Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
Gahvara means “deep”, “dense”, “inaccessible” and “secret”. True to its name, this place is a dense forest thick with trees, creepers, groves (keli-kuñjas) and Priyā-Priyatama’s sweet and intimate pastimes. It is shaped like a conch. Situated here is a sitting-place (baiṭhaka) of Vallabhācārya, where he recited Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Rādhā-sarovara and a rāsa-maṇḍala. Here, one can also see the places where many bhaktas performed their bhajana.
gahvarākhyāya ramyāya kṛṣṇa-līlā vidhāyine
gopī-ramaṇa saukhyāya vanāya ca namo namaḥ
Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa
gopī-ramaṇa saukhyāya vanāya ca namo namaḥ
Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa
One famous devotee, Nāgarī Dāsa, has described the pastimes of this place in his songs. For instance, the following pastime took place here one day, when Śrī Kṛṣṇa was out grazing the cows with His sakhās:
caksaulīke canā curāye
gārī de daurī rakhvārin gvārin sahit gupāl bhagaye
hare būṭ dābe baglin meiṁ svās bhare van gahvar āye
kahat āture bol lol dṛg haṁsat-haṁsat sab baran caḍhāye
hare cabāt, koū horā kari, van kī līlā lāl lubhāye
nāgariyā baiṭhī chaki hārī chīl-chīl nandalālahiṁ khvāye
gārī de daurī rakhvārin gvārin sahit gupāl bhagaye
hare būṭ dābe baglin meiṁ svās bhare van gahvar āye
kahat āture bol lol dṛg haṁsat-haṁsat sab baran caḍhāye
hare cabāt, koū horā kari, van kī līlā lāl lubhāye
nāgariyā baiṭhī chaki hārī chīl-chīl nandalālahiṁ khvāye
“Nearby in a field, green chickpea plants were growing. Upon seeing them, Śrī Kṛṣṇa together with His sakhās broke off some plants. The woman taking care of the field came to know of this and ran to catch them, but Kanhaiyā was too swift. Keeping the plants under His arm, He ran very fast through crooked paths and finally came to a stop in Gahvaravana, where He roasted the green chickpeas and ate them with His sakhās. While they were laughing and enjoying eating roasted chickpeas, the cowherd woman arrived at that spot, but upon seeing the splendour of Kṛṣṇa’s beauty, she forgot the incident and her anger was pacified. Due to absorption in motherly love (vātsalya-bhāva), she began shelling the peas and personally fed Kanhaiyā.”
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
There is a famous kunda in the Gahvaravana forest situated just below Mayura Kutira at the base of Brahma-giri Parvata and known as Krishna-kunda. The local Vrajavasis sometimes call this kunda by the name of Radharani-sarovara and sometimes as Gahvaravana-kunda. In the Bhakti-ratnakara it says, “See the dense forest on the side of the mountain; it is justly called as Gahvaravana.” The word ‘gahvaravana’ means an ‘impenetrable forest’ with thick foliage and considered to be a very secretive place. This small forest can still be seen at the base of Brahmagiri Parvata in between Sankari Khora and Ciksauli Village, but previously Gahvaravana covered the entire southern half of Brahmagiri Parvata around Mana Garh and Mayura Kutira.
