjugal mood. For this end, She came here and performed austerities. Krsna and Balarama would come to this forest, eat bela fruit, and have picnics with their friends.

Manasarovar. This is a beautiful pond surrounded by many bushes and trees. Mana means anger which is an expression of exchange of extreme love between lover and beloved. Sarovar means a pond. Srimati Radharani came here in the mood of mana. Radharani became angry presuming that Krsna was ignoring and neglecting Her. She pretended that She did not have any concern for Krnsa. This pastime took place here. Once, Lord Siva wanted to enter the rasa dance. Because he has a male body, he was refused entry. He then bathed in Manasarovar, took the form of a gopi, and participated in rasa lila.

Day 25. Mansarovar to Lohavan. Lohavan is one of the 12 forests of Vraja. Here, Satrughna, the younger brother of Lord Rama, killed Lohajanghasura.

This Lohavan is also the battlefield where Krsna fought and defeated Jarasandha. Today we heard that each time Jarasandha was defeated by Krsna he would return home, gather a new army, and engage Brahmans to perform yajnas, etc, hopefully to ensure victory against the Lord. However, he was defeated 17 times by the Him. After the 17th time, Jarasandha threatened to kill the Brahmans if he again lost the fight. So, the Brahmans wrote to Krsna and asked His help. This is one of the reasons why Krsna chose to run away from the 18th battle against Jarasandha and earn Himself the name Ranachora.

Radha Gopinath Mandir. This is a famous temple in Lohavan with deties of Radha Gopinath.

Parikrama realizations: "I hurt my ankle and was very much touched by the care and affection of the other parikrama devotees. The spirit of cooperation, here on the parikrama, is so great. Such a merry, wonderful mood. Our advancement in spiritual life comes through pleasing Krsna. We please Him by looking after His devotees. I would like to keep this realization." (Manjari DD, formerly of New Zealand, now residing in Mayapur for last 15 years)

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His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

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