Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
The previous and correct name of this village is Kinnarī- Śyāmarī. In fact, it comprises two villages, namely Narī and Semarī. The village of Semarī, the residence of the yūtheśvarī Śyāmalā Sakhī, lies four miles south-east of Chātā; and one mile south of Semarī is the village of Narī.
Once, Śrīmatī Rādhikā exhibited a mood of jealous anger that seemed unbreakable. Lalitā, Viśākhā and the other sakhīs tried their level best to pacify Her, but to no avail; instead Her māna simply increased. Finally, Kṛṣṇa, on the advice of the sakhīs, disguised Himself as Śyāmarī Sakhī and, playing the vīṇā, arrived at that place. Upon seeing the amazing beauty of Śyāmarī Sakhī and hearing her sing in various exquisite rāgas to the vīṇā’s full range of ascending and descending notes, Śrīmatī Rādhikā became enchanted. “Sakhī, what is Your name?” She asked, “and where do You live?”
The disguised Kṛṣṇa, answered, “My name is Śyāmarī. I am a kinnarī from the heavenly planets.” Śyāmarī Kinnarī then played the vīṇā and sang so beautifully that Śrīmatī Rādhikā was overwhelmed. She was just about to put Her jewelled necklace around the neck of Śyāmarī Kinnarī, when the sakhī folded Her hands and made a request at Her lotus feet: “Please give Me the jewel of Your māna.” When Śrīmatī Rādhikā heard this, She immediately understood that this was Her dear most beloved asking Her to surrender Her precious sulky mood. Now Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa were happily reunited, and the sakhīs were overjoyed to have arranged this reconciliation.
Narī-Semarī has taken its name from this sweet pastime: “Narī” comes from the word kinnarī, and “Semarī” from “Śyāmarī”. According to Vṛndāvana-līlāmṛta, the name Narī is the corrupted form of the word hari.
Another pastime also took place here. When Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva were about to leave for Mathurā, Akrūra seated Them on his chariot and quickly drove the chariot away. The gopīs stood watching with unblinking eyes as the chariot gradually disappeared from their vision. They continued to watch as the dust it kicked up settled to the ground. Beside themselves with grief and agony, they fell to the ground calling out, “O Hari, O Hari!” To preserve the memory of this pastime, Mahārāja Vajranābha established a village here known as Hari. Gradually, the word hari changed to Narī. Kiśorī-kuṇḍa, Saṅkarṣaṇa-kuṇḍa and a temple of Śrī Baladeva are located in this village.
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
Previously this place was known as Shyama-Kinnari in memory of the pastime where Krishna dressed up as a gopi named Shyama-sakhi just to placate Radha’s mana or lovers pique. Today, the twin villages of Nari and Semri are situated on either side of the Delhi to Agra highway and there are very large lakes near both the villages. At Semri there is presently a famous temple of Durga known as Shyamali Ki Devi, but this is in actual fact the ancient shrine dedicated to Krishna’s pastime here as Shyama-kinnari.
The Bhakti-ratnakara says, “This is the village of Narisemari, previously known as Shyama-Kinnari. Seeing no way to break Radha’s angry mood, Krishna took the form of a sakhi named Shyama-sakhi here.” Once when Radharani was in a very angry mood with Krishna, He cleverly devised a means to subdue Her mana by disguising Himself as a gopi and came before Radharani while playing on a vina and singing enchanting love songs. The Bhakti-ratnakara says, “While playing the vina, Krishna as Shyama-sakhi arrived here before Radharani, who exclaimed, ‘In every way she seems to be a Kinnari’.
Due to being overcome with intense emotion and completely enraptured by the wonderful love songs being sung by Syama-sakhi, Radha took off Her jeweled necklace and placed it around Shyama-sakhi’s neck. Turning to Radha, Shyama-sakhi lovingly said. “Now please give Me the jewel of your anger and accept Me as your own.” Hearing these words, Radha immediately realized that the beautiful Kinnari was non-other than Her beloved Krishna. She became overwhelmed with ecstatic love and immediately forgot Her mana. The Bhakti-ratnakara says, “Hearing the sound of the vina, Radha became overwhelmed and put Her jeweled necklace on the neck of Shyama-sakhi. The Kinnari said, ‘Give Me the jewel of Your anger and accept Me as Your own. Hearing these words, Radha gave up Her angry mood and slowly smiled as She became overwhelmed in delight. In this way the two towns are named.”
In regard to this pastime, there are three different meanings to the Sanskrit word kinnari. Firstly, a kinnari is a stringed lute-like instrument which is known in India as a vina. Secondly, a person who plays the vina is sometimes called a kinnari. Thirdly, a kinnari is a female celestial musician amongst the demigods and renowned for their dancing, singing and poetic compositions. The Kinnaris are also famous for their beauty, grace and feminine accomplishment. The Kinnaris are generally described as being half human-half swan, with the face and upper torso being human-like with wings, while the lower torso is bird-like. In folklore the Kinnaras are often described as being fairies. A Kinnari is the female of the Kannara species and the male is known simply as a Kinnara, it is said that they remain life-long lovers and do not procreate offspring as their love is all consuming. According to the Shrimad-Bhagavatam, Garuda is said to be an inhabitant of Kinnaraloka, the heavenly planet of winged bird-like beings.
