Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
The village of Raṇavāḍī lies one mile north of Ārabāḍī and three miles south-west of Chātā. Nanda-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa is directly manmatha-manmatha, the one who attracts even Cupid, and Śrīmatī Rādhikā is the direct manifestation of mahābhāva. Her function is to fulfil all of Kṛṣṇa’s desires. In Raṇavāḍī, They are both absorbed in varieties of love-play with the aim of pleasing each other. Raṇavāḍī means “the place of amorous exchanges and playful games”.
Around one hundred and fifty years ago, a Bengali bābā named Kṛṣṇadāsa performed bhajana here. One day, an ardent desire to visit all the sacred places of India awakened in his heart. Coincidentally, a brāhmaṇa from here was leaving for Dvārakā at that same time, and he insisted that Kṛṣṇadāsa Bābājī accompany him. On the way, they took darśana of many holy places before finally arriving at Dvārakā-dhāma.
To enter Dvārakā, one had to be branded with a cakra, which Kṛṣṇadāsa Bābājī did. After visiting other pilgrimage places, he made his way back to Raṇavāḍī, where he found, to his amazement that he could no longer absorb his mind in bhajana. Despite great endeavour, he was unable to remember Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s eightfold pastimes of the day (aṣṭakālīya-līlā). This caused him great distress, so he went to see his friend Siddha Kṛṣṇadāsa Bābājī at Rādhā- kuṇḍa. When Siddha Bābājī saw Kṛṣṇadāsa Bābājī, he turned his face away and said, “You have been deprived of Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s mercy. You have left Her exclusive shelter and have accepted the emblem of Dvārakā, and therefore the shelter of Śrī Rukmiṇī, Satyabhāmā and the other queens of Dvārakā. As long as you are in your current body, it will be impossible for you to get Śrīmatī Rādhikā’s mercy. Please leave this place at once, otherwise I will also be deprived of Her mercy.”
Despondent, Kṛṣṇadāsa Bābājī returned to Raṇavāḍī. He closed the doors of his cottage and refrained from taking water and food. His burning separation produced in his body a fire that exploded inside him, and within three days his material body had turned to ashes. After three days, the villagers broke open the door of his cottage, and were astonished to find ashes instead of his body. On the Amāvasyā day in the month of Pauṣa (December–January), the Vrajavāsīs of this place annually celebrate the disappearance festival of this bābājī with great splendour.
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
This is where Radharani along with the gopis came to play holi with Krishna and the cowherd boys. The Holi-mela celebrations are known as the ‘festival of colors’ where revelers throw colored powder and colored water on each other. The holi festivities turned into a veritable battle with red colored gulal powder flying in all directions. Because the holi celebrations appeared like a battle between the cowherd girls and the cowherd boys, the village became known as Ranabadi, or the place of the battle. The word ‘rana’ can mean both a ‘king’ as well as a ‘battle’.
