Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
The village of Gorāī lies near Āyore-grāma, three miles north- east of Gokula. Today, this village is known as Guru. Nanda Mahārāja resided here for some days along with the other gopas and gopīs after they had returned from Kurukṣetra. Bhakti-ratnākara states that at the time of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes there was a well-known village named Ḍhānā in this very area, where an exceptionally wealthy landlord lived. He had a close, affectionate relationship with Nanda Mahārāja. When Nanda Bābā and the gopas and gopīs were journeying to Gokula, they arrived at this village. That landlord happily welcomed them with great honour and joy and accommodated them in his village for several days, serving them with much respect. This place has therefore become famous as Gaurava or Gorvāī, which is derived from the word gaurava denā, meaning “to give honour”.
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
In the Gopala-campu it says, “Coming from Syamanta-panchaka in Kurukshetra, Vrajeshwara Shri Nanda and the cowherd men were returning to their houses in Gokula. When they arrived in Mathura, they felt no desire to return to their homes. They crossed the Yamuna and came to this famous place named Gaurai some distance from Gokula.” It is said that the name ‘gaurava’ means ‘honor’ and when Nanda Maharaja returned from Kurukshetra, he was given great honor (gaurava dena) at this village by one of his longtime friends who was a rich Zamindara (landholder) of Dhana Grama, thus the village became known as Gauravai. According to Shrila Jiva Goswami, when Nanda Maharaja returned to Vraja from Kurukshetra, he did not go to Nandagrama but instead established his residence in this village of Gauravai to the north of Mahavana on the eastern bank of the Yamuna. Jiva Goswami has explained that the name Gaurava is the vernacular of the Sanskrit name Gokula-pati, which in the local dialect becomes Gorayi, and has now become Gorai. Or in other words, this was the village of Nanda Maharaja, who is known as Gokula-pati, the master of Gokula.
When Krishna eventually fulfilled His promise to the Vrajavasis at Kurukshetra that He would return to Vraja one more time, He met them all at Gauravai. It is also mentioned in the Gopala-champu written by Shrila Jiva Goswami, that Krishna appeared to be exactly the same age as He was when He first left Vrindavana. It is further said that to please His ‘foster parents’ Nanda and Yashoda, Krishna married Radharani as well as all the gopis who had desired to have Him as their husband during His pastimes in Vrindavana. In order to alleviate any contradiction regarding Krishna’s marrying Radharani and the other gopis at Gaurai, it is further explained that due to the yogamaya potency, only the shadow forms of the gopis had been previously married in their youth, while the original forms of the gopis had waited for Krishna to return to Vrindavana so they could be eventually married to Him. This marriage ceremony was not only meant for fulfilling the longing of the gopis, but also to fulfill the deepest desires of both Nanda Maharaja and Mother Yashoda, to see their beloved Krishna married to Shrimati Radharani. There were many such marriages conducted between Radha and Krishna, as well as between Krishna and other gopis like Lalita and Padmavati, and it was one of the favorite pastimes of the gopis to enact such marriage ceremonies which are known as vivaha-lila. Thus the various marriages of Radha and Krishna in different parts of Vraja should be seen as being transcendental pleasure pastimes to fulfill the aspirations of Krishna’s dearest devotees, whereas the eternal relationship between Radha and Krishna is as unmarried consorts.
