Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-maṇḍala-parikramā”:
In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Mahādeva Śaṅkara, the god of gods, has been called the foremost Vaiṣṇava. He and Bhagavatī Pārvatī are always absorbed in meditation on Kṛṣṇa’s eternal eightfold daily pastimes (aṣṭa-kālīya līlā). Once, during Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s manifest pastimes, Śaṅkara desired to take darśana of Kṛṣṇa’s captivating rāsa-līlā with his own eyes. Being eager to do so, he came directly to Vṛndāvana from Kailāśa. At the gate outside Vṛndāvana, some attendant gopīs stopped him, because no male except for Śrī Kṛṣṇa can enter the rāsa. But since when has Śaṅkara easily agreed to anything? He asked the attendant gopīs how he might be admitted, and they told him to satisfy Bhagavatī Yogamāyā Paurṇamāsī (Pūrṇimā) with his worship.
Śaṅkara followed their advice and after arduous worship he received darśana of Yogamāyā. Knowing the desire of Śaṅkara, Pūrṇimā took his hands and dipped him in the nearby Brahma- kuṇḍa. When he came out of the pond, he had been transformed into an extremely beautiful young gopī. Pūrṇimā seated Śaṅkara, now a gopī, inside a kuñja north-east of the rāsa-sthalī. She told him to behold the rāsa-līlā from there, and then she disappeared.
After a short while, the rāsa-līlā began. The gopīs thought, “Today, for some reason or other, we are not feeling any happiness in singing and dancing.” They understood that some outsider had entered the arena, and they began to search for that person. In their search they came to this place‚ where they saw a new, unknown gopī sitting in a kuñja. They caught that new gopī and began to question her, “What is your name? What is the name of your village? Who is your husband? Who is your father-in-law?” But the new gopī was unable to answer any of their questions. Instead, she could only cry. Yogamāyā had neither arranged her birth from the womb of a gopī, nor given her any name. The new gopī was not married to any gopa either, so what answers could she give? When the gopīs received no answer, they began to slap her cheeks till they became swollen. Seeing Mahādeva’s misery, Pūrṇimā’s heart melted. She went there and explained that this gopī was an object of her mercy. She requested the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa to be merciful to her. Śrī Kṛṣṇa, knowing the internal desire of Pūrṇimā, gave Śaṅkara the name Gopīśvara and granted him the boon that a sādhaka would be unable to enter Vṛndāvana, and especially into Kṛṣṇa’s sweet pastimes there, without first receiving his mercy.
The Gosvāmī literatures also describe that at the time of Kṛṣṇa’s manifest pastimes, the gopīs worshipped Gopīśvara Mahādeva with the desire to obtain service to Kṛṣṇa. For instance, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī’s Śrī Vraja-vilāsa-stava (verse 87) states:
sphurada-gopī-vṛndairyamaiha bhagavantaṁ praṇayibhiḥ
bhajadbhisa tair bhaktyā svama bhilaṣitaṁ prāptuma cirād
yamī-tīre gopīśvaramanudinaṁ taṁ kila bhaje
The praṇāma-mantra (from Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura’s Saṅkalpa-kalpa-druma, text 103) for Gopīśvara Mahādeva clearly indicates that Gopīśvara Mahādeva is the bestower of unadulterated kṛṣṇa-prema:
sanaka-sanandana-sanātana-naradeḍya
gopīśvara! vraja-vilāsī-yugāṅghri-padme
prema prayaccha nirupādhi namo namste
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
This temple of Lord Shiva near Vamsi Vata contains one of the famous dig-pala Deities established by Vajranabha that protect the holy Dhama of Vrindavana. The name ‘Gopishwara’ means the ‘protector’ as well as ‘benefactor’ of the gopis. The word ‘ishvara’ means ‘the protector’ or ‘the controller’ and is a general term used to denote the Supreme Lord or His incarnations. Because the gopis worshiped this Deity of Lord Shiva so that they could achieve Krishna as their husband, he became known by the name Gopisha. In the Vraja-riti-chintamani it says. “North of Brahma-kunda is Gopisha where, worshiped by them, Lord Siva pleased the gopis hearts by giving them the benediction to enjoy pastimes with Lord Krishna.”
There is a famous story, which has become part of Vrajavasi folklore regarding the name Gopishwara, which is said to have been given to Lord Shiva by Krishna Himself. This pastime occurred during a performance of the rasa-lila at Vamsi Vata. Lord Shiva, who very much desired to witness the rasa-dance between Krishna and the gopis, once arrived at the rasa-mandala where he was stopped by some of the gopis headed by Lalita and Vishakha. The gopis informed Lord Shiva that no male was allowed to enter into the rasa-mandala, and even though he was qualified in every respect to witness the rasa-dance, he would have to change his form to that of a gopi if he wanted to enter. Lalita advised Lord Shiva to first take bath in the Manasarovara Lake and then return to the rasa-mandala. (Some legends say that Shiva took bath in the nearby Brahma-kunda). After bathing in Manasarovara, Lord Siva obtained the form of a gopi and when he returned to the rasa-mandala he was greeted by Krishna, who, upon seeing the new gopi awarded her the name Gopishwara and requested that she should become the protector of the gopis and the rasa-mandala. Some of the gopis then escorted Gopishwara to a corner of the rasa-mandala where she could sit down and witness the rasa-lila pastimes.
