Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
Śyāma-kuṭī is situated amidst a thick cluster of trees near Ratna-siṁhāsana. Here, Śrī Śyāmasundara smeared His body with śyāma-coloured musk, dressed Himself in śyāma-coloured clothes and ornaments, and entered a śyāma-coloured bower. Even the gopīs were unable to recognise Him. When they finally did, He performed many attractive pastimes with them. Nearby is a bajanī- śīla, a stone that makes sweet sounds when tapped.
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
The small forest of Shyamavana is the place where the sacred rocks of Govardhana Hill first appear above the ground and also one of the places where Radha and Krishna performed rasa-lila pastimes with the gopis. On one of the small rocks referred to as here one can see what is believed to be Krishna’s lotus footprints (charana-chinnha) along with the hoofprint of a calf. The place known as Shyama Kuti is famous because at this place, while being surrounded by hundreds of her girlfriends, Shrimati Radharani would sit in audience on a gem encrusted throne decorated with diamonds, sapphires, and rubies, known as the Ratna-simhasana. The word ‘ratna’ means ‘gemstones’. Nearby is the sacred Ratna-kunda where the gopis used to bathe and there is also a rasa-mandala platform that commemorates the rasa-dance that took place at Shyama Kuti.
This is also the place where the demon Shankachuda attempted to kidnap a number of the gopis right in front of Krishna and Balarama. The demon was a follower of Kuvera and famous for wearing an extremely precious conch shaped gemstone on his head, and for this reason he was known to everyone as Shankhachuda. The word ‘shankha’ means a ‘conch shell’. One evening, the gopis had gathered at Shyamavana on the occasion of Holi-mela and were raptly listening to Krishna and Balarama singing a beautiful song together when the Shankhachuda demon suddenly appeared there. The demon began gathering together a large group of gopis and led them away just like sheep. Seeing what had happened, Krishna and Balarama immediately chased after the demon and very soon caught up with him. Seeing Krishna and Balarama close on his heels, Shankhachuda released the gopis in the hope of making his escape and began running as fast as he could. Krishna told Balarama to stay with the gopis while He would continue to pursue the demon. Eventually, Krishna caught up with Shankhachuda and beat him so hard on his head, the demon dropped dead on the spot. Krishna then removed the precious conch-shaped gemstone from his head and after returning to where Balarama and the gopis were waiting, He presented this precious gemstone to Balarama as a gift.
