Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
This village, situated three miles east of Sunerā-gaon and one mile west of Varsānā, is the village of Śrī Lalitā. Vraja-bhakti-vilāsa quotes Viṣṇu-rahasya, which describes this place as follows: “Nearby is Sakhīgiri-parvata, on which Phisalanī-śilā (a stone slide), Lalitā- vivāha-maṇḍapa (the wedding pavilion of Lalitā) and Sakhī-kūpa are situated. Also nearby are Triveṇī-kūpa, a rāsa-maṇḍala, a deity of Dāūjī in a kuñja of thorny bushes, Gopī-puṣkariṇī, Deha-kuṇḍa, and other pastime places.”
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
This celebrated village of Unchagrama, which is also known locally as Lalita Grama or simply as Lalita, is said to be the birthplace of Shrimati Lalita Devi, the most confidential friend and close companion of Shrimati Radharani. However, in the Bhakti-ratnakara, it says that Lalita was born in the nearby village of Karala, thus there is a difference of opinion about Lalita’s actual birthplace, but regardless, Lalita Devi definitely spent her entire childhood living at Unchagrama which according to some was her maternal family home. Unchagrama is also mentioned in the Vishnu Purana to be one of the adhivanas or sub-forests of Vrindavana Dhama.
It is well known that whenever Radha experiences any kind of heartache or misunderstanding in Her love affair with Krishna, Her friend Lalita was always there to pacify and console Her. Lalita is a vama-nayaki gopi just like Radharani and therefore can even become angry and rebuke Krishna if she feels that He had wronged Radharani, or neglected Her in some way or the other. Lalita Devi is the senior-most amongst the famous ‘ashta-sakhis’, the eight principle girlfriends of Radha and is also a ‘yutheshvara’ or leader of her own group of younger sakhis. She also has her own group of dasis (maidservants) and dutis (messengers), as do each of the ashta-sakhis.
Lalita being a ‘vama-nayaki gopi’, which means a ‘left-hand heroin’, is well known for her somewhat strident and contradictory nature, as well as her red hot temper, but simultaneously she is unparalleled in her unswerving love and devotion towards Radha and Krishna. Before one can think to approach Radha, one must first seek the blessings of Lalita Devi, and then only one should approach Radharani and ultimately Shri Krishna. Lalita Devi’s most intimate assistant is the celebrated Shri Rupa-manjari, therefore it is said that before attempting to approach Lalita Devi, one must first get the blessings of Shri Rupa-manjari. In the pastimes of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Shri Rupa-manjari appeared as Shrila Rupa Goswami.
The name of the village is derived from the word ‘unca’ meaning ‘upward’ or ‘on top’, because at first the village was built on top of the hill known as Atara Parvata, but later moved down to the valley below. Shrila Narayana Bhatta, an important follower of Rupa and Sanatana Goswamis, not only discovered this village and the famous Deity of Dauji that lay buried here, but also spent the last part of his life performing bhajana and worshiping Lord Dauji at this place and his samadhi is also located in the village.
