Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
The word ‘chore’ means ‘thief’ and when Vasudeva brought Krishna to Gokula and took away Yogamaya Devi, it is said he came and went secretly just like a thief, therefore this area at the base of the hill known as Nanda-tila near the bank of the Yamuna River was called Chore Ghata. In this regard the word ‘ghata’ not only means the steps on the riverbank where Vasudeva arrived carrying baby Krishna, but also refers to any steep slope where the land rises up at the base of a hill. After crossing the Yamuna from Koyla Ghata, Vasudeva had to climb up the slope of Nanda-tila, now called Chore Ghata, in order to reach Nanda’s compound before entering the inner rooms of Yashoda Bhavana, where mother Yashoda was resting after giving birth.
