Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
The name of this village is derived from the word ‘maharani’, which means ‘queen’. One day the gopis assembled here and decided to dress Radharani up as a queen, or maharani. They sat Her down on a very nicely decorated throne and began adorning Her with many kinds of beautiful and aromatic forest flowers. They then declared Radha to be their beloved maharani and started playing various musical instruments while dancing in a circle around Her. Some gopis also sang songs in praise of Radharani, glorifying Her as the Queen of Vrindavana forest. Because of this pastime the village became known as Maharaniya.
