Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
After killing Vatsāsura, Śrī Kṛṣṇa met the gopī s near Bhāṇḍīravaṭa and boasted His strength. The gopīs accused Kṛṣṇa of killing a cow and forbade Him to touch them. Kṛṣṇa said, “I did not kill a cow but a demon in the form of a calf.” The gopīs, however, did not accept this. Kṛṣṇa then inquired how His purity could be restored, and the gopīs answered, “If You bathe in all the sacred rivers and ponds on the earth, You will again become pure and can touch us.” After hearing the words of the gopīs, Kṛṣṇa created a beautiful well (kūpa) with His flute (veṇu) and summoned all of the earth’s sacred places to enter it. He bathed in that well and then met with the gopīs.
This well, known as Veṇu-kūpa, is situated near Bhāṇḍīravaṭa. By bathing in it, one obtains the same result as by taking bath at each and every sacred place. Even today, the women of Vraja worship this well on certain occasions. Those who do not have a child or whose child has died untimely make a vow to propitiate the deity here by their worship. Their hearts’ desires are then fulfilled.
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
There is a large festival held here every year in the month of Ashada (June-July) on the occasion of amavasya, or the dark-moon day when the moon is not visible in the night sky. On that day many thousands of Vrajavasis gather to bathe in the water of this well. It is believed that if childless couples desiring to have offspring take bath here on this particular day, their desires will be fulfilled. Locals say that if this particular amavasya falls on a Monday (Somavati-amavasya), the water in the well turns a whitish color just like milk. Opposite to the well is the small temple known as the Radha Ananda-Bihari Mandira. There are many different legends regarding this famous well. The word ‘venu’ refers to Krishna’s ‘flute’ and ‘kupa’ means a ‘well’. Some say the well was created by Krishna to quench the thirst of the cowherd boys as Chhanhari was a favorite spot for enjoying picnics. Another version says that Krishna created the well to satisfy the gopis thirst after the night-long rasa-lila at Vamsi Vata. Some others say that this well was created by Krishna so He could take bath after killing the calf-demon Vatsasura because the gopis forbade Krishna to touch them until He purified Himself from the sin of cow-killing. But this version cannot be accepted because at the time of killing Vatsasura, the first demon killed after the Vrajavasis had moved from Mahavana to Vrindavana, Krishna was living at Shakatikara and was only about four years old and still enjoying His pauganda-lila, or early boyhood pastimes. During this period, Krishna never associated with the gopis at any time and therefore the subject of the gopis forbidding Krishna to touch them does not even arise. Pastimes with the gopis only began after Krishna moved to Nandagrama and entered His kaishore-lila as a full-blown youth. After killing Vatsasura, the cowherd boys requested Krishna to purify Himself by bathing in the River Ganges, Krishna then manifested Manasi-ganga from His mind and took His purificatory bath in the sacred water of the Ganges. It is mentioned in the Bhagavatam that the first time the gopis actually saw Krishna and became captivated by His incredible beauty, was at the very end of Krishna’s pauganda-lila during the pastimes of subduing of the Kaliya serpent and swallowing the forest fire when the cowherd men and women spent the night camped at Davanala-kunda.
In the Gopala-champu it says, “When Krishna emerged from the lake of Kaliya, Radha and the other gopis saw His remarkable beauty for the first time and they immediately fainted in ecstasy, but continued to see Him internally within their hearts. They were in a constant state of fainting and reawakening, remaining in that condition for many days and nights”. At Davanala-kunda the gopis could only gaze in awe at Krishna’s beautiful lotus face with their meaningful side-long glances, but they did not directly associate with Him until much later when Krishna moved to Nandagrama at the age of six or seven, which also marked the beginning of His kaisora-lila or period of youth-hood, when His intimate pastimes with Radharani and the gopis began and Their first direct meeting took place at Sanket.
On His arrival at Shakatikara, Krishna began herding the calves in the area north of Vrindavana known as Vatsa-krida, which means the ‘place of herding calves’ as well as the ‘playground of children’. It is revealed in Gaudiya Vaishnava scriptures this was in the area where Vatsasura was killed and not at Bhandiravana or Bhadravana, as some claim. Vatsasura was the first demon to be killed by Krishna after Nanda Maharaja moved his residence from Gokula to Vrindavana (Shakatikara). Vatsa-krida is the famous site on the western bank of the Yamuna where Krishna and Balarama enjoyed the entirety of Their pauganda-lila or boy-hood pastimes and where They killed all the demons during this phase of Their life including: Vatsasura, Aghasura, Bakasura, Pralambhasura and Dhenukasura. After the killing of these demons and the subduing of the serpent Kaliya Naga, the two transcendental brothers Krishna and Balarama moved to Dig, then to Kamyavana and finally to Nandagrama. Further proof that Vatsasura was not killed at Bhadravana is found in Shrila Jiva Goswami’s Gopala-champu, which says that when King Kamsa ordered the demon Vatsasura to kill Krishna, he told him he could find Him in Nanda’s Vraja at the place known as Vatsa-krida, where Krishna herded the calves. Nanda’s Vraja, also called Vatsa Krida, is the area that extends from Vrindavana to Nandagrama and covers the entire region on the western bank of the Yamuna as far north as Kelanvana (Shergarh).
