Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
Advaitavaṭa is situated directly in Praskandana-tīrtha. Just before the advent of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrī Advaita Ācārya came to this place while journeying through Vraja. He resided under this same banyan (vaṭa) tree for several days. He had found Śrī Madana-Gopāla in Mahāvana-Gokula, and now served Him here. Due to fear of the Yavanas, and by His desire, He secretly left Śrī Madana-Gopāla with a devoted Caube brāhmaṇa and went to Śāntipura, knowing that very soon Śacīnandana Śrī Gaurahari would appear in the town of Nadiyā.
Later, that same Madana-Gopāla made His way to Sanātana Gosvāmī, who had a large temple constructed just nearby and established the deity there. Since then, Śrī Madana-Gopāla became known as Śrī Madana-mohana.
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
This is one of Vrindavana’s famous banyan trees (vata-vriksa) and the place where Advaita Acharya performed his bhajana during the period of his stay in Vrindavana. It is said that Advaita Acharya had the great opportunity to meet Shrila Madhavendra Puri Goswami who was at the time on pilgrimage to Vraja, and he took initiation from him here in Vrindavana in the year 1482, four years before the appearance of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Beneath this same banyan tree, Advaita Acharya discovered the famous Deity of Madana-Mohana, (also called Madana-Gopala) that had been originally established by Vajranabha Maharaja five thousand years earlier but had been lost during the course of time. According to some, the Deity discovered by Advaita Acharya was called Madana-Gopala, and was a different Deity to Madana-Mohana, but this is not accepted by research scholars, who have concluded that Madana-Gopala was another name of Madana-Mohana. Krishna’s great grandson Vajranabha had at least sixteen Deities carved including: four devas, two nathas, and two gopalas (cowherd boys). The two gopalas were named Sakshi-gopala and Madana-Gopala (also called Madana-Mohana). This celebrated spot beneath the banyan tree at Advaita Vata is accepted by all scholars as the actual appearance place of Lord Madana-Mohana. Unfortunately, due to insufficient historical records, there will always be opposing opinions regarding the details of history, not only of this particular Deity, but of many others as well.
When Advaita Acharya left Vrindavana for Navadwipa, it is said that the Deity of Lord Madana-Mohana informed Advaita Acharya in a dream that He was unwilling to leave Vrindavana, and therefore Advaita Acharya kept the Deity with a Mathura brahmana named Choube. It is said that when Advaita Acharya returned to Bengal, he began worshiping a small Deity of Krishna that he also named Madana-Gopala, and this is one of the reasons why the confusion has arisen. Recently, this small Deity of Madana-Gopala was brought to Vrindavana from Bengal amid claims that it was the actual Deity found at Advaita Vata, but this idea has been utterly rejected by Gaudiya Vaishnava scholars. The fact is that all the Krishna Deities carved by Vajranabha are very large and quite distinct, and also carved from black marble. Besides this, there are no historical records that Lord Madana-Mohana (Madana-Gopala) ever left Vrindavana before 1670, prior to Aurangzeb’s attack on the holy city. Important evidence is revealed in the Bhakti-ratnakara, which says that both Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda had darshana of Madana-Gopala at Mahavana some years after Advaita Acharya had returned to Bengal, thus proving that Madana-Gopala never left Vrindavana. Madana-Mohana (Madana-Gopala) is accepted to be the original Deity carved by Vajranabha that was discovered at Advaita Vata by Shrila Advaita Acharya and this has been accepted by all the Gaudiya Goswamis and other Gaudiya Vaishnava authorities.
