Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
The village of Paiṭhā is situated two miles south of Pārāsaulī. This place has special significance for the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas. When Śrī Kṛṣṇa disappeared from the springtime rāsa, the grief-stricken gopīs began searching for Him everywhere. Kṛṣṇa assumed a four- armed form at this place, but when the gopīs saw this form, they simply offered obeisances and continued on their way. Śrīmatījī, restless in separation from Kṛṣṇa, finally arrived there. When Śrī Kṛṣṇa saw Śrīmatījī He was unable to maintain His four-armed form, and two arms entered His body (paiṭha gaye). He then met with Śrīmatījī in His form as an ever-fresh, youthful cowherd boy and expert dancer holding a flute in His hand. Śrī Kṛṣṇa begged forgiveness from Her and said, “Beloved, when I suddenly did not see You in the rāsa, I became aggrieved in separation from You and began searching for You. I am only performing this rāsa for You. You should never go into jealous anger (māna) and leave Me ever again.”
Thus, the springtime rāsa is unique, in that it establishes Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s superiority over the other gopīs. The poet Śrī Jayadeva Gosvāmī has described this springtime rāsa in his Gīta-govinda. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu cites this spring rāsa alone as proof of Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s pre-eminence. This subject has been described very sweetly in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta in the conversation between Śrī Rāya Rāmānanda and Śrīman Mahāprabhu. Kṛṣṇa has many beloveds, but Śrīmatī Rādhikā is the crown jewel of them all, because She is the embodiment of mahābhāva and the possessor of all good qualities. This is why Śrī Kṛṣṇa was able to maintain His four-armed form before the other sakhīs, but could not maintain His mood upon seeing Śrīmatījī and His two extra arms entered into His body. This is the special glory of Śrīmatī Rādhikā.
Among the places of darśana in Paiṭha are Nārāyaṇa-sarovara, Aiṁṭhā-kadamba, Khīra-sāgara and Balabhadra-kuṇḍa.
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
This village achieved its name after the celebrated pastime of Krishna’s hiding from the gopis near this village. The places of interest here include: the Chaturbhuja-Narayana Mandir, Narayana-sarovara, Lakshmi Kupa, Aintha-kadamba, Ksira Sagara, and Balabhadra-kunda. The word ‘paitha’ means ‘went into’, or ‘entered’, and refers to Krishna’s two extra arms that were manifested at the time He exhibited His Chaturbhuja-Narayana form before the gopis, which later ‘entered’ into His body when He saw Radharani’s intense mood of separation. Once during the rasa-lila at Parasauli, which is not very far from Paitha, Krishna wanted to witness for Himself the pure and unadulterated love of Radha and the intensity of Her mood in separation from Him, referred to as vipralambha-bhava. Therefore, He suddenly disappeared from the arena of the rasa-lila and assuming the four-armed form of Lord Vishnu, hid Himself in a secluded forest grove. In great anxiety Radharani and the gopis started to search for Krishna everywhere. When arriving at the forest grove where Krishna was hiding, the gopis saw the four-armed form of Lord Vishnu, and after paying their obeisances, they moved on in search of Krishna. However, when Radharani came there in search of Him, Krishna could not bear to see Radharani’s distraught and pitiable condition while in the mood of acute separation from Him. Krishna was so moved by Radharani’s intense feelings that He was unable to maintain His four-armed feature any longer, thus two of His four arms suddenly disappeared and Krishna immediately came forward to surrender Himself before His beloved Radha in order to mitigate Her intense feelings of sorrow. According to the Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy, this important pastime establishes the supremacy of Radharani over all other gopis including Chandravali, Her main rival in attracting Krishna’s love. This is because Radharani alone is the very embodiment of ‘maha-bhava-svarupa’, and no other gopi possesses this supreme transcendental attribute of divine love. Because Radharani is the epitome of maha-bhava or ‘maha-bhava-svarupa’, Her own ecstasy of maha-bhava exceeds that of all the other gopis and this unique feature is known as Radha-bhava. Due to this special quality, Radha is able to bring even Krishna under Her control, which is due to Her unparalleled love and complete devotion towards Him.
Another reason for the village to be named Paitha has been mentioned in various scriptures including Gopala-champu. During Krishna’s pastime of lifting Govardhana Hill, He came to Paitha where there was a very deep cavern that ran straight below Govardhana Hill. Krishna ‘entered’ (paitha) the cavern so that He could get underneath Govardhana Hill and easily lift it up in order to give shelter to the residents of Vrindavana from the torrential rain. There were formerly many large caves all over Govardhana Hill, but in course of time, most of these caves have shrunk in size or disappeared altogether, or otherwise closed by the authorities because of the danger of collapse. There are many stories of local people entering these deep caves, which in some cases ran for miles underground, never to be seen again. It is also said that once Krishna had lifted Govardhana Hill, the Vrajavasis also entered under the Hill from this place. The word ‘paitha’ also means ‘entered’. It has been described by Shrila Jiva Goswami that the Vrajavasis took shelter within a large cavernous arena below the mountain once it had been lifted by Krishna.
Before lifting Govardhana Hill, the cowherd boys, who had all assembled at Paitha, were trying to convince Krishna not to attempt such a ‘Herculean’ feat because His body was so soft and delicate. Therefore, in order to test Krishna’s strength and also convince themselves, the cowherd boys asked Him to twist the trunk of a nearby kadamba tree, which He easily accomplished with great ease. Feeling satisfied the cowherd boys agreed to let Krishna lift Govardhana Hill and dressed Him up in a wrestler’s costume along with a beautiful silken sash around His waist. The kadamba tree at Paitha that Krishna twisted as a test of His strength became known as the Aintha-kadamba (twisted kadamba). Unfortunately, this particular kadamba tree disappeared some years ago.
