Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
This pastime place of Śrī Kṛṣṇa is situated one mile west of Pūñcharī and is filled with lush, green palāśa trees. Next to it is a very large grove of kadamba trees, with leaves like cups. Śrī Kṛṣṇa used to drink buttermilk from these leaf-cups along with His friends. This is also a place of rāsa.
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
This secluded forest of ancient palasa trees is famous as one of the sites where Krishna and the gopis performed the pastime of ‘rasa-lila’. The name Shyama Dhaka means the holy place (dhaka) where the trees are imbued with a bluish-black hue (shyama). Nearby is a kadamba-kandi when Krishna and the cowherd boys play various games, they would also use the leaves of kadamba trees as cups for drinking buttermilk during their forest picnics. The places of interest here include: Gopatala-kunda where the cowherd boys would sit to take their lunch, Gopa Sagara where the cowherd boys used to swim, Rasa-sthali where the rasa-lila took place and Vitthalanatha-baithaka, the sitting place of Vitthalanatha, who was appointed by Raghunatha Dasa Goswami as the head pujari of Madhavendra Puri’s Gopala Deity. The main temple here is known as the Shyamakunda Mandira which stands in front of the lake known as Shyama-kunda.
