Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
This is the appearance place of Lord Gopala, the Deity that was discovered by Srila Madhavendra Puri Goswami. The word ‘prakata’ means ‘appearance’ or ‘manifested’ and ‘sthala’ means a holy place. The Deity of Lord Gopala lay buried in the earth beneath some bushes at this very spot and in a dream the Deity appeared before Madhavendra Puri and requested that Madhavendra should dig Him out because He was suffering from neglect and the onslaught of the elements like cold, wind, rain and scorching heat. In the dream the Gopala Deity told Madhavandra to install Him in a nice temple on top of Govardhana Hill. This same Gopala Deity was one of the two ‘natha-v/grahas’ that were established by Vajranabha Maharaja, the other being Lord Gopinatha which he installed in Vrindavana. The word ‘natha’ means ‘master’ or ‘controller’. This Gopala Deity is also known by the names Gopala-natha, Gopala-raya and presently as Shri-natha. During the period of Aurangzeb, the despotic Mughal ruler, the Gopala Deity was moved to the safety of Rajasthan and is presently being worshiped at Nathadwara near Udaipura in Rajasthan.
