Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
Khelanvana lies two miles south-east of Ūjānī. Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Śrī Balarāma played many kinds of games with the sakhās when they came here for cow herding. Śrīmatī Rādhikā also played here with Her sakhīs. This place is called Khelanvana because they used to play (khelnā) here.
Nanda Bābā resided here for some time with the gopīs, gopas and cows. Vṛṣabhānu Bābā also stayed here with his whole family and herd of cows.
Jaṭilā and Koṭilā thought themselves to be the only chaste women in Vraja, and they considered Rādhikā to be not even slightly chaste. They always spoke ill of Rādhikā and made propaganda against Her. Kṛṣṇa was aware of all this. One day, He pretended to be ill to the point of death. Yaśodājī called expert doctors and brāhmaṇas skilled in mantras, but no one was able to help. Finally, Yogamāyā Pūrṇimā arrived on the scene. She said, “If any chaste lady brings water from the Yamunā in this earthen water-pot, which has hundreds of holes, and if I then bathe Kṛṣṇa with mantras and with that water, then Kanhaiyā can become healthy. Otherwise, it will be impossible to save Him.” Yaśodā called Jaṭilā and Kuṭilā and requested them to bring water from the Yamunā in that special pot. They went separately to the Yamunā to fill the pot, but were unable to retain even a drop of water in it. They left the pot on the Yamunā’s shore and returned home by another path so as not to meet anyone.
Yogamāyā Pūrṇimā then advised Yaśodā-maiyā to request Śrīmatī Rādhikā to bring water in that hundred-holed pot. Upon being repeatedly requested, Śrīmatī Rādhikā finally agreed to go to the Yamunā. She successfully brought back water in that pot without spilling even one drop. Pūrṇamāsī sprinkled Kṛṣṇa with that water, and He immediately regained His health. All the Vrajavāsīs were amazed to see this wonderful incident, and Rādhikā’s chastity was praised everywhere.
Places of darśana here are Balarāma-kuṇḍa, Gopī-ghāṭa, Śrī Rādhā-Govinda, Śrī Rādhā-Gopīnātha and Śrī Rādhā-Madana- mohana.
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
Situated on the banks of the River Yamuna is the famous forest known as Khelanvana where Krishna and Balarama spent many long hours playing with Their friends. This forest is mentioned in the Vraja-bhakti-vilasa as being one of the prativanas (sub forests) of Vrindavana Dhama. The name ‘Khelanvana’ means ‘the playground forest’. Krishna and Balarama would be so absorbed in playing games in this forest that They would forget to take Their lunch and mother Yashoda would have to personally call Them and on some occasions bring Their lunch to the forest. The Bhakti-ratnakara says, “In Khelanvana, now called Khela-tirtha, Krishna and Balarama played continually, forgetting even Their food until Their mothers came to feed Them.”
This place is also known as Kela-tirtha which means the sacred place (tirtha) where children play games (kela). This forest is also referred to as ‘Kridavana’, which means a ‘forest where children engage in sporting activities’. These childhood pastimes at Khelanvana began when Krishna moved from Gokula to Shakatikara and started to graze His calves in this area which is known as ‘Nanda’s Vraja’. Later, when He moved to Nandagrama, Krishna used to meet the gopis here and this is one of the forests where rasa-lila pastimes took place. The name of this town however changed when the Sultan of Delhi, Sher Shah Suri, who had conquered a large portion of Northern India, decided to build a fort here and thus changed the name of the town to Shergarh. The ruins of the Sultan’s fort can still be seen but the large forest of Khelanavana is no longer visible.
